Upon coming back to school this fall, students were informed that a new discipline system was put in place. This new system revolves around points. When students get into trouble in school, they will receive points. As points stack up, there are consequences such as loss of driving privileges and detentions.

Some students were initially upset by this installment due to the fact that the only way these points can be reversed was by doing community service (i.e. volunteer work, after-school program work, etc.). Many students voiced how this felt like a bad idea and how this discipline system could even worsen the issues in school. Most of all, students felt left in the dark due to the lack of information surrounding the point system, such as where they can find the list of consequences and how this will help them overall.

After hearing and acknowledging these concerns, I wanted to dive deeper into the point system. I reached out to our principal, Mr. Wright, to talk about the new point system and how he thinks this will help us (along with additional information). After conducting an interview, I asked some questions that should hopefully clear it up. The point system was created according to Mr. Wright because “This was a system I used in my previous district for 8 years that I created and found success with it…This system was applied at Manville in order to try and get back to a pre-COVID norm. Some of the behaviors over the last couple of years were becoming a bit troublesome and there were some students struggling with that so we tried to come up with something that allowed for some freedom but at the same time allowed also for accountability. “

This system is meant to help students as Mr. Wright states, “This will mainly help with tardies, to school or to class. Overall this system will help with behavior and I also think it allows for us to help students who the previous discipline code may not have accounted for. “

To clear up confusion surrounding the community service, I asked Mr. Wright what this may include. “It’s very open, and I want to make sure it stays open. It can be working with/on building grounds at school, or any local organizations (ASPCA, local religious organizations, etc.). The Head of the organization needs to confirm that students have worked the correct amount of hours to reduce points and that then gets sent back to the school. “

When asked about where to find more information and the point system chart, Mr. Wright communicated, “The chart is located on the Main Manville High School in the student handbook (pages 28-30). “

After doing this interview, I felt as if there was no more confusion surrounding the system, which was one of the main cons of this system and what I had heard the most complaints from students about.  Did you find this article helpful? Do you agree or disagree with Mr. Wright’s take on this new approach to a discipline system? The 2022-2023 school year should confirm.