Suspensions at SKHS: why Students Misbehave & How Administration can Help

“There may be economically repressed groups that have never had a good parental model, broken homes, and that may later on translate into a rough ride in school where suspension rates are high for those particular people,” said South Kingstown High School resource officer Dave Melucci.

Home to over 1100 students, SKHS suspends 37 out of every 100 students each year. Compared to other schools in Rhode Island, SKHS’ suspension rates are high.

Barrington High School, which similarly has about 1000 students enrolled, only suspends 5.6 students per one hundred. Cumberland High School, home to about 1300 students, suspends 26 students per one hundred.

According to SKHS faculty, many factors contribute to whether or not a student misbehaves in school, and is thus suspended. A student’s maturity level, home life, stress, relationships, and economic status all contribute to a student’s behavior, good or bad.

According to SKHS Principal Mezzanotte,“Every behavior serves a purpose. So whatever students do, it’s always for a reason.” Often, Mezzanotte added, “A student’s poor behavior at school is a manifestation of issues at home.”

“If a student is acting out, a lot of the time they’re trying to communicate something else,” Mezzanotte said. “Home life has… an impact on your ability to learn, on your achievement.”

Mezzanotte emphasized the strong influence of a student’s home life on their academic life. He explained that students often act out in school as the result of frustration stemming from issues at home.

“Schools can be really powerful as well,” the principal added. Mezzanotte described how schools have “the potential to have a very big impact on a student’s life.” The principal pointed out that teachers and faculty “might be the only positive influence on a student’s life.”

The principal continued, saying, “Although we’ll never be able to completely replace a healthy home, we can certainly try our best to work with students to let them know that we’re there to support them. The tricky part as an administrator,” Mezzanotte said, “is trying to get at [the reason] behind a student’s behavior, and then trying to get the student to see it, too.”

Hall monitor Mr.Cruz, who’s in charge of returning students back to the classes that they have cut and supervising ISR, agrees with Mezzanotte’s goal. He believes a student’s misbehavior may be due to frustration, an insufficient amount of motivation to complete schoolwork, and problems with boyfriends or girlfriends.

Cruz said that “at this point, [it could be] relationship issues along with anger, lack of attention from their lives at home and even peer pressure.”

While it’s often difficult to explain why, Cruz stated that “most of the people I catch in the halls for skipping tend to be the same people who are never in class and have been suspended.”

Even though it may be frustrating to continue punishing the same kids, both Mr. Mezzanotte and Cruz believe it’s essential to continue their efforts to help troubled students.

“It’s a challenge [to help them], but it’s kind of why we do what we do,” said Mezzanotte. “We want to see kids be successful. We want to see them do well, and to help them.”

Cruz said similarly that “[disciplinaries] just want to see [students] succeed and that’s the most important thing that most students don’t realize. Their safety and well being is significant to me and that’s my favorite part of my job, seeking the best for the students and trying to help them into making better choices for themselves.”

Nonetheless, some students end up blowing off suspensions or escape ISR. As Cruz said “they escape because they’re bored and frustrated so they just take off.”

In conclusion, Mr.Mezzanotte explained the positive role he believes SKHS can play in students’ lives.

“We have the ability to make a very big impact on kids’ lives,” he said, “as educators, teachers, administrators, and counselors, we have to constantly remind ourselves of that.”

Mezzanotte continued, “we might be the most positive influence on a kid’s life. We may be the only responsible adult in a student’s life. While we can’t necessarily replace a healthy home, we can certainly do our best to work with students and let them know that we’re here to support them.”