Hang tough on troublemakers

The Charleston County School District has struggled to address school discipline for years. It is understandable that some critics insist that the best solution is to expel problem students.

Understandable, but not wise.

Expulsion provides immediate opportunities for delinquency. And those who don't finish school are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed. They are more likely than graduates to become criminals.

Too bad you can't just stand problem kids in a corner.

While it is frustrating to spend extra time and money trying to educate those who won't cooperate, it is less expensive and time consuming than dealing with the problems later.

Last week, Charleston County School District Superintendent Nancy McGinley described some new strategies for educating middle and high school students who misbehave. Some people, like School Board Chairwoman Ruth Jordan, are justifiably skeptical.

Consider the Daniel Jenkins discipline school. It has been reconstituted several times and is still a disappointment. Indeed, middle school principals complained that students who came back to their neighborhood schools after attending Jenkins had not made adequate academic progress.

So while some of the new strategies might seem like putting lipstick on a pig (such as changing the name of the discipline school to a "creative learning academy"), it is appropriate that Dr. McGinley and her staff remain committed to finding solutions to the stubborn problems of school discipline.

The district will broaden the scope of programs for persistently disruptive students. In addition to dealing with those who are in danger of being expelled, they are creating separate programs for troublemakers whose behavior problems aren't as serious.

The high school programs are based on initiatives that have worked elsewhere and involve increased use of technology. They also provide more staff whose sole job will be to deal with the problem student population.

Over the years, the district has gained a better idea about what works and what doesn't. Since 2004, both the expulsion and the suspension rates have dropped. But more improvement is needed.

Disruptive pupils who persist in causing problems for others must be removed from those classrooms. The district is right to keep working on solutions short of suspension and expulsion.

The alternative -- giving up -- would simply push the problems out of the schools and onto the streets.