By Gary Lloyd
Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill called the report one of the best she’s ever seen.
The report is the annual school incident report for the 2011-2012 school year, released last Monday night. The report is released in arrears each year. The report tracks offenses reported to the State Department of Education, offenses that are violations of the law or represent a serious breach of local board of education policy. Offenses included are considered severe enough to be reported to local law enforcement, or which resulted in a student being suspended out of school for three days, expelled or placed in an alternative program.
There is a “huge decrease” in offenses from the 2010-2011 school year to the 2011-2012 school year, said Trussville City Schools Student Support Coordinator Mandi Logan.
In the 2010-2011 school year, there were five total offenses in the kindergarten through sixth grade — one defiance of authority, one profanity and three “other” incidents. During the 2011-2012 school year, there was just one total offense — defiance of authority.
In the 2010-2011 school year, there were 47 offenses in the seventh through ninth grades — 14 for threats/intimidation/fighting, 10 for defiance of authority, two for profanity, two for theft, one for knife possession and 18 “other” incidents. During the 2011-2012 school year for the same grades, there were 11 total offenses — two for disobedience, one for drug possession, one for threats/intimidation, one for knife possession and six “others.”
The largest decrease occurred at Hewitt-Trussville High School, in the 10th through 12th grades, a decrease that Trussville City Board of Education member Sid McNeal called “dramatic.”
During the 2010-2011 school year, 119 incidents were tracked. Of those, 24 were for persistent disobedience, 20 for truancy, 18 for fighting, 13 for disorderly conduct, 10 for alcohol, nine for tobacco, six for drug possession, five for harassment, three for profanity, two for defiance of authority, one for drug use, one for assault, one for theft and one for other weapon possession. There were five “other” incidents. There were 165 total incidents tracked in the 2009-2010 school year.
During the 2011-2012 school year, just 18 total incidents were tracked — three for defiance of authority, three for drug possession, three for harassment, two for knife possession, one for persistent disobedience, one for disorderly conduct, one for inciting others to create a disturbance, one for sexual harassment and one for tobacco. There were two “other” incidents.
“I know problematic when I see it, and this is not it,” Neill said.
Trussville City Board of Education President Bill Roberts said the plunge in the number of offenses at the high school is “very encouraging.”
According to Logan, key initiatives at the four Trussville schools are contributing to the falling incident numbers. At Paine Primary School, the Good Citizen initiative, individual counseling, small group and classroom counseling, and anti-bullying efforts have helped. At Paine Intermediate School, the Leader in Me initiative, leadership awards, citizenship awards, anti-bullying rallies and counseling efforts have proven helpful. At Hewitt-Trussville Middle School, counseling efforts, student focus groups, in-school and after-school detention, the drug testing program and hosting anti-bullying speakers have contributed. At Hewitt-Trussville High School, in-school and Saturday school detention, driver’s license suspension for truancy, early warning and the drug testing program have positively contributed.
Ongoing efforts to keep the number of incidents down include increasing consistency in all schools with common guidelines and principles, working with counselors to utilize Leader in Me and 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens districtwide, and beginning service awards in the fifth through 12th grades.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.