Providence Public School District Code of Conduct Research Paper

Arguments

Some elements of the New York City Wide Behavioral Expectations need to be added to the Providence Public School District's Code of Conduct. New York's elaboration on behavioral topics will immensely benefit Providence's Code of Conduct. The New York City Wide Behavioral Expectations document states clearly bullying is not conflict:

Conflict is a struggle between two or more people who perceive they have incompatible goals or desires. Conflict occurs naturally as we interact with one another. It is a normal part of life that we will not always agree with other people about the things we want, what we think, or what we want to do (Fariña et al. 11).

If the Providence Code of Conduct added this, teachers could more thoroughly understand the differences between the two, rather than being told there is a difference in a conference, if ever.

The New York Handbook also mandates that "[s]uspended students must be provided with instruction including homework and classwork at an alternative instructional site within the school" (Fariña et al. 12). In Providence, a suspension is a mini vacation. If students were given homework whilst suspended, it would make them think twice before breaking suspendable rules. Unfortunately, in Providence, it is up to the parent to decide whether or not their child receives homework, and more often than not, staff forget to state that it is within their rights; furthermore, many parents are also quite unsure as to how they would approach this inquiry, and they therefore simply do not ask. Even more so, if the rare case were to occur where a student received homework, absolutely nothing would happen if they refused to complete it. If these two simple things were placed into Providence's Code of Conduct and made into habit, it may just add some extra depth that it so desperately needs.

Now on to Baltimore's Code of Conduct. There are some elements within Baltimore's Code of Conduct involving the school's environment that definitely deserve a place within Providence's Code of Conduct. Although Providence's Code of Conduct says quite a lot on how all members of the district are entitled to a positive learning environment—"All members of the Providence Public Schools community have the right to be treated respectfully by one another and have the right to a safe, orderly environment in which to learn, work or entrust their children" (District-wide Code of Conduct 1)—it misses some key environmental aspects included in the Baltimore Code of Conduct. The Baltimore School District encourages a "[c]lean, well-maintained, and welcoming environments that clearly demonstrate school pride and a love of learning" (Thorton and Cooper 2). Although ——Academy is on top of this, as it is clean and ——Academy spirit floats around the school, the same cannot be said about the other larger schools in Providence. Providence, as a district, does not encourage this, and it is a shame that they do not—except, ——Academy and private schools do encourage school spirit. Baltimore even encourages students to receive emotional support when needed. "Supports for students who are experiencing students emotional crisis, trauma, or serious challenges in their homes or communities" (Thorton and Cooper 2). Whereas Providence Schools have counselors that most kids do not even know about. Also, much of the time when a student does need to talk to a counselor, they may get sent back to class as councilor availability is not as on-hand as it should be. Embodying these concepts will result in a positive learning space for both pupils and educators. A happy school is a great school. Moreover, it will make students feel safer and less stressed just because there is someone there and readily available for them. As stated earlier, the availability is not so great for students in need to talk to if needed. The Providence Code of Conduct will benefit from these two points and add even more detail to the Code of Conduct, not to mention that students will get peace of mind, as well as better learning spaces since no one will be as stressed—a relaxed mind is always good.

Disciplinary policies that are within the Pawtucket School Department Student Policy Handbook definitely need a spot in the Providence Code of Conduct. The Pawtucket Code of Conduct is quite thorough on the consequences for cutting class and leaving without permission, which, without a doubt, is an issue at ——Academy, but more so in other Providence Schools, as stated by other scholars enrolled in ——Pleasant High School and H—— High School. In the Pawtucket Policy Handbook, unexcused tardiness results in a one day detention—this punishment is clearly mentioned in the Providence Code of Conduct—class cuts may result up to a five day detention, unexcused absences, unauthorized dismissal, and leaving school without permission is punishable by a maximum of ten days detention (Tenreiro et al. 27). Even though Providence's Code of Conduct lists consequences for some of these actions, the consequences are quite vague. For example, it classifies late arrival to class and leaving class without permission as Level 1 violations, the consequences are quite vague as they only state detention with no number regarding how many (District-wide Code of Conduct 7-8). In addition, Providence does not penalize students for unexcused absences. If Pawtucket's clear, yet simple, policy was given a chance in Providence's Code of Conduct, it may potentially lead to higher academic attendance and less chance of students bunking because the consequences would be more severe. Adding this will significantly improve the Providence Code of Conduct as it will assert itself with punishments and thus making it clearer and stronger.

On the topic of detention, if a student skips and assigned detention, the punishment is suspension; however, this is not stated in the Providence Code of Conduct and is merely mentioned by perhaps a teacher or two—this ties into a ghost policy, a rule that "exists" yet is not written and rarely told, but then again, is it even enforced? No. When students who skipped detention in ——Academy state that nothing happened the day after, some even go on to say that ——Academy does not care whether or not detention is skipped; however, there are some cases, very rare cases where ——Academy cracks down on those skipping detention—this is not common practice.

Code Of Conducts in a variety of languages are available from both New York and Worcester. Both websites make it easy to find the Code of Conduct in another language, too. In the Providence's Code of Conduct it claims to have the document translated in other languages: The District-wide Code of Conduct is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, Khmer, and Hmong. For more information, visit the Providence Schools' Web site at www.providenceschools.org" (District-wide Code of Conduct 4). This is a lie. Whilst on their web page and using their search bar, typing in "code of conduct" "código de conducta" or even typing in "khmer" or "hmong," none will take you to a code of conduct in the corresponding language. Go ahead, try it. Have they privatized documents? Planned but never finished? Whatever the reason may be, it is clear that the Providence Code of Conduct is not provided in other languages—at least for those who actually need it, and in Providence, that is quite a lot. If they are available on the Providence Schools website, then they are extremely hard to locate. A code of conduct in other languages will help immigrant parents and students fully understand what they need to know about their school and school district—and in Providence, there are a lot of Spanish speakers, and it is extremely unfortunate for them that they cannot view it in a language understood by those who need the translation. It is clear, therefore, that Providence needs to make its code of conduct available in other languages because no matter how clear and thorough your code of conduct may be, it will equate to nothing if one cannot read it.