OSI-Baltimore commenced the second year of its forum series on school discipline policies with a presentation on reducing suspension and expulsion. Karen Webber-Ndour, an English teacher at school 426, and Lauren Abramson, Executive Director of the Community Conferencing Center, were the speakers.
Webber-Ndour has implemented a teen court program that allows students, teachers, and administrators to resolve conflicts without resorting to more punitive discipline measures. Abramson implements a program that brings together all parties involved in a conflict in order to understand the causes and to reach a consenus resolution.
This year, OSI-Baltimore's series highlights programs that have encouraged alternative methods of resolving classroom conflict and have helped schools reduce rates of student suspension and expulsion.