News-Record.com

The number of short-term suspensions in Guilford County Schools dropped about 3 percent, to 12,016, during the 2007-08 academic year, according to preliminary district figures.

However, the percentage of suspensions among black students remained about the same as the previous two years: Black students made up 71.5 percent of the out-of-school suspensions lasting 10 days or fewer. Black male students alone made up 49.4 percent of the suspensions.

Chesseley Robinson , the district's hearing officer, said school officials are unclear about why the total number of suspensions declined but the racial breakdown remained the same.

"The true question to answer is, why is that number not more equitable?" Robinson said. "We're not really getting an answer on that."

The preliminary numbers come less than two weeks after the Board of Education received a special report on the performance of black male students in the district. The reports showed a lack of true progress on closing the academic achievement gap between black males and white males over the past decade.

School officials have been working over the years to tackle the disproportionate number of black students being suspended, an issue that has drawn charges of racial discrimination from parents, church leaders and community activists. The district also wants to make its schools safer and less likely to produce drop-outs.

Under former superintendent Terry Grier's leadership, the school board in 2007 approved two alternative high school programs for students with histories of behavior and academic problems. A Greensboro church also hosts an outreach program that aims to reduce the number of students being suspended more than once.

However, school officials don't expect the programs to have a significant impact on suspension rates for a few years. For example, High School Ahead, which opened in August to over age middle school students, suspended 76 out of a total 162 students.

Principal Michelle Hayes attributed the high suspension rate to the lack of a school resource officer and in-school suspension program during the first semester. That meant Hayes had nowhere to place misbehaving students other than her office.

"Even though suspensions were high, the students did make academic gains," Hayes said.

Fifty-nine percent of Hayes' students had grade point averages of 2.0 or better, she said.

Next year, the district plans to follow recommendations a school climate task force made in February, including hiring more social workers and expanding a behavior management program to 10 schools. The board tentatively approved $1.6 million for such initiatives in its 2008-09 budget.

"Within the next few years, I think you'll see the reductions, particularly among African American males," Robinson said.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or morgan.josey@news-record.com