The Story of Mr. Sixty-One (61)

It's not a story about his age....

It's not about the number of home-runs a MLB slugger hit in a season...

It's not about a low score for a round of golf...

Nope, none of the above.

Mr. 61 is actually a student in the Escambia County School System who has racked up an incredible, mind-numbing and outrageous 61 referrals in his school career thus far, and "61" is only a sophomore this year.  And he has not been expelled.  Nope, he is currently at a

District alternative program, however as I understand the situation, he will be eligible to return to his regular high school at some point this school year.

What sorts of infractions has "61" committed?





Fights (at least 4)
Bus Misconduct (kicked off the bus at least three times)
Class Disruptions
Disrespect
Throwing objects that hit a teacher in the head
Abusive, foul language
harassing other students
Making inappropriate comments to students (particularly female students)
Defiance

I hate to say it but from reading his discipline file, I do not feel as though the schools have done a good job with handling this student. They have tried a number of interventions, but it has not worked.

As I suspected, the file also points to the fact that board policy must be adjusted to prevent someone, anyone, like "61" from being allowed to be such a long-term, negative force in our schools.

And I cannot imagine the amount of class time this student has robbed from his classmates and teachers.

On of his teachers was quoted in the file stating, among other things, that "With XXXXXXX in class, it is very difficult to do any teaching."  And that about sums it up.

I wonder how many teachers this student has demoralized, or wrecked.  It is sad to contemplate.

There are implications that reverberate far from the classrooms with respect to students like "61", and they are very troubling.  I'll go through them in a follow-on post