Our community members, children and teens expressed concern with the amount of young people being arrested directly from school. Our research showed that children in Charleston County were being arrested and incarcerated at higher rates than other counties in South Carolina and that over half of them were being arrested for minor offenses from the classroom. Many students were arrested for vague charges like disturbing schools and disorderly conduct, entangling them in the criminal justice system.
At our annual Nehemiah Action Assembly on April 18, 2016, nearly 2,100 CAJM members gathered and gained commitments from four CCSD School Board Members to implement PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) and restorative justice district-wide over the next five years. This is proven to successfully address behavioral issues, keep our kids in school and improve academic achievement. It also teaches our children powerful emotional intelligence skills that serve them in school to de-escalate and resolve conflicts on their own as well as in their future lives as adults.
Over the summer of 2016, over $65,000 was spent by CCSD to intensively train all elementary and middle school teachers to implement PBIS in their schools with fidelity. School Board members and school officials will travel with CAJM representatives on December 16th, 2016 to Duval County Schools in Jacksonville, FL to observe Restorative Justice in action, prior to training taking place for our own teachers in the Charleston Area.