SUSPENSIONS ON THE DECLINE

Suspensions from school are down considerably from six years ago when
almost a thousand students in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school
district were given an at-home "time-out" for bad behaviour.

A mid-year report shows that only 237 students in SD42 have been
suspended this year, with 52 of those for drug-related issues.

"Our whole initiative of keeping kids in school means we have to
change our approach to suspension," said district superintendent John
Simpson. He added that research and statistics show that suspending
students from schools doesn't change their behaviour for the better.

Rather than go down the route of sending kids home for bad behaviour,
the district is implementing a "restorative" model that encourages to
stay in school and improve their behaviour.

When students get into fights or destroy property, Simpson said the
schools are trying to come up with solutions that have "immediate
involvement" so they learn from the consequences.

For example, if students destroy or steal school property, the
district would rather they bring it back, improve it or pay for it.

This way the student is making a commitment to improving his or her behaviour.

The reports states that "almost without exception" drug-related
suspensions are for students being caught with marijuana and
paraphernalia used for marijuana use.

However, the report also points out that other drugs such as cocaine,
crystal meth and ecstasy are harder to notice because they don't
smell like marijuana does.