Chicago School Charging Parents $5 for Each Detention

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I think this is a fine idea. Everyone is so quick to blame the teachers for a shitty school system, but the bottom line is, education starts at home and that includes discipline.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Some parents and activists rallied at Chicago Public School headquarters in the Loop Monday to accuse a chain of charter schools of overly harsh discipline.

Protesters chanted: “Invest in us, stop arresting us.”

Their chief complaint? Charter schools run by the Noble Network send students to detention for minor infractions and fine them $5.

“We are absolutely appalled that Noble is padding its pockets off the backs of hardworking people by fining them,” said Alexi Nunn Freeman of Advancement Project.

Since 2008 Noble Schools have collected more than $386,000 in fines and fees for behavior classes–including more than $188,000 last school year alone, CBS 2′s Mai Martinez reports.

The system works like this, students get demerits for violations like chewing gum or talking in class. Four demerits equal a detention and a $5 fee to help cover the cost of staffing detention.

If a student gets 12 detentions, they have to take a $140 discipline course.

The protesters say most low-income families just can’t afford that, and they fear with the success of Noble Schools, the fees could be adopted across the CPS system.

The policies create a safe and productive learning environment, says Kimberly Neal, a principal at a Noble Network school, Muchin College Prep, 1 N State St.

“An example we always give students and parents: If you are late for work, would you have a job?” she said.

Students, Parents Protest Noble Network School Discipline Policy « CBS Chicago

 

[RebeccaAGray_85]

I don't think this is very fair. Low income families often have children who act out in school. How is it fair to charge their PARENTS? They have enough to worry about with their jobs and taking care of their family. If they have a child that doesn't behave, they probably know it and have tried disciplining them already. This is just going to be a burden on parents who are most-likely already stressed out and overwhelmed.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Parents are key to the education of children. They cannot expect the schools to do what they won't at home. If they want the schools to act as parents, i. e., detention, then the parents can pay for it.

Caveat: be careful of parents who will brutalize the children for making them pay for their brattiness.

 

[Unknown_Soldier]

I don't think this is very fair. Low income families often have children who act out in school. How is it fair to charge their PARENTS? They have enough to worry about with their jobs and taking care of their family. If they have a child that doesn't behave, they probably know it and have tried disciplining them already. This is just going to be a burden on parents who are most-likely already stressed out and overwhelmed.

Easy solution. Tell your child if they get a detention they will get their ass kicked AND they will be finding a part time job to pay the fine themselves.

It's odd that myself, my wife, my brother, my sister, my brother in law, and my sister, and all of our children combined have in our lives spent exactly zero time in school detention.......

 

[Zoom-boing]

I always imposed my own fine on my kids . . . get detention again and I'll whap you upside yer head after I kick yer ass! You can make them pay for the gas it took to pick them up too. Actually, only one of my kids ever had detention and she had it with my blessing . . . the school rule was that you had to get changed into your gym uniform even if you had a doctor's note excusing you from gym. My kid went in w/a dr's note (double ear infection and bronchitis . . I didn't want her running around so got the note). I think the rule is asinine and told my kid 'take the detention -- literally the kept her for 15 mins after school. ) and I'll pick you up'.

For those whining about the poor parents, how will they pay, blah, blah, blah? Manual labor. Have the kids stay after school and clean the bathrooms. They'll soon realize that following the rules is the better option.

 

[Annie]

I don't think this is very fair. Low income families often have children who act out in school. How is it fair to charge their PARENTS? They have enough to worry about with their jobs and taking care of their family. If they have a child that doesn't behave, they probably know it and have tried disciplining them already. This is just going to be a burden on parents who are most-likely already stressed out and overwhelmed.

The parents have every right to send their kids to public schools, where these types infractions wouldn't raise an eyebrow. These folks went out of their way to get their kids into these schools, why? Might be performance and giving their kids a future. Perhaps they don't understand what that entails?

Welcome to Noble Street Charter School

Welcome to the Noble Network of Charter Schools - Chicago's largest and highest performing high school network

For more than a decade, Noble has delivered an outstanding public education to low-income high school students in Chicago. Noble's founders were former Chicago public high school teachers who believed their students could reach higher levels of academic achievement and discipline, and they committed themselves to creating a better kind of school. From day one, Noble students attend a longer school day and year, develop high expectations for themselves and their classmates, and model the scholarship, discipline, and honor necessary to achieve success in college and beyond.

With more than 3,000 students on a wait list, Noble is committed to continued expansion so that any student seeking to attend a Noble school will have that right. Noble will build the capacity to enroll more than 10,000 students at sixteen campuses across Chicago, serving at least 10% of the Chicago Public Schools' high school population. Noble is proving that students, regardless of background, can achieve high levels of academic success. By its example, Noble will transform urban education in Chicago and across the country. We invite you to learn more about the Noble movement.

 

[old navy]

Paying for detention, summer school, and whatever else is required outside what is already provided is fine by me.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Since 2008 Noble Schools have collected more than $386,000 in fines and fees for behavior classes–including more than $188,000 last school year alone, CBS 2′s Mai Martinez reports.

 

[bodecea]

I think this is a fine idea. Everyone is so quick to blame the teachers for a shitty school system, but the bottom line is, education starts at home and that includes discipline.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Some parents and activists rallied at Chicago Public School headquarters in the Loop Monday to accuse a chain of charter schools of overly harsh discipline.

Protesters chanted: “Invest in us, stop arresting us.”

Their chief complaint? Charter schools run by the Noble Network send students to detention for minor infractions and fine them $5.

“We are absolutely appalled that Noble is padding its pockets off the backs of hardworking people by fining them,” said Alexi Nunn Freeman of Advancement Project.

Since 2008 Noble Schools have collected more than $386,000 in fines and fees for behavior classes–including more than $188,000 last school year alone, CBS 2′s Mai Martinez reports.

The system works like this, students get demerits for violations like chewing gum or talking in class. Four demerits equal a detention and a $5 fee to help cover the cost of staffing detention.

If a student gets 12 detentions, they have to take a $140 discipline course.

The protesters say most low-income families just can’t afford that, and they fear with the success of Noble Schools, the fees could be adopted across the CPS system.

The policies create a safe and productive learning environment, says Kimberly Neal, a principal at a Noble Network school, Muchin College Prep, 1 N State St.

“An example we always give students and parents: If you are late for work, would you have a job?” she said.

Students, Parents Protest Noble Network School Discipline Policy « CBS Chicago

Don't have to put your kid in a charter school. Don't like it, leave.

 

[AmericaFirst88]

Crappy kids usually come from crappy parents. The repeat offenders probably have problems at home. Fining them won't make a difference if they can't pay it anyways though.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Crappy kids usually come from crappy parents. The repeat offenders probably have problems at home. Fining them won't make a difference if they can't pay it anyways though.

If they don't pay it kick them out.

 

[Annie]

A good opinion piece in Tribune yesterday. The behavior does matter and the quickest way to get conforming behavior is to hit the parents where it counts. If the parents wish to spread the pain and they should, they can pass it onto their children:

Noble charter discipline - chicagotribune.com

The Noble rules
Why discipline matters

February 16, 2012
Advertisement

Thousands of kids line up every year for a chance to attend one of the excellent high schools run by Chicago's Noble Network of Charter Schools. There's a long waiting list for those schools because they have dedicated teachers and safe, orderly environments and they prepare their students to go to college.

There are a lot of reasons for Noble's success. One is its strict disciplinary policy. A student caught chewing gum earns a demerit. Late to class—that's not tolerated. Untucked shirts and untied shoes—not allowed. You don't shout or throw things in the lunchroom. And so on. It's a matter of respectful personal conduct.

A student who gets four demerits within two weeks must attend a three-hour detention class and pay a $5 fee for the class. Get more than 12 detentions — you really have to work at that — and you land in a discipline class that carries a hefty $140 fee. Rack up 25 to 36 detentions in one school year and you have to attend two discipline classes. Fee: $280.

All of that is "dehumanizing" to students, says Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE). "It's nickel-and-diming kids for literally nothing that really matters."

There's a wearying little game going on in Chicago. As the Chicago Public Schools and the Illinois Legislature grow less tolerant of failure in education, as they push for status-quo-shaking change in schools, the defenders of the old ways of education get more nervous. They try to undermine reform in nickel-and-dime fashion, picking targets here and there. This is a case of that.

Nothing poses a greater threat to the status quo than charter schools. So charter schools get targeted with nonsensical claims like this, that Noble Network is "dehumanizing" students.

If these schools are dehumanizing students, why are students lining up to go to them?

What does Woestehoff dismiss as "nothing that really matters"? Crucial keys to personal success. Focus. Discipline. Respect for others.

All those little violations — gum chewing and rowdiness and tardiness — matter. They matter because good conduct creates an atmosphere of responsibility and accountability in a school.

"Kids learn punctuality, dependability, and that there are consequences for behavior," says Michael Milkie, the former teacher who founded and runs Noble. "If kids feel they're going to be safe, if they're in a protected environment, they are more likely to develop the habits that make them successful in class."

Schools that let the small things slip can find themselves with a chaotic school environment. What do kids learn in those kinds of schools? They learn to duck.

PURE and other critics claim the Noble Network gouges students to raise cash. Last year, the 10 campuses of Noble raised nearly $200,000 from disciplinary fees. But those fees cover only part of the expense of staffing those classes and detention periods, Milkie says. "If we didn't have the fees, we would divert dollars from everyone's education to staff these classes and detentions."

Noble's tight discipline and demanding academics aren't for everyone. Last year, 473 of Noble's 5,000 students left for other schools.

Look at the kids who stay. Last year, all of the Noble schools beat the Chicago Public Schools' average in math, science and reading scores. Noble sent 91 percent of its graduates to college.

Kids and parents have a choice of schools. If the Noble rules are onerous, a student can transfer to another school. (As long as he can talk his parents into it.)

But most students and parents know that Noble's leaders are right: Discipline helps create a safe school atmosphere. It helps create success.

Ms. Woestehoff, check the name of your organization. A responsible education is exactly what Noble delivers.