By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Suspensions at city schools have jumped 40 percent since 2006, despite a slight decrease in enrollment, the Daily News reported.
The number of suspensions increased from 52,000 in 2006 to 72,000 this past school year, for offenses ranging from sassing a teacher to “aggressive fighting,” Education Department officials told the paper.
The Department of Education said that the suspensions make schools safer, and that there has been a 7 percent decline in major crimes this year alone.
“A safe and orderly learning environment is critical to our children’s academic success,” Education Department spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz told the News.
Parents, however, aren’t as happy with the department’s decisions, and some advocate groups say that the suspensions are disruptive to the kids’ education.
“All it’s doing is messing up the kid’s record,” childcare provider Wanda Rodriguez, 43, told the News. Her son, Pedro Munoz, 12, had a suspension for 30 days that was overturned on technical grounds.
“It creates a climate of distrust of school officials, and it lends itself to school disruptions,” Chris Tan of Advocates for Children told the News, after saying that the spike in suspensions are a “major crises” for city kids.
The Education Department is now looking for new ways to avoid some suspensions, including “a renewed focus on intervention and mediation” with parent conferences, the News said.
