Fix School Discipline Toolkit for Educators | Page 30

“We want and every child will go to college like my
child did,” we can eradicate these gaps. We have not
done explicit training around bias because the data is
in our face. We can see the gaps.

Over time, how do you make certain that
these changes become a permanent part
of the school’s culture and practices even
if leadership and staff change?
Sup. Bishop: Our community members and parents
have been invited in to, not only participate in the
Restorative Justice and PBIS trainings, but to walk
through the schools. We need a “Superintendentproof” system, so that the systems and structures that
create change will remain. We are seeing that many
of our parents know the systems so well, that they are
talking to other parents and saying, “Did you ask for
the SST? Do you know about PBIS?” We have over
200 active and engaged parents in the District who
are knowledgeable and working on all aspects of the
reforms. These parents and community members are
key because this whole effort has to go beyond any
one administration; the community must own it as
well.
Dr. Derbigny : You can expect what you inspect.
We are seeding change and as we provide intensive
and ongoing support, we are expecting to see the
change we seek become a reality.

How have you built on your first year of
implementation?
Sup. Bishop: We really have built a system where all
students will be college and career ready. The fullservice community schools initiative is the umbrella
for all of our reforms. When I think about full-service
community schools, I think about the whole student.
By the end of the 2014-2015 school year, all of our
schools will be full service. Using the strategies
mentioned above, in 2013-14 we have further reduced
out of school suspensions by 60%.
Each of the full-service community schools, offer
comprehensive academic, social, mental, and physical
education services to meet student, family, and
community needs. Each school has an Academic
Support Provider (ASP) staff position. That person’s
responsibility is to fill in any gaps in the student’s
academic, social and emotional profile. The ASP

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How we can fix school discipline

creates a school-based community advisory board;
monitors parent engagement; facilitates Student
Success Team meetings (SST); trains staff on
restorative justice and runs circles; and serves as a
liaison for the principal to the community at large.
Each of our full-service community schools serves
breakfast, lunch and dinner for students, and provides
services unique to the school community that may
include: school-based health clinics, family resource
centers, on-site food and clothing banks, etc. The
schools are supported by a team at the central office
that cultivates strategic relationships with larger
corporate partners.
Additionally, in the 2014-15 school year, we begin
training on trauma-sensitive strategies. We received
$50,000 from Kaiser Permanente to train all of our
staff and service partners. Kaiser has placed six
doctors in our district; in 2015-16 there will be 12 and
the year after that there will be 18, all making sure
that our students are socially and emotionally healthy
by developing and implementing trauma-sensitive
strategies. This is really important because trauma
affects all of us and affects our ability to work and
learn effectively. With all of these strategies in play
– PBIS, RJ and trauma-sensitive strategies – we are
helping all students including those who need more
for one reason or another.
We are continuing to be very active with grant
writing and resource partnership. Additionally, the
Local Control Funding Formula allows us to really
work with the community engagement focus area
and make sure that we are offering research validated
programs that the community believes will actually
help our students succeed. We took surveys of the
community as a way of hearing the voices of as many
stakeholders as possible. We have created a plan
based on what we have heard from the community.
Stay tuned as we are a work in progress!

Feel free to contact us

Vallejo City Unified School District
665 Walnut Avenue, Vallejo, CA 94592
0: [phone]