The Hastings School Board received an update on behavior and discipline in its schools for the 2022-23 school year at a work session on Wednesday, Aug. 16. 

The district has worked the last five years on reviewing discipline policies and adding staff to help students. 

At Hastings High School, there was a 38 percent reduction in referred incidents, with a total of 885, compared to 1,429 in the 2021-22 school year. 

Of those incidents, 485 were for items like attendance, parking and refusing to do schoolwork. There were a total of 400 discipline events involving 181 students, and 91 students had three or more referrals. 

There were 141 out-of-school suspensions, with 54 of those being from 13 students. 

In the 2021-22 school year, 1,067 of the referred incidents were for attendance, parking or work refusal. There were 361 discipline events involving 190 students, and 32 students with three or more referrals. There were 106 out-of-school suspensions. 

At the Hastings Middle School, there were 970 referred incidents involving 347 students in the 2022-23 school year. There were 160 students with three or more incidents and 136 with four or more. There were 122 out of school suspensions, and 18 students with three or four more days of suspensions.  

In in the 2021-22 school year, there were 911 referred incidents involving 274 students, and 96 students had three or more incidents. There were 149 out of school suspensions. 

At the elementary level, there were 1,134 behavior incidents reported and 17 out of school suspensions in the 2022-23 school year. That was significantly higher than the previous year, as the schools updated tracking of behavior reported by teacher and office referrals. In the 2021-22 school year, there were 121 referred incidents and 18 out of school suspensions. 

At the elementary level last year, 28.9 percent of the referrals were for physically aggressive behavior, 21.2 percent were for disruptive outbursts, 16.8 percent were for overt defiance, 14.7 percent were for off task behavior, 10.4 percent were for students leaving classroom and 8.5 percent were for other reasons. 

Superintendent goals 

The board also reviewed the goals of new Superintendent Dr. Tamara Champa for the 2023-24 school year. 

Her goals are under “Strategic Anchors” to drive improvement of having engage learner, effective operations, communication and collaboration. 

Following are the goals: 

ENGAGED LEARNERS: 

Goal #1 

The superintendent will guide and support a process to ensure that district programming and schedules meet the needs of our students at both the middle and high school. A full recommendation will be presented to the school board. 

Note: The study at both buildings will include a task force and an action plan for identifying best practices, researching innovative designs, and determining a structure for success. Student voice will be an active component for the entire process. 

Goal #2 

The superintendent will support the school board and administration to ensure that the entire scope of the READ Act is strategically implemented to provide evidence-based professional development and curriculum while maximizing financial resource opportunities. 

EFFECTIVE OPERATIONS: 

Goal #1 

The superintendent will develop and execute an intentional and strategic plan to connect and communicate with all stakeholders to inform, engage and support the decision-making process regarding the school district’s technology levy. 

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION: 

Goal #1 

The superintendent will provide reliable and consistent communication to board, staff and community stakeholders. 

Goal #2 

Provide a nationally-normed survey to establish baseline data for parent satisfaction, and student and staff experience.