In recent posts, we have discussed problems girls of color face in schools. If you haven’t read them, here they are:
- It Continues: Black Girls Still Disproportionally Suspended
- Why Girls Don’t Think They’re “Really, Really Smart”
- Not Allowed to be Children: Case of the Black Girl
In sum, recent studies have continued to show that girls of color are disproportionately suspended and expelled from schools. Contributing factors may be stereotypes that surround black girls and other girls of color.
Now we want to focus on what schools are doing to try and reverse this trend! In St. Louis, Missouri, educators held a conference about these exact issues. Two educators mentioned the following:
- Relationship building
- Providing mentorship opportunities
- Cultural competency training for educators
- Social justice training for educators
The National Women’s Law Center Let Her Learn Toolkit provides ways other schools have addressed school push out:
- Banning all suspensions in pre-K and early grades
- Teaching conflict resolution practices, yoga and meditation
- Trying alternatives to punishment, such as focusing on prevention, providing more support to students to encourage good behavior, and bringing students together to solve problems on their own and in small groups
- Using money spent on school police officers to hire more counselors instead
Encourage your schools to take action! When we come together as a community, we can make positive changes for our youth.