Gateway Middle School this year reinstated an alternative to at-home suspension with the hope of strengthening the connection between students and the school and alleviating supervision concerns for parents.
Through an agreement with the Southeast Family YMCA located just a few miles from the school, suspended students can opt to spend one or two days of their suspension at the facility doing homework, chores and other designated tasks. Those who choose to serve part of their time at the YMCA also can have their suspension reduced if all goes well, said Gateway assistant principal Clint White. That decision is made on a case-by-case basis, he added.
In addition, students also have the opportunity to be around positive adult role models in the YMCA’s middle school program director Dan Easty and YMCA teen services director Cory Wilson-Hoss, who also coordinate Gateway’s new after-school program, Hangtime.
“They’re free to talk and I’m here to listen,” Easty said. “And hopefully through intervention someone might be able to encourage (the student) to step it up.”
But spending time at the YMCA during suspension is not all fun and games.
“The kids get dropped off at 7:45 in the morning and they do two hours of homework, two hours of chores like cleaning, filing papers … 30 minutes for lunch and the rest of the day is the same,” Easty said. “It’s important to have structured support for suspension – they may not get the enjoyment they think.”
A key aspect of the program is that the time students spend at the YMCA is supervised. Parents don’t have to take time off from work, and students are productively engaged, said Gateway principal Cathy Woods.
“This way, they won’t be sitting at home playing video games and watching TV,” she added.
Woods acknowledged that she also understands the parent’s perspective that suspension and being out of school does not solve the problem. The YMCA program, she said, allows the school to address that issue while still continuing to enforce the school’s rules.
Not all suspended students are referred to the YMCA program. Only those who are not suspended for violence, drug or alcohol use can participate, White said.
There is no cost for the school or parents, and a release form must be signed by a parent to acknowledge the student’s participation.
According to Woods, approximately 60 students were suspended for various reasons during the 2002-2003 school year. However, the YMCA alternative suspension program, which began in 2000, was not in effect last year because of management changes at the school.
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