Student discipline in the Christian County Public School System and challenges students face were the topics of discussion at a Focus 21st Century public forum Thursday evening.
CCPS District Discipline Administrator Kim Stevenson sat on the panel of four and explained what work the administration is doing in the school system to encourage positive behaviors and develop good relationships.
Stevenson says as of this point in the current school year, district wide there have been 3,058 “discipline events”, which is less than the same time last year. She says there does remain a gap in the number of events involving African American students and Caucasian students, and the schools consistently work to identify and correct the issues.
Hopkinsville Middle School Assistant Principal Ken Anderson says he and the administration work closely with both students and teachers to stop disruptive behaviors and keep everything flowing.
Christian County High School Hopkinsville Police Department School Resource Officer Patricia Alexander explained that her job is not only to keep kids safe, but intervene inside the school if needed.
CCHS Youth Service Center Director Blake Ladson says people often don’t realize the students who have disciplinary issues at school frequently have complications at home and his staff works to help them as much as they can.
According to data provided at the forum, the largest disciplinary issue in the school district is disruptive behavior, followed by profanity and then failure to follow directives. In response to a question from the audience, Stevenson says they not only monitor student numbers but also that of teachers. So if an individual teacher is reporting an overabundance of discipline reports, they can work with that teacher to determine what the cause is and administer training if needed.