In 2007-2008, Escambia County had 7,482 out-of-school suspensions. All those days were counted as unexcused absences and led to the School District being ranked 15th out of 67 school districts for highest unexcused absenteeism, according to an article in today’s PNJ.
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas has come up with a way of reducing unexcused absences by turning the out-of-school suspensions into in-school suspensions. The in-school suspensions in 2007-08 were 1,767 for the School District.
The change in policy puts Escambia more in line with how most of the other Panhandle school districts handle suspensions:
Bay Out: 2,468 In: 2,708
Santa Rosa Out: 1,148 In: 1,583
Okaloosa Out: 2,553 In:722…………..Looks like Okaloosa preferred out-of-school, too
Walton Out: 405 In:616
Congratulations to Thomas for figuring how to improve a statistic by simply switching how suspensions are handled.
I did find the State Discipline Data Report, 2007-08 (discipline). There is one alarming statistic for the other school districts – Corporal Punishment:
Bay: 27
Escambia: 0
Okaloosa: 0
Santa Rosa: 517—————–The second most in the entire state
Walton: 332