cookiedough
Mar 25, 2010 at 6:31 p.m.
Suggest removal Wow, expelled from school for being a 'lookout' for the kids actually fighting.
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although the district never gives full details of expulsion incidents.
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Add the two up and then think about why this could happen.

newintown30
Mar 25, 2010 at 3:03 p.m.
Suggest removal
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I specifically said KID IN JANESVILLE claiming gang affiliation.
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In addition, I made the assumption of "street gangs" not motorcycle gangs.
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You are correct, gang affiliation if you take the broad definition of gang is just as much a white issue as a black or brown issue.
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Referring to this article and the gangs in the JSD, and those kids claiming gang affiliation...I stand by my previous conclusion...based on my experiences.

Wow, expelled from school for being a 'lookout' for the kids actually fighting. Times must be tough and sure have changed in the past 20 years. I remember beating up a bully in school since he started it and I finished it for him big time and all I got was a detention. My Dad always said if he starts it, you finish it and do not ever start a fight, but always finish it. Gangs and bullies do not need to be in school and since their parents are not taking care of the situation, someone needs to put them pansies in their place. Bullies in gangs are just wimps who cannot fight one on one without help from his other slugs. Never been afraid of a one on one confrontation no matter how big or supposedly tough and never will.

I agrre that race should never be an issue, but the sad facts that the are, in the last 20 years or so, look at what has happened to the 4th ward, these are all people who came up from Rockford, Chicago, and so forth, and they have kept that agenda with them, and surprise they are mostly people of color, hell we are having the same problem here in Madison, just try to go drive down Allied drive on the South side, or Hamersley on the West side. It is so sad that not to long ago it was Black History month, and a lot of these people have forgotten, what others before them have gone through, I am no way near a racist, but the facts are the facts......SO SAD

Well - if we legalize drugs then what will the gangs have left to do? (Yeah -I know....wrong thread....)

you have got to be kidding me!!!! ever heard of Hells Angels???...GANG...it is even on the show "Gangland" on the history chanel...ever heard of the KKK...GANG! the latest newspaper article i read about was a GANG of caucasian students that hate minorities in the Monona Grove school district...that is their "gang related issue"...a bunch of white kids...not "latinos or blacks" as was stated in a previous post...this drives me crazy, and i'm white...i can't imagine if i were a minority and had read these ignorant posts...people who have these views are either like 500 years old or had parents that taught them values that were 500 years old.......it's 2010...let the race issues go already!

napalm,
That is a poor excuse.
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I ask young people all the time, if you can't have a party with 15-30 of your friends and NOT have a good time without a mind altering / personality altering drug (weed or alcohol) than WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY AND THE PERSONALITY OF YOUR FRIENDS?
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Kids aren't, and this isn't a new problem, willing to put the time or effort into activities that don't involve illegal activities.
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In my hometown, they tried a teen dance club. It was seen as boring and eventually became a hang-out for dealers and users. Communities have tried but it isn't "fun" unless someone is doing something stupid because they are on something.

IMO race doesn't matter.
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I will comment just to help answer the question. It really depends on the gang...
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In Janesville, the typical kid claiming gang affiliation is just as likely to be white as black or hispanic. (based on my experience over the past 5 years in Janesville working with kids)

vatoloco
Mar 25, 2010 at 10:32 a.m.
Suggest removal Anyone know what kind of alternative schooling there is in Janesville for at risk youth?
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www.janesville.k12.wi.us
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Front page, lower left, links to all of the charter schools (4) in the disrict.
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In addition, most of the middle and both high schools have alternative programs on-site.
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TATE, or truancy abatement...center is an off-site program that deal specifically with expelled student. In addition, the TATE Center works with students transitioning from corrections or student out of school suspended and on probation. 6-12th grades for 1 semester. Lastly, some of the pre-expelled students are placed at TATE.
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All of these programs are very valuable to these students. Janesville is very fortunate to have a board and administration willing to make the investment in these programs.
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I just hope that despite the tough economic times the board doesn't lose site of the importance of programs like TATE. Having those students roaming the streets and falling farther behind is NOT a good idea.

jterry1955 -- shame on you! what does that have to do with anything at all???!?! maybe you need to read other area papers...many have "gang related activities" within their school districts. the race of these "gangs" shouldn't matter. The Dane County Sheriff's Office defines gangs as groups of three or more people with a common identifying sign, symbol or name, the members of which engage in criminal activity...nowhere in that definition does it also say "must be a member of ____ race." obviously the fact that schools have to deal with gang related issues is not good at all, but it also isn't good at all that certain people think that only certain races can be in gangs in the first place. sad!

This isn't a "school" issue; this is a community issue. Poor, misguided parenting creates a home situation for out-of-control behavior, which carries over into the schools. The public school for most kids is the most structure they will ever experience. Is anyone surprised that this type of behavior is prevalent in schools? Schools are a microcosm of our communities, and we see this type of gang behavior and thug activity in every large town/city in our country.
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To blame public schools, to praise private schools thinking they are immune to this type of behavior, is erroneous thinking. To compare a "union" to a "gang" is pure ignorance and stupidity. Furthermore, if you think the color of someone's skin determines this type of behavior, you're just as clueless as the person who suggested union behavior is similar to gang behavior.

OK, so the school board and many others don't want to "give up" on these types of difficult students so they want to cut down on expulsions and offer ways to return to school for the expelled. That's all very laudable, but what about the average student. You know, the ones who are afraid of gang members and the beat downs they dispense, the ones who are going to school to receive an education and are intimidated and coerced by those gang member "students"? Rather than focus attention and expensive resources on those who go to school for the opportunity to make trouble and bring misery on classmates for their personal satisfaction, why don't we instead just remove these gang members and other such delinquents from the schools so that real education can commence for the benefit of those who want to be educated? The fact is that to improve the quality of education for all students in the public schools, removing the few who aren't there for an education via expulsion is one of the wisest things we can do. If you leave a shark in a fish tank, can you really expect them not to eat the fish? Let's remove the sharks from our schools so that learning can proceed unimpeded by these thugs in training.

Who cares? What difference does that make?

And this is why I took my child out of public schools...not only do the kids not know how to behave, but the parents didn't teach them very well and the teachers don't seem to handle the punishment that fits the crime. And people wonder why our society is going down the toilet? lol, to think, these brats are going to be adults some day scares the crap out of me.

I agree with TheKid. It's kind of bizarre and, I would add, unAmerican to require a child to take medication in order to complete his education. When one considers all of these cases, there's one consistency: the government asserts and extends its power over the individual. It does this by prosecuting the war on drugs, and it does this by requiring that this child be medicated and be subjected to monitoring. We're supposed to have the right in the United States to be let alone. . . .

I am just wondering, what is their nationality, or the color of their skin

by no means do i condone a minor using marijuana, or any drug for that matter...but i think its hilarious(in a make me throw up kind of way) that once again kicked out for drugs and then required to take drugs...only man made ones.

yup...good message team...could you confuse a kid any more??

Sarac53545, I think the reason for the disparity of treatment of those involved is because all academic/discipline history of each student is considered at the expulsion hearing. It's possible there was some something in that student's school discipline history that caused the more severe expulsion.

Seems like only yesterday the police Chief was assuring us, in spite of reports to the contrary, that there was no real gang activity in Janesville -- just some "wannabes."

"although the district never gives full details of expulsion incidents."
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Trust me, if you knew the entire circumstances surrounding that you MIGHT think differently.
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I think its quite funny that the kid being the lookout got expelled till their 21st birthday , and the other kid engaging in the fight only got expelled till 2010-11 school year . Isn't that a little weird ? And the person that got expelled for having a knife only got expelled through 2010-11 school , hello they had a knife and it was in middle school . Wowwww . Maybe the superintendent should get the kids out of school that are dangerous rather then expel a student for being a lookout.