CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Cabarrus County Schools has been working to improve its student discipline policies in recent years. The district was previously on a warning list for having a disproportionate number of students with disabilities suspended.
However, the state board of education has now recognized the district for its progress in turning the ship around -- although post-pandemic it's seen an alarming rate of its kindergarten students being disciplined.
"It seems like over the last year if not more than that, most of our focus has been strictly on behavioral issues, mental health of these kids and all of that," CCS Board Member Laura Blackwell Lindsey said.
CCS staff explained that the pandemic had a direct impact on student discipline.
"For many students coming in and learning to be in a group of 16 people and function and be in a classroom is a lot," Johanna Parker, CCS assistant superintendent of elementary schools, said. "So we had to do a lot of pre-teaching with our kindergarteners."
One of the critical strategies that Cabarrus County Schools has used to improve its student discipline policies is to focus on consistency.
The district has created a multi-step intervention process that all schools must follow when a student is disciplined. This process includes a variety of interventions, such as counseling, tutoring, and behavioral support.
"Sometimes we say, let's try this intervention for six weeks, that didn't work, let's try this one -- and then for some reason, that intervention, the support from that proved to be successful," Wolf Meadow Elementary Principal Brian Dulin said.
Cabarrus County Schools aims to decrease office referrals by 10% at the elementary school level next year.