U-46 expulsion data notes decline in weapon use, spike in assaults on staff

The number of Elgin Area School District U-46 students expelled for having weapons may be going down, but the number of students assaulting staff members has gone up in recent years, according to recently released data.

Kelvin Lane, the district's student discipline coordinator, and Safety Coordinator John Heiderscheidt on Monday night presented the school board with first quarter hearing and expulsion data from 2003 to 2010.

Last school year, nearly one third of students who attended expulsion hearings in the first quarter assaulted staff members, the highest number the district had seen since 2003.

"We don't know why that (spike) occurred," Heiderscheidt said.

Inconsistent training could be a factor in the ebbs and flows in the number of incidents, he said. So could the training staff members are receiving to deal with potentially violent situations.

This year, only one student faced expulsion for assaulting a staff member. That coincides with all school administrators and dean's assistants receiving, for the first time, Crisis Prevention Intervention training before the start of the school year.

The training teaches staff members de-escalation techniques and strategies to keep cool in the midst of breaking up fights, Heiderscheidt said. Teachers haven't yet received that training, but will have the chance to sign up during a February institute day.

The number of students facing expulsion for having weapons on campus has declined from 16 in the first quarter of 2003 to just four this year.

Heiderscheidt credits this decline with the district's weapons prevention program, rolled out at all five high schools just months after an Elgin High School student stabbed a teacher in January 2008. High school students now are checked for weapons with a hand-held metal detector in six classrooms the district picks in each school a minimum of twice per month. Only school administrators conduct the random searches.

Heiderscheidt has said that the district opted for the hand-held "wands" instead of installing stationary metal detectors because the stationary detectors come with their own set of problems, including changing the environment at a school.

The number of students attending expulsion hearings for being caught with drugs, fighting, vandalism, arson, sexual offenses and truancy has stayed steady over the seven year period, according to the report.

At the meeting, board members questioned Heiderscheidt and Lane about how they're assessing changes in climate at a school from year to year.

Lane said he regularly meets with administrators and deans as well as students to size up changes.

"These are reactive kinds of approaches," Superintendent Jose Torres said. He stressed the importance of programs like the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Program, which reinforces school expectations by recognizing positive behavior.

"We need to be looking at this not just from a punitive perspective, but how do we create a climate that's accepting and positive for students."

U-46 first quarter expulsion data Year Drugs Threats Weapons Assaults to staff 2003-04 0 2 16 0 2004-05 1 0 8 1 2005-06 3 0 8 2 2006-07 5 0 11 2 2007-08 3 2 7 4 2008-09 4 7 9 10 2009-10 2 0 4 1

Source: Elgin Area School District U-46