CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — State data shows Black students are suspended at higher rates and are more likely to receive harsher punishment compared to their white classmates for similar offenses.
These racial disparities in how K-12 students are disciplined can be felt in metro Atlanta.
11Alive spoke to educators in Clayton County about this nationwide concern and what the county is doing to ensure discipline is handled equitably.
Shakira Rice has been an educator in Clayton County for 25 years. Rice believes discipline is more than teaching right from wrong.
When asked "what ways would a child feel misunderstood or not seen?" Rice had a simple answer.
"When they don’t have a voice."
U.S. Census data shows the county is predominantly Black - 73% as of 2023.
Check out Clayton County's 2023 population demographics in the interactive chart below.
Clayton County’s diversity is reflected in the classrooms.
"It’s very important for us to come up with ways to remove those barriers so they can remain kids as long as possible," Rice said.
The barriers Rice is referring to are socioeconomics, lack of resources, household conditions, mentorship, etc.
11Alive reviewed discipline data from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement for 2023. The data shows that while Black students made up 36% of the K-12 student population statewide, they accounted for 58% of disciplinary incidents.
Below is a breakdown of the number of disciplinary incidents by race in Clayton County for 2014 and 2023.
Clayton County's Executive Director for Discipline, Prevention and Intervention Melvin Blocker says educators should sympathize with a child’s needs.
"The first time I was suspended from school, I was in the third grade," Blocker said. "I attribute that to being the product of a certain environment."
In metro Atlanta, the percentage of Black students disciplined from 2014 to 2023 has decreased.
Check out the interactive graph below comparing the total number of disciplinary incidents in 2014 and 2023 for Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton County Schools, DeKalb County Schools, Fulton County Schools and Gwinnett County Schools.
Not only have Clayton County’s disciplinary incidents decreased by more than half in the last nine years, but suspension rates have also dipped.
Terry Young is the executive director of Perry Career Academy in Clayton County. Young says educators should explore alternative methods to meet the students' needs.
"You have to look deeper into a student. You have to look at their home environment. Did that Black male, was that father in the home? Is that father incarcerated? Are their parents separated? For many of the students that we serve, that is the case. So for a lot of them, they have to live an adult life at an early age," Young said.
What can be easily viewed as disobedience may be a cry for help, educators emphasized.
Clayton Deputy Superintendent of Student Support April Crawford says educators must be willing to pay attention to that cry early on.
"Unfortunately, it starts the day they walk in our schools," Crawford said. "We have pre-K students that come with needs that you (can't) imagine. We have students whose families are experiencing homelessness, and we have to make sure that we are standing them up and knowing that when they come in our building that they are not alone, that we care about them in Clayton County Public Schools."
A teachable moment can inspire a child to change or derail the child’s life.
"The first time a man ever told me they love me, I was 15 years old. So young people don’t even know what love is," Blocker said. "They can’t connect to that. Just because you made a bad choice doesn’t mean you cannot rebound from it."
Clayton County educators believe the goal should be to separate the behavior from the child.
"We have to build relationships with students- it starts there. They want to know that you care about them, because many of our students don’t have people in their circle who can provide them direction, who express that, 'Hey, I love you. I know you made a mistake,'" Young said. "But that’s okay. You still can be successful."