The year is over, and the data is in -- Twilight Schools work! The program, designed to provide an alternative to students facing out-of-school suspension and keep them in a classroom, has kept 575 students on track.

Across the board, the district’s out-of-school suspension rate and the number of students suspended has declined. Here are some of the major achievements and improvements made during the 2009-10 school year:

• Despite a 1,000+ increase in students, the district has seen a 10% reduction in out-of-school suspensions, and a 13% reduction in the number of students suspended.
• Additionally, middle schools have seen a decline in the number of students suspended by 18% and incidents by 20%.
• MNPS’s multi-year study* of national suspension rates, socio-economic status and race has enabled the district to implement numerous programs and support systems for students, with an emphasis on certain student populations, particularly the middle school grades. These programs include Twilight Schools, Positive Behavior Support Systems, community-driven mentoring programs; Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS); Teens Making a Change (TMAC); the student advisory council, cluster support teams with behavior specialists, parent liaisons, and family and youth service assistants.

In addition to the success of Twilight, the district is also seeing positive results in an area of national concern -- the out-of-school suspension rate tied specifically to African-American males. MNPS has been using extensive national research and district data to determine the cause of the disparity, which appears to be tied to socioeconomic status.

“We’ve known this disparity exists for a number of years now,” said Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Ralph Thompson, “and we have been working day in and day out to get to the root cause so we can help these young men. We are not where we want to be, but our district has seen incredible reductions in the past two years in the number of suspensions for this group. This reduction is a direct result of the programs and support systems our schools have implemented.”

The latest data shows that MNPS African-American males are twice as likely to be suspended as white males (2.2 to 1). The state ratio is just shy of four (3.8) African-American suspensions to every one (1) white male suspension; the latest national ratio is 3.1 to 1.

MNPS plans to continue Twilight Schools for the next school year with hopes that the program will have an even more profound impact on our students’ success.

*MNPS began collecting disaggregated data on student suspension rates, socio-economic status and race during the 2002-03 school year. MNPS Research and Assessment has presented numerous reports to the Board of Education and the Nashville Chamber Report Card Committee over the years.