So the conclusion is that the school is "overusing suspensions". Pathetic.

Why not, market the school as a success by stating that they do not tolerate bad behavior. Bring the mothers in and demand better behavior.

Or just give up. You choose.

My thoughts exactly. I know suspension can be overused as a disciplinary process, but it seems wrong to put blame on the school 1st.

I'd be interested to know if the school has an organized system for detention prior to suspension.

Exactly. What other consequences or programs does the school have in place before reaching the suspension level??

And how were that able to reach that many suspensions last year before North Ave intervening.

Unless this school is a magnet program for kids with behavioral issues (which it might be if middle schools recommend it as a choice to all their worst behaved kids), its hard to imagine that the vast majority of kids there are reaching the highest level of discipline if there's not constant chaos in the school. I can't imagine any learning going on under those circumstances. Plus, charter schools are supposed to be held to a higher standard than "regular" schools - they are supposed to have innovative strategies to make them successful with kids who choose to be there. Anyone whose read some of my previous posts knows that I support charter schools, but only if they are achieving the goals that they set up for themselves in their charter. Does MATHS think it's meeting it's charter?

Let's call it as it is. If we did that at our school we would be out of work. MATHS has some serious issues going on, but they get by since they are connected. This is BS..... Check out how many kids have been shipped off from there to their Zone schools too.

The mention about looking into how many kids have been shipped off should be considered in regards to the drop in the suspension rate from last year to this year. That is all. For a small school, there have been quite a few transfers that have saved the school some suspensions. Just yesterday four students were removed from the roster.

I would really like to know what offenses students are being suspended for at MATHS because we all know that neighborhood highschools get s*** for suspending students for fighting, weapons, drugs, etc. I know teachers don't even report incidents anymore because it is a waste of their time when they know administration won't do anything. x

What about in-school suspensions? I remember having to write my name 100 times when I was younger. How about single-sex classes? Studies show that children behave better when they are in a single-sex environment. There would be no one to show off for. We should be saying bring in the parents, not just the mothers!

I have a child at MATHS and no one has taken in to consideration that unlike citywides school with a selection process, charter schools aren't suppose to use any criteria to select students. Most of the schools in the city don't even report their suspensions. I rather a school be proactive then wait for my child to get stabbed like several of the other schools in the city. The school wants structure and parents should support them. No one talks about how well the students are doing. Some of the same schools that got approved at that meeting have horrible test scores, go figure. Its a sad world when a school is tabled because their honest. Hold North Ave. and parents accountable also.

I looked through the MSA scores of the schools that got approved at the meeting. It's hard to compare schools that aren't teaching the same grades, but I'd say that the other schools are doing as well (MSA test score-wise) or better than MATHS.

Let's be real here. Some of these kids are coming into the school 3 to 5 years behind but guess what many parents want to place the burden and blame on the school system. Well guess what when you do that you get what we have a greater than 50% dropout rate and a violence riden city. For many odf the people who have responded, when is the last time you spent a whole day in one of these schools. MATHS did what some of these parents have failed to do, DISCIPLINE YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!! Do you think MATHS goes into everyday thinking how many many kids can we suspend. I think not. Baltimore city adults need to look in the mirror, more than likely you will see the problem. Should any of these scholls be teaching to the test. Is that our idea of success. I think not. I am an african american male, no I am not a sell-out or any other term people use when we do not agree with the masses, but we really have to get away from the excuses and the justifying. Look at our young people and tell me how do we fix this. Charter schools, transformation schools, magnet schools, and zone schools all have one responsibility and that is to educate our kids. Although they may have different methods each one can be successful but what they all lack is parental participation and guidance and without that none will succeed and we will continue to get what we get, a declining city.

First and foremost, The mission and purpose of BCPSS is about saving and helping children. I am shock and outraged that BCPSS has not completed a full investigation of MATHS. My immediate reaction about this situation was "where there is smoke there is Fire" I think there are other things that should be questioned, how do the kids feel about the school?,how are the teachers being treated? and what is the turnover rate? etc. These questions should be asked and then the truth will be told. If this same situation happened at a traditional BCPSS school. The entire Adminstrative team would have been fired or replaced, no questions asked. There should never be separate but equal, all schools should be treated fairly... If you want to know the truth and nothing but the truth ask the STUDENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!