What if suspended students could keep current with school lessons via the web while serving time?

Well it's happening at Coffeeville High School in Coffeeville, Mississippi. That's right, students who are relegated to internal suspension can stay up-to-date with their school lessons while being detained. In fact, students being disciplined can follow along with any lesson being taught at Coffeeville High School. All they have do is log-on to a computer. This new twist to suspensions is being offered to keep students from falling behind in their school work.

The Web-based approach at this southern high school may be just the beginning as other schools decide to follow suit. This non-traditional approach to suspensions coincides with a surge in computer technology in the classroom. According to a recent article in the Detroit News, about Coffeeville's new suspension program more than nine in ten public school classrooms are now wired to the internet.

As pointed out in the article, the truth is that some students land in internal suspension at the worst possible times. A day or two in suspension can cause a struggling math or science student to fall hopelessly behind and failure only spawns more failure.

Most educators are concerned about their school's overall academic performance and if keeping suspended students abreast of what is being taught then the expense might be worth it. Such technology can run between $150,000 to $500,000 depending on the size of a school. The system at Coffeeville costs $260,000. Coffeeville High School was fortunate, the federal E-rate program paid most of the cost.

Spending large sums of money on this type of technology does not, however, guarantee better academic results by disaffected students. Many suspended students may lack the motivation and focus needed to succeed at this and instead might just go through the motions of being engaged in a web lesson while having something else going on in their head at the time.

Traditional suspensions need to be improved; especially out-of-school suspensions which offer little value for the student or the school. Most out-of-school suspended students are free to do as they wish considering the high percentage of both parents who work full time. In some cases, the suspended student does not even have a safe place to go if he or she is removed from the school setting. And then there is always the question of what the student gained from the experience.

In-School Suspensions: A Learning tool, provides a good overview of what is indicative of most school suspension programs across the nation. Some schools offer structured and meaningful experiences while others simply do not. There are several links that will connect you to successful programs in various high schools and middle schools. Having students engage in homework seems to be a requirement in most suspension programs. But not all schools work with students on behavioral issues.

Strategies for Success In-School Suspension Program (pdf file), allows you to learn about two successful in-school suspension programs. Both programs provide a structured environment, offer positive learning experiences for student and opportunities for counseling.

Students should be given the opportunity to make-up missed work and school lessons should be part of the suspension experience. But do students learn anything during suspension about why they have been excluded from school or their classrooms in the first place? This is where the Advantage Press can offer an important tool for intervention.

The Advantage Press creates learning packets that focus on the wrongdoing itself. We offer the reflective component. We're concerned with why the student got suspended in the first place. If the student was suspended for fighting we want him or her to understand why fighting is wrong and what the short-term and long-term consequences are for the misbehavior. We prompt students to reflect and to develop a plan of action that will prevent re-occurrences.

For many suspended students Web classes will keep them from falling behind but it is imperative students come to terms with why they have been given a suspension in the first place. Many of the most successful in-school suspension programs offer this essential ingredient in one form or another.