Citation

Davis CR. Sch. Commun. J. 2017; 27(1): 159-180.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Academic Development Institute)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article will explore a district's attempt to revise their suspension policy with the collaborative effort of community members and school-level educators. In this article, I will present my analysis of data from six forums where participants expressed their concerns and made recommendations on how to improve the policy. I will also use research that highlights best practices of reforming schools through community engagement to determine how, if at all, the district was able to enact change with their policy. My findings revealed that, across Community Conversations, participants viewed additional support--largely centered on improving instructional practices for teachers and providing professional development to both teachers and parents to reduce suspensions--as a necessity. Furthermore, the school district was somewhat successful in reforming their policy since they involved the community and school personnel and created a space for group collaboration; however, they struggled to build trust between groups, resulting in an absence of parents of color from forums.

Language: en