MUSKEGON, MI – 14,918 days, or, if you prefer, 104,846 hours.
That's the amount of class time that students in Muskegon County public schools missed in 2013-2014 because they had been suspended for misbehavior.
Add in expulsions – those longer term separations that typically are for 180 days – and the amount of time out of class soars to around 25,000 days.
A months-long investigation by MLive and the Muskegon Chronicle into school discipline reveals the extent and type of misbehavior among students that teachers and principals must address on a daily basis.
Details of each suspension handed out in the 2013-14 school year were obtained from public school districts through the Freedom of Information Act. Details of expulsions for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years also were gathered.
Details of each suspension handed out in the 2013-14 school year were obtained from public school districts through the Freedom of Information Act. Details of expulsions for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years also were gathered.
The information is both illuminating and disheartening:
- There were 6,065 suspensions in the 2013-14 school year alone.
- Kindergartners were suspended for fighting, vandalism, theft, disrespect and other inappropriate behaviors.
- Bullying was a factor in more than 200 suspensions.
- The number of expulsions dropped from 76 in 2012-13 to 52 in 2013-14.
- The youngest student to be expelled was a 7-year-old second-grader, for taking a weapon to school.
Disrespect, insubordination and disturbances are the most common issues teachers face in the classroom.
But there also are myriad other issues: constant cell phone texting, physical threats, fights, weapons, drugs, sexual harassment.
But there also are myriad other issues: constant cell phone texting, physical threats, fights, weapons, drugs, sexual harassment.
Essentially, all the problems of society walk school hallways each day.
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