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Continued from Page A-1discipline, but to use (discipline) as a learning tool. The goal is for students to learn from their mistakes,” said Eric Maroscher, assistant principal of pupil personnel services at Rich East.Maroscher said Rich East has had a “dramatic drop in suspensions last school year.” Overall, Rich East had a 49 percent drop in suspensions in the 1998-99 school year compared with the 1996-97 school year.In the 1996-97 school year, there were 657 suspensions; in the 1997-98 year, there were 444suspensions.Students are suspended for various offenses including fighting, missing a Saturday detention, truancy, bringing a pager to school or swearing in the hallway.Maroscher also noted there wasa 71 percent decrease in physicalaltercations. In the 1997-98school year, there were approximately 11 suspensions due to altercations, compared to the1996-97 school year, when there were about 70 suspensions for altercations.Maroscher also noted that thesuspensions in May 1999 decreased by 83 percent, compared with May 1997. In May 1999, there were 27 suspensions; in May 1997, 166 suspensions. Statistics for the 1997-98school year were not available.Maroscher said the drop in altercations and suspensions is the result of building relationships with students.“When a fight occurs, the students are informed about it on the PA system, and we let students know the penalties,” Maroscher said, adding “So .many schools brush things under the rug and pretend they don’t happen. Talking about these things will make kids realize that they can’t crosscertain lines.”“We (administrators) make ourselves approachable. You can’t be a good administrator from your office,” Maroscher continued.Principal Prentiss Lea said the involvement of the students, parents, teachers and Park Forest police is critical to the safety of the school.“Rather than wait for problems to happen, (Rich East) uses a proactive, preventive approach,” Lea said.Suspensions at Rich South increased last school year, according to Martin.In the 1998-99, there were 186 suspensions compared with 145 suspensions in the 1997-98 schoolvear.%r“The numbers reflect the number of suspensions and less than 10 percent of the student population is suspended,” Martin said.
Newspaper Details
Matteson Star
Matteson, Illinois, US
Thu, Aug 26, 1999
Page 4
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IL, USA 25 Apr 2022
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