Today, the state released their Consolidated Data Report for the 2011-2012 school year.  The report includes statistics related to school crime and violence, suspensions, expulsions, corporal punishment, and dropouts.  Here are the details:

School Crime and Violence

  • “The number of acts of crime and violence by high school students was virtually unchanged, increasing by only two from 2010-11 to 2011-12. Due to increased high school enrollment the rate of acts reported (per 1000 students) decreased 0.6%.” (p. 2)

Suspensions and Expulsions (including Alternative Learning Program Enrollments)

  • “There were 127,223 grades 9-13 short-term suspensions reported statewide in 2011-12, a decrease of 2.0% from the 2010-11 total of 129,817.
  • The number of long-term suspensions (11 or more days) for all students continued to decline from 2,621 to 1,609 as LEAs continued to focus on reductions. Average school days per suspension increased from 51.4 to 53.8 school days. High school students received 1,177 long-term suspensions, a 34.6% decrease from 2010-11.
  • The number of expulsions fell from 69 in 2010-11 to 30 in 2011-12. High school students received 24 of these expulsions.
  • Alternative schools and programs (ALPs) reported 14,090 student placements in 2011-12, almost identical to the 14,093 reported in 2010-11. There were 12,874 individual students placed in ALPs during the 2011-12 school year.” (p. 2-3)

Corporal Punishment

  • “There were 404 uses of corporal punishment statewide in 2011-12. Corporal punishment was used at least once by 12 LEAs. Charter schools and the remaining 103 LEAs did not use corporal punishment.” (p. 4)

Dropout Events/Rate

  • “High schools in North Carolina reported 13,488 dropouts in 2011-12. The grades 9-13 dropout rate in 2011-12 was 3.01%, down from the 3.43% reported for 2010-11. The decrease in dropout rate was 12.2%.” (p. 3-4)

So, the question is simple.  Will the media mention the Republican-led General Assembly in their stories about the Consolidated Data Report?  Certainly, they will not give them any credit.  They do not deserve any.  Your local school, community, and economy, not the legislature or state education entities, deserve the credit for the gains described above.  Nevertheless, the report flies in the face of those claiming that “draconian” cuts to public schools would “destroy” them.