"Bridge to Tomorrow" 1st Pillar- Students

Over the last year or so the Prince George's County Public Schools undertook an ongoing process to bring down the number of suspensions the system produced. Their decision to focus on keeping students in school as often as possible has been a good decision, however as some educators have done in the past, the 'keep 'em in class' directive is troublesome. This requires our school officials to think outside of the box that says we either suspend the kid or keep them in the classroom. As has been the case around the country, Prince George's must invest in alternatives at solving this discipline problem through policies like student behavioral contracts, community service, behavior plans, and when needed in-school suspension. The Report of the Task Force on the Education of Maryland's African American Males from 2006 says that there is "considerable evidence that a history of suspension does one of two things – either it puts a child on the path toward delinquency or it accelerates his journey there."