Oh yes, the bully was also an aspiring actress at the time. During the fight, she continually laughed at my daughter, egging her on even more, and was still laughing with her friends throughout the day about the fight. The school didn't know about the fight until the next day when the girls parents charged into the school demanding that my daughter be arrested. Apparently even though she thought it was funny at the time, when she got home from school, she turned on the tears, and told mommy and daddy about how some girl beat her up for no reason.They were absolutly appaulled hearing the accusations against their precious child, because their little princess would never do such a thing.

as for you bereal, is someone forcing you to read these comments, if not, then don't read them if you have a problem with them.

C'mon people...let it go...

avidreader- I understand. Really. I personally know three men who dropped out of High School in an affluent nieghborhood. They weren't from the "right families" that is, they didn't command attention because they were from poor single parent families.
All three ended up securing their own High school education, and attended college. One of them is at UW studying Engineering. This is a guy who didn;t pass ninth grade Math and is now doing differential equations.
Education and schools are vastly different concepts. I applaud you for supporting your daughter.
Just out of curiosity- was the bully's parents aware?

avidreader- i to remember the change from middle to high school.the counselors,school board members and principals made a video on the changes that we could expect for our children entering high school.one thing that really hit me was a counselor said the school DIDN"T want the parents involed with their children in high school. at the end of the video the principal did say that the school did want parent involement with classes ,teachers etc. but when it came to problems with peers and things of that nature they asked that parents let their children handle them on their own,that would be a good learning experience for them and to get them ready for the years after high school. what lesson was your daughter going to learn from that experience ?i do understand what you and your child were up against ,adults wanting children to handle adult issuses that most adults don't know how to handle.they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.they say high school are the best years in your life.LOL. YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AS A CHILD,BUT YOU CAN CHANGE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU AS A ADULT.give your daughter a hug from me and tell her i'm very proud of her.

Re-reading this article, one thing I noticed, and I am hoping it is just the editors bad wording, is that all 3 students were expelled for being accused of their crimes. Being accused, and being guilty is 2 very different things. I do hope that if they were expelled, the accusations were in fact proven in all 3 cases.

By the time she became a Senior, she hated school, and the so called adults who ran the school. I had finally had enough. I pulled her from school, and said I was going to home school her, which I had no intention to do, being a single mom raising 3 kids, and working 50+ hours a week, I had no time to give her the eduction she deserved. She was only a few short months from turning 18 anyways. She herself went down to Charter and enrolled, because it wasn't learning that she had a problem with, it was the school. She earned her diploma, and when they told her she could still walk down the isle of the high school with her classmates, she told them no thanks, that school didn't earn the right to see her with a diploma in her hands. Do I think I failed her, your damn right I do, as a mother I should have seen the signs that she was having a problem, but I didn't. Not all kids who get into trouble, are "bad" kids. It may not be the schools job to babysit our kids, but as they have custody of them so many hours a day, it is their job to protect them from the kids who still need babysitting. My 14 year old starts highschool this year, and I am scared to death for her. I am now a stay at home mother, so I have the time to be more alert at what is going on with my children.

My oldest daughter was one of the first classes to have to go through this new change in the grades. I thought she was ready, and would handle it just fine, she was an A student, involved with sports, and many other extra-curricular activities. She enjoyed school and learning. Unfortunatly, for whatever reason, she became a target for a bully. For the longest time, she kept all of this to herself, and just tried to avoid the bully, because she knew it would only get worse if you were labeled as a "narc". After months of this bully's abuse, it got to where she was focusing more on avoiding the person, then concentrating on learning. She realized the problem was more than she could handle on her own, so she finally spoke up. The Principal, the teachers, the counselor, and even the school liason officer were aware of her complaints and fears. All they would do was keep an eye on the bully, because unless they saw something happen, they couldn't do anything about it. The harrassment continued, and the "adults" who were supposed to protect my child and her right to an eduction, never saw anything. No surprise, bullies don't usually attack when the teachers are looking. One day, my daughter finally snapped, and it was the first time I had ever heard of my child becoming violent. The bully started her crap, and my daughter figured the only thing left to try, was to stand up to the bully. She told her, I am tired of the threats, the name calling, the harrassment, you want to kick my ass so bad, then do it, get it over with, and then leave me the hell alone. My daughter was arrested and suspended for 3 days, for"starting the fight", the bully was not punished in any way what so ever. That was just the first incident that changed my daughters attitude about school.

I have no idea who "failed" these kids to the point they did what they did, or how many other offenses they had, before getting expelled. I do not know the kids, or the parents. One thing I have always believed is that Janesville made a big mistake when they moved the 6th graders to "middle school", and the 9th graders to high school. I am not saying that this caused any of these kids problems, but it definatly caused a problem for my oldest child. Even when I started a Jvl High school over 25 years ago, I remember the pressure and difficulties of starting 10th grade, which was the first year of high school back then. The upperclassmen thought it was so funny to harrass and tease the incoming 10th graders. Not all of them, but a good majority, even the straight A students, and the jocks. Some felt it was their duty, and their right, because they had to go through it, they felt it was just a tradition that had to be carried on. 9th graders range from 13 to 14, and good majority of them I feel are not mature enough yet to handle some of the crap that they have to go through when entering high school. They just barely became teenagers, and i feel it is too much pressure.

The fact that the students were fighting over whether Hillary should have remained a senator or whether she should run for president. What do you THINK he's talking about??

major--what on Earth are you talking about?

This whole problem would not even be here if Hillary did not announce her canidacy.

Sorry for re-stating the problem instead of coming up with a solution, but instead of playing the bad parent/school/kid blame game, the big message is that students do not have the right to prevent teachers from teaching and other students from learning. If a student obstructs the basic function of school on a repeated basis, they need to be removed from a mainstream classroom. I am against over-accomodating them because it is like giving the crying baby the lolipop. Help them, sure. Coddle them, no way. I am sick of 75% of my time devoted to 5% of my students who are stuck at a 7 yr old maturity level in high school. Play by the rules or face the consequences, I don't care if it is the fault of the parent, teacher, student, or administration.

ann20 - you are right. In many instances there are are not 'bad' parents, nor should we call a child 'bad'. As a matter of fact, the introduction of that word on these posts was probably a mistake as it forces everyone to take a side. I feel for your friends with the 3 kids as well as all other families in similar situations.

lulu-i wasn't going to make any more comments on here after yestedays posts .but i guess i just can't help myself.you asked what happens to these kids? some make it in life on their own.you see i was one of those BAD KIDS.i was born to a mother that didn't want me so i had years of abuse from her .my father was a working alcoholic. i acted out in ways that today people would know the signs.i had a teacher in high school that knew something wasn't right in my home life.if it wouldn't have been for that teacher i know my life would have been different.i finally had a adult that believe in me and said you can be anything you want.i choose then to stop my destructive behaviors.little did i know they would resurface in other areas in my life.my first child paid the price for my childhood,i wasn't going to be anything like parents.i went way to the left ,i knew as a mom that wasn't right.i didn't know how to stop it.i had two more kids ,but with them i found the middle ground.i don't talk to my mother the pain is too deep,my father is not allowed to call my house when he is drinking it brings up those memories that are still upsetting to me.so remember when you want to give up on that BAD KID because it's the parents job to raise them,some don't have the tools.we need to take care of all children not just the ones that we think deserve it.make a difference in a childs life it's amazing what can happen.i'm living proof

I know of a family with 3 kids and two of the kids don't get into any trouble and have good grades and are great kids. The third one is a trouble maker. He has ADHD. Almost got expelled for his behavior and doing things he shouldn't do at school. No matter how much his parents ground him or discipline him nothing works. How can you say that it is the parents fault when the parents have two great kids and have tried everything with the third but nothing works. They are good parents(parent and stepparent) have taught their kids right from wrong and nothing gets through to this kid. He is on meds and they don't seem to work either. This kid is a smart kid but nothing seems to phase him and he doesn't seem to think it is his fault for anything. Once kids are teenagers they know right from wrong. People just shouldn't blame all parents, I can see if all their kids are bad but not when it is only one out of the family. Some have tried everything and taught their kids morals, etc. but still doesn't seem to work.

"Where do these "expelled" children go?"
"Maybe the school should be doing more to help these kids instead of being part of the problem."

It's the schools' job to educate the students who can follow the rules... not to coddle and "parent" the delinquents. It's pretty simple. School rules are in place for the safety and wellbeing of both students and staff. Yeah, rules can suck sometimes. You get over it. It's called "growing up". Where do these kids go? They either wait out their penalty and enroll when they are allowed back, their parents can step up and homeschool them, they can try the Charter school or they can drop out. You can't teach those who refuse to learn.

well said lulu.

Where do these "expelled" children go? What is being done with them as far as education, therapy, etc.? The parents are part of the problem as they have obviously not taken their parental responsibilities as seriously as they should have. Violent kids have not been taught respect and compassion. Are the parents being worked with regarding their responsibility? Are these kids just being ousted. Good values and responsibility start in the home and need to continue in the classroom.. these are ALL of our children and ALL of our responsibility.

Stated simply, if a student goes to school to fight, to sell drugs, to make himself feel good at the expense of others, to do anything other than learn, that student should be removed so that he no longer disrupts the education of those who want to learn, which, sadly, so many who attend public schools seem to. Let these miscreants find some other educational opportunities or not as they see fit, but let those who wish to learn do so without intimidation from the undisciplined hoodlums in training that seem to plague our schools. We should concern ourselves not with obligations to these few who probably curse us for our efforts, but instead, with the large majority of students who wish to benefit from their scholastic experience.

Dalejr: There are bad areas in every city, even Janesville and you have had murders in an upscale part of the city so is that Beloit's fault also? Place the blame on the people who committed the crimes not the cities that are nearby!

dalejrsux: Beloit is not a great city but I doubt that it has much of a bearing on the 14 kids that were expelled so far this year. It has more to do with the child him/herself and parenting. Sure you can place a bit of blame on everyone in society if it makes you feel better.

Some people shouldn't breed.

honeybee: no undue disrespect but I have every right to have the opinions and negative energy that I do of "ihavealife." And, I do let me hair down and go out... it has nothing to do with that!

momof5 I don't like to get nasty but mabey you should get a babysitter and go out relax a little take some time for yourself. Not everyone is a bad seed. Each circumstance is different and requires a different solution to solve it. I am not saying to let down your defenses just to do what you can. Smile at someone and they will usually smile back. Stop being so hatefull it makes for a unsatisfying life.

There is so much truth in the saying it takes a village to raise a child. Teachers, administrators, counsolers, parents, and society all need to be involved to address the problems children deal with on a day to day basis such as peer pressure, trying to fit in with their peers, trying to please parents and others. Along with this adolecents are at the age where they are discovering who they are and where they fit in. We need strong role models in order to influance and motivate these children to take the right path in life. If the problems are too deep for the school to handle administrators/parents need to put forth the right channels to guide these kids they are still maturing and guidance is crucial at this stage of life taking away their responsibility will help nobody. Our system is not perfect or we would not have these issues.

momof5- i did what i did as a parent . did i make mistakes lots i should never of had a child without a father .i have paid my dues .like i said earlier i have 2 children that think i did a good job!! take care of your own problems.

momof5-are you saying if little mary comes home and says i got in trouble today at schhol and i didn't do any thing wrong,parent calls school to find out what happen.gets different account ,child starts changing story ,parent gets knot in gut and knows child is lying ,that's a bad parent.as a parent we really do want to believe in our children but sometimes they make it real hard.from a post it sounds like you have bigger problems right now to worry about !!!

moco248- if you got the impression that i think a TEACHER needs to babysit kids ,thats not what i was trying to say.if a student has caused a problem in the classroom send them to the office,it's the administors JOB to enforce school rules.if a student is sent to the office and all they do is say "now little bobby don't do that again" and send him back to class,where is or what was the lesson learned??if all people were to have consistency in every day life would this be a better world?i think it would be,some students just want that consistency to know if they act out someone, anyone will be there to reach out and show them that people really do care.it's human nature to push that line and see how far you can go.i've seen it first hand what kindness will do.lets all be a little kinder and see the changes that it can make.it takes 27 conseguent days to change one bad habit.(consistency)

honeybee: You are right to a point. I guess because I'm going back and forth between this blog and the teachers contract blog I keep seeing dollar signs to the rehab thing. At this point in time while they are fighting for what they believe in for pay and benefits it doesn't sit well with me that we would then expect more in the form of rehabilitating children with problems.

moco428 I agree that kids who continously interupt in a normal class setting should and usually are placed in different classrooms where they will not disrupt the children who are otherwise trying to get an education. But the fact still remains what do we do with these children kicking them completely out of the system does not solve the problem this just further creates a negative impact they may end up moving on to be deeper problems to our society such as the idiot who let his infant die so he could get herion or the a-hole who climbs threw your bedroom window at night to rob or rape you or a loved one. AS I HAVE SAID THESE ISSUES DO NOT GO AWAY UNLESS THEY ARE CONTINOULSY ADRESSED. I am not saying that intervention works in all cases but it does in a good majority make a difference. Some parents do not know how or care to teach values to their offspring if they don't the responsibility often falls on society. Examples are paying for them far into adulthood to sit in jail or prision, robbing our banks, stores, and homes. These people are also much less likely to become productive members of any workforce so as you see it will not go away until the problem is addressed. I worked in the district for awhile and some of these kids can be and are rehabilitated not all of them but some is better than none. Just like in your personal life turning your back to a problem DOES NOT MAKE IT GO AWAY.

ihavealife: All negativity aside I can assure you based on knowing quite a few people in the education system that schools give children many chances before expelling them, at least in the case of fighting. The school sysems will work the best when they are dealing with children who want to come to school and learn. When teachers have to constantly interrupt class to discipline, or try to discipline, it takes away from others trying to get the best education they can. I'm not saying kick them to the curb and forget about them but school obviously isn't the place for them at this point in their life. Schools also can't ignore past history of school violence and they need to act more quickly than they used to to stop it. I would venture to say there are more parents whose children went to school with these kids that are glad to see them gone than there are parents who wish they were still in school with their children. Teachers are there to educate not run a corrections facility for those that had a poor or unfortunate upbringing!

Ihavealife – Do you just believe that there is no such thing as a bad person? If not, then when DOES someone turn BAD? Only at age 18? Only AFTER they leave high school? The point is, yes, it is usually parents that are at fault. AT other times, it’s the child’s sad upbringing in a total negative environment that is to blame. At any rate, at some time these kids have crossed the line at school, and whether you want to call them BAD or not, these kids cannot be allowed to control a school environment which is there for those wanting to learn. Expelling them does not end their school career. It makes it much harder, yes, but they are given a second chance to come back and finish school at a later time or finish it somewhere else. Hopefully they will change their behavior, come back to school and allow everyone to be at school for what is important. Also, I would like to point out that it was YOU who first used the term “bad kid”.

That said, I would like to agree with those who think that just by the facts in this story alone, expulsion seems a bit drastic. However, I too doubt that this was the first instance of any of these kids’ actions. Maybe expulsion would have seemed the right thing to do had the Gazette been allowed to print their full case histories.

Yeah 'cause fighting is SO much better than drugs

Good kids - Bad kids...

No really it is about a person acknowledging their mistake and then taking the steps to correct the mistake, whatever it takes.

When I had my teen issues, it was everybody else's fault, I was a victim. As I matured I realized when looking in the mirror where the problem was. Only then could I control the problem and have effect on it.

Those who are there to learn should not have to pay with substandard education because of the time spent on those who are forced to be there.

Kick the druggies out and suspend the fighter.

wow! someone on here sure talks a good talk! BAD KIDS? There sure are! They are usually the spawn of bad adults/parents. Society cannot, nor should it, try and fix every deviant out there. My brother-in-law was recently sent back to prison basically for the rest of his life. He's been given chance after chance and has spent the last 17 of his 22 adult years in prison. He was out for 10 months this last stint. My point is that you can't save them all. There comes a point where one needs to know when to call it quits. My 10 year olf daughter nearly got suspended last week for hugging her "boyfriend" at school. As ridiculous as I first thought it was, hey, zero tolerance is zero tolerance. Sugar coating things does no one justice. Rules are rules. If I do not like the rules or the repercussions of not following them, then perhaps I should put on my teacher hat and homeschool my kids. I cannot help but believe that the SDJ did need a file an inch think, like someone on here posted, to legally expel these students for fighting. In the real world, someone usually doesn't get fired for their first "minor" infraction; it's compounded over time. It's nothing new, folks, to get along with others when you're in high school. I know they teach kids this basic RESPONSIBILITY in kindergarten!! The story honeybee talked of is a point of the GOOD that can come from expulsion. Had this not happened to her sister, she may have never gotten the help she needed. Not all kids who are expelled are bad kids, I will give you that. But not all expelled kids are really good kids underneath the Joe Dirt costume!

I don't want to argue with anyone I just want to share things the way I see them and get other peoples views as well. My belief is that we can't just sweep these problems under the rug they will just keep resurfacing in different ways eventually society will have to deal with them in one way or another. Isn't it the right thing to do to help these kids now before it is too late to rehabilitate. I am not trying to defend bad behavior I am a good member of society and so are my children. I just feel that everyone deserves the best shot at life that they can get.

honeybee-i couldn't have said it better!! did your parents think she was a bad kid ? of course not .did the school and teachers give up on her ? of course not.nobody really KNOWS anybody.people only show us what they want us to see.you may think your neighbor has a real nice life and they look like a normal family but behind close doors it's a house of terror.i'm happy your sister got the help she needed and i sure you learned some things from it too.

Very well said honeybee

kids all make mistakes we do not know the complete circumstances of these cases I would hope that these students were not expelled solely on these incidents. In 85 my sister was a high honor student did well in her classes and the teachers all liked her but she had self-esteem problems due in part to things that had happened in her life. One of her issues was her weight although she was not overweight she starved herself and purged when she did eat in addition she was taking over the counter speed to loose weight they were found in her locker and she was expelled for SELLING speed on school grounds (which she was not). This led to our parents discovering her problem which she hid very well up to this point. My parents fought the school board my sister went threw the counseling that she despertly needed and went on to graduate with high honors. My point is that we can't judge each of these young adults based on this story alone there may be underlying problems that need to be adressed to get these kids on the right path so that they don't become a further problem to society as adults and pass those traits on to the next generation.

moco i can't remember in any of the school tragedies that anyone knew or thought that those students were capable of doing something like that.most of them were kids that just went with the flow,guiet didn't make themselves known and most of all loners.i guess that blows your theory on what a BAD KID is.

moco one more thing the jock with the knife,you missed the point a BAD KID would be done in the district you are right ZERO TOLERANCE joe jock got to go to charter and might i add he missed zero days of school !!!is he one of your BAD KIDS????

ihavealife: Quit Yelling. You obviously feel that everyone can be fixed that's fine. Go and volunteer some more then!

MOCO248 you say when i attack you and your wife you attack back. when adults attack kids thats when i attack back.reach out to a troubled kid it's amazing how fast they will reach back.it's human nature to want to be loved.it takes 27 days to change one bad thing,iknow when i leave this world i will have made a difference.what about you !!

MOCO- IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS.ADMINISTORS NEEDS TO BACK UP THEIR TEACHERS WHEN THEY HAVE A STUDENT THAT IS OUT OF CONTROL.KIDS WILL ACT LIKE THIS UNTILL THEY ARE TOLD SOMETHING DIFFERENT.MOST KIDS WANT STRUCTURE,BOUNDARIES AND MOST OF ALL LOVE.I STAND BY WHAT I SAID THERE ARE NO BAD KIDS !!!DON'T BLAME THE KIDS FOR WHAT THE PARENTS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE DONE!!!AND NO I WOULD NOT WANT TO HAVE 4 YEAR OLD AGAIN !!!

spunky-not all kids at charter are dead beats.what about the football jock that had a knife at school ,the 18 year old student that went to charter because mom wanted to move away with a new boy friend,she couldn't go to school all day because she had to work .what about the kid that lived in a single parent home and that parent died.my point is kids go to charter for all different reasons.remember when you say and do negative things to a child it changes who they are later in life.someday they will be running this country.

ihavealife: At what cost to the other students and teachers do we just keep trying to fix what may not be fixable. There are kids/people that can not be fixed, that is a fact. I'm all for helping as much as we can but there has to be a point when they get cut off. If after a handful of fights they keep going then school is not working for them. They may intentionally be trying to get themselves out and there won't be anything anyone can do to stop it. All the while they are becoming distractions to the other students and the teachers who are trying to help the children who want to be there. I'm sorry that you feel there is no such thing as a bad kid but I disagree. What do you say about the kids who shot and killed other students and principals?

ihavealife says: "i wish some days i could go back and have 4 year old problems.lighten up we are all just parents doing the best that we can !!!!" Tell that to the parents, husbands or wives of the people who were shot because the school didn't do enough or didn't see that there were trouble kids.

As far as your stance on the teachers. I understand that you feel they are getting a bad rap but that has nothing to do with this.

ihavealife: Where did you go? Did you get out numbered by common sense? I may have said a few rude comments in general but when you start to attack me and my wife I will attack back personally. This was never about me or my wife as a teacher.

As far as your Knife and the Jock incident you mentioned. There is this little thing called ZERO TOLERANCE that came about because of all the school violence in the last few years. As cpaese said, there are too many kids given too many chances as it is. It is time to crack down on them so that the others can get the education they deserve. It has to be hard enough to learn when everyone around you is texting back and forth. Some of the older generation blogging in here needs to realize that school is not anything compared to what it used to be. It has change immensly in the 15 years that I have been out! What the most rebellious kids did in highschool 15 years ago now takes place in the middle school and even the elementary schools. I'm glad they were expelled.

MOCO248-REALLY !!! what is wrong with you !i can't believe you just attacked me like that.it's my belief kids are kids.it doesn't matter what the parents do or don't do.i havn't always liked some of my childrens friends for one reason or another but never i've i not liked them because of their parents.far be it for me to tell a parent how to raise their child.all i was saying is i don't believe in BAD KIDS.If i let my kids eat all junk food would you blame them for being fat? no as a parent it's up to me to teach them whats right,my point is kids will do whatever their parents let them,if parents don't teach their children good morals,respect kindness.etc.etc. you don't have to pat me on the back but go back and reread my post on the teachers want support thread .kids need our support and love when they deserve it the least.i just don't get you !!

Pampered is right. When students fail teachers are asked to "reevaluate" their curriculum and expectations and "motivate" the students to do the work. Here's an idea: don't do the assignment... get a zero. Uh-ohh now not everybody is achieving. Fail freshman English twice? Go down to Charter in February of your senior year and make it up in a month! Don't forget about the average student who shows up every day and puts forth a decent effort. It can become disheartening to see the deadbeats get all of the attention.

I don't feel any pity for the expelled kids.
They couldn't follow the rules and therefore they had to pay the penalty. Schools nowadays damn near pamper the "at-risk" child almost to a fault. When I was in school my middle school had a "student-aged" parent program and in high school there was program after program for the kids who skipped classes, were perpetually pregnant, or were so delinquent they got to stay in the same class all day so they couldn't skip out.

Please. Where are those kids now? Some are dead, some are *still* squeezing out kids and some are barely functioning in society or living on welfare because they lack the skills to hold a decent job. Very few got a grasp on reality and made something of themselves.

It's not the school's job to fix bad or non-existent parenting. Parents are so "hands-off" nowadays it's frightening. Can't do anything disciplinary because the kids have been taught to cry "abuse". Kids today are so entitled and the parents permissive it makes me ill. What happened to actually PARENTING your child? Instilling morals and values, work ethics and manners?

curtaincall: You tell me what would happen if you grabbed the woman next to you at work by the hair, spit in her face and took a knee to her below the belt area. Would you get a talking to and sent to a program for aggressive co-workers? NO! Kids nowadays want all the perks of being adults but yet want to act like little uncivilized kids. We are doing our future no justice by holding their hands and issuing second chance after second chance. The generation before me seems to have faired just fine without all the extra programs and second chances, etc.., Just like the old saying goes: spare the rod, spoil the child.

You are right momof1. The juvenile justice caseload started rising as the woodsheds started disappearing.

MOC0428 writes" "ihavealife: I thought you were intelligent and the more you speak tells me otherwise. I don't know how old you are but times have changed. Don't talk to me about 4 year old problems like yours are bigger. You have no idea who I am. As far as my wife and "hear say", she sees it first hand and deals with parents of some of these kids. It is not hear say! It is not nor has it ever been the teachers job to raise your children because of your ignorance. If you have older kids with issues it is likely you didn't do something right, not in every case but the vast majority of them!"

RIGHT ON!!

People talk about parents disciplining children. Well, my rights as a parent to dicipline my child as I see fit, have been taken away from me. We are creating a world of kids that cannot take care of their own problems. I am not condoning fighting or drugs at all. However, we need to get back to the days that children are scared of what their parents will say or do if they mess up at school. Make the kids more responsible for their actions. As a parent, I am frustrated at my lack of being able to discipline more than "time out" because these children are TAUGHT at school to tell if a parent spanks them.

You really have to love those criticizing the district for expelling these students. You have obviously never walked around the halls of the middle and high school, or taken part in a class. Many times the things the students are expelled for are just a small portion of the things they do on a daily basis. I attend Craig and cannot get over how many chances they give many of the trouble makers. There are so many kids that are given way too many chances, just so the district can have more funding; because as we all know, each student is more money. I know of a specific student that has been involved in two or three fights this year alone, and yet is still on our campus!
Get these kids out of our school system!

ihavealife: I thought you were intelligent and the more you speak tells me otherwise. I don't know how old you are but times have changed. Don't talk to me about 4 year old problems like yours are bigger. You have no idea who I am. As far as my wife and "hear say", she sees it first hand and deals with parents of some of these kids. It is not hear say! It is not nor has it ever been the teachers job to raise your children because of your ignorance. If you have older kids with issues it is likely you didn't do something right, not in every case but the vast majority of them!

bobaloo speaks the truth. So many programs for "at risk" students to make your head spin. It is about time some of these kids and parents realize that the real world does not care what your excuse is, conform to basic societal expectations or face the consequences. The district has over accommodated so many students to make scores and graduation rates go up. What happens when you fight at work? What happens when you tell your boss to F-off? What happens when you bring drugs to work? We keep pushing that line back when kids need to grow up. You used to get to put a gold star next to your name for doing something special. Now you can put that star next to your name if you hand your assignment in within a week of the due date and show up 3.5 days a week.

The goal should not be in keeping disruptive kids in school. The goal should be to get the disruptive kids out of school so those who WANT to be there can learn in a non-disruptive manner.

The state has in place a law that makes school required until 18 I believe. This is fine for showing numbers but does nothing for the quality of the education.

In our district, 1st time fighting is a 3-5 day automatic suspension with police involvement. Any further behavior problems will lead to an expulsion hearing. Expulsion hearings are last ditch efforts when it comes to problem kids. By the time it gets to that point we are all tired of dealing with that kid time and time again. They usually have disrupted classes, lunches,and hallways. They have bullied other students and have worn out the staff. If parents had taught their kids that there are consequences for bad behavior when they were little, we wouldn't have these problems. Too many kids parents defend and blatently lie to keep the kids out of trouble. The kids think they can get away with anything by the time they get to middle school. Need more programs?? Oh please, we are programmed out. It would just be one more thing taxpayers would have to pay for, instead of spending that money in the classroom where it should be spent on kids that want to learn.

The school needed a file 1 inch thick in order to legally expell these kids for fighting without a weapon.

e-wife i too remember taking knives to school for a soap craving.that was in the 60s.high school kids did take knives for fights,you never wanted to grab a girls hair if you were fighting most of the times they had straight razor blades in their hair if you did grab their hair your fingers came out looking like raw hamburger.some things have changed from my high school daze(LOL)for the better but some things are worst.

i totally agree with moc0428. the teachers are there to teach these kids reading, writing, math, etc.. academic stuff. it is not there job to raise kids to behave the proper way in society. that is the job of the parents.

MOCO-one more thing you don't have first hand knowledge you have hear say from your wife,that's not a bad thing but as the saying goes there is always another side.some of your comments are rude,you said that you and your wife have been waiting for J4 that must mean you have a 4 year old??? i wish some days i could go back and have 4 year old problems.lighten up we are all just parents doing the best that we can !!!!

I know that by the time an expulsion comes before the school board, often intervention after intervention has been attempted with the student to avoid expulsion. Typically, the board has little choice in the matter: either they uphold policy (part of their job) and expel the student or circumvent policy and reinstate the student, which would send the administration a message of distrust and further hamstring administration's authority. Expulsions are a very sad experience and are only undertaken as a last resort and must take into account the best interest of the student body as a whole.

MOCO-it's not just BAD kids that get expelled,case in point school jock gets caught with knife on school grounds he doesn't get expelled but hes made to go to charter.what about the student that has to be taken from a school dance and have their stomach pumped she wasn't expelled.or the one that had drugs in car ,excuse oh i let my friend drive my car it must be theirs.you said your wife works in the district i would find it real hard to believe that she doesn't see bad behavior in all different kinds of students.just what do you think is a BAD KID?? my opinion there really is no such thing as a BAD KID ,they may just need a little more guidance and understanding from the adults around them.as i said before all children need to show respect.

I'm also sure that students are aware of what may happen to them based on their actions. Knowing this up front should deter them from the acts that get them in trouble. The good kids are not the ones being expelled, just the ones who make learning more difficult for everyone else.

evansville....you missed my point. Times have changed so schools need to take even the smaller threats more seriously. Back in the day those guns were not used to kill students and teachers. Now those sames guns are! I understand that there was no mention of guns in the article it was just a point that things are not the same as they used to be.

no1packkerfan:
As I said, this could not have been their first offense so the school was probably already providing services to them. If you don't hav first hand knowledge of what goes on in schools don't act like you do! As for the "Schools try to do as little as they can for kids unless you know your rights." is also very untrue.

Why is it the schools responsiblity to fix what the parents don't do right? They were kicked out just as they should have been!

Seriously, you people must live in a closet not see that times have changed!

MOCO428: Actually, kids DID use to bring guns to school. All the time. See, my dad was an Eagle Scout and taught a gun safety class and a marksman class to boy scouts in Milwaukee. Rufus King.
So anyway, the Eagle scouts would bring their guns (unloaded, but they had Ammo with them as well) to school, put them in their lockers, and go to the after school Scout meeting, with their guns.
Everyone respected the right to carry a gun and respected how dangerous they were.
My dad said he never heard of any parents complaining or any children feeling unsafe.
This was in the 50s.

By LAW the school has to offer services to kids with behavioral problems.

There was no mention of weapons.
If there was weapons they WOULD have mentioned it.

Schools try to do as little as they can for kids unless you know your rights.

There are lawyers people can contact as well , special education lawyers.

These schools need to tow the line like everyone else.

curtaincall:
School should not be treated like a correctional institute. If they were expelled I'm sure this was not their first offense or warning. It has never been and should never be the schools job to correct issues of this nature!!!

momof1:
Schools are much worse than they used to be. Kids never used to brings guns to school. This is a daily occurence in some districts. We can't keep the same rules of discipline that we had 10,15,25 years ago. Times have changed and so should the way we deal with the issues. My wife is a teacher that deals with behavioral problems and I am always worried that a student (not necessarily one that she works with) will bring a gun to school. It is not the schools job to discipline children, it is the parents job. This was pot and fighting not crossing their eyes. Wake up, the world is not the same as when you went to school!

Do you people live in a closet?

Our schools don't care anymore. they want little soldiers that fall into order and say nothing, and have no opinions. I agree with curtaincall that they schools should have more programs in place for these kids. things certainly have changed since I was in school. Don't cross your eyes kids, you will probably get into trouble for it.

Maybe the school should be doing more to help these kids instead of being part of the problem.

NO EXCUSE FOR having pot or other drugs on school grounds.

But the fighting?? Come on.. you could offer services right there at school. I wonder if this is behavioral problems the school by law has to offer extra services.