The Milford School District exceeded out-of-school suspension thresholds for several student subgroups in the 2023-2024 school year.
The Delaware Department of Education’s Annual Report on School Discipline Improvement found Milford Central Academy and Milford Senior High School suspended students that are low income, African American, male and students with disabilities at rates above the 15 percent thresholds.
Many districts had at least one school with suspensions above the threshold.
The DOE requires schools that exceed its suspension thresholds put the DOE’s school discipline improvement plan in place. That will start in the 2025-26 school year.
Milford School District’s school climate and safety supervisor Jessica Weller said the district implemented a multi-tiered system of support framework the last two years to start addressing the issue.
“In our multi tiered systems of support, we are able to really focus and support the students in their why,” Weller said. “So it's really critical to have that framework in our schools, and it's a proactive process of helping support the students before it gets to the point of discipline or crisis.”
Once a school is over the threshold for three years, they have to put the DOE plan in place for three years after. Milford's first year on the state-mandated plan starts next school year.
Milford has essentially already put the state-mandated program in place via its efforts.
As part of the school’s plan, teachers and staff have attended about 30 hours of training this school year. Schools are also implementing alternatives to out-of-school suspensions and surveying students, families and staff. The district will be reviewing those surveys in the next couple weeks.
Milford also has the BRIDGES program in place, which offers students a transitional space and an alternative to out-of-school suspension.
“It is an option and a step in our progressive discipline process that allows for students to stay in school but also receive consequences and support and education around conflict resolution or whatever it might be that they're in the room for,” Weller said. “If they're in the room for vaping, we would do smoking cessation classes.”
Those classes keep students in school.
“Our entire job is to make sure they are successful adults when they graduate from our schools, and we can't do that if we aren't helping them learn even social and emotional skills on top of the academics,” Weller said.
Weller said the district is under the suspension thresholds with 26 days left in the school year.
