Using Data to Improve School Climate and Discipline

Using Data to Improve School Climate and Discipline

Panelists
Jessica Cardichon, EdD, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy, Alliance for Excellent Education
Ajit Gopalakrishnan, Bureau Chief, Performance Office, Bureau of Data Collection, Research and Evaluation, Connecticut State Department of Education
Dan Losen, Director, Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project at UCLA
Garry W. McGiboney, PhD, Deputy Superintendent for External Affairs, Georgia Department of Education
Nina Salomon, Senior Policy Analyst, Council of State Governments Justice Center

On December 9, 2014 the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center hosted a webinar on school discipline and climate data collection. Panelists highlighted strategies to strengthen how data is used to improve school discipline, reduce disparities, create safer and more supportive learning environments, and improve outcomes for all students.

This webinar included recommendations based on the Alliance’s school climate series, the CSG Justice Center’s The School Discipline Consensus Report, and promising state practices.

Panelists discussed:

• The importance of the relationships between data sets related to school climate, discipline, safety, academic performance, and attendance
• The status of current state data collection and reporting
• Recommendations for improving the collection and use of data
• Examples of promising state data systems.

Panelists also addressed questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

Supplemental Resources:

• Ajit Gopalakrishnan: Discipline Data Collection and Data Use in Connecticut
• Daniel J. Losen: Closing The School Discipline Gap
  • Additional Resources from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project at UCLA
    • Current: www.schooldisciplinedata.org – includes OCR data for most large districts in the nation from 09-10.
    • Upcoming (February): www.schooldisciplinedata.org – two reports on the OCR data disaggregated by elementary and secondary levels, and by race, disability status, English learner status and by gender, including the cross-sections.
• Garry McGiboney: Georgia’s School Climate Journey 2014
• Nina Salomon: School Discipline Consensus Report