The Saga of the Suspended 6-Year-Old
Last week, 6-year-old Zachary Christie, a student at Downes Elementary School in Newark, Del., decided to bring a camping utensil that can serve as a fork, spoon, bottle opener, and folding knife to school to use at lunch. He had recently joined the Cub Scouts and was excited to use the tool, but when it was handed over to the principal, he received a 45-day suspension in the district's reform school. The school board has since overturned the decision, the Associated Press reports, but the episode could lead the district—and other schools across the country with zero-tolerance policies—to re-evaluate such procedures.
The decision by school officials to suspend Zachary was based on the district's zero-tolerance policy on weapons. Despite protests from Zachary and his family, administrators at the Christina School District initially defended the punishment, saying they had no choice. Last night's unanimous school board vote let Zachary return to school today and reduced the punishment for kindergartners or first graders who take potential weapons to school or commit violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days.
But not everyone believes the district went too far. Jill Kneisley, who runs the special-education programs at Jennie Smith Elementary in Newark, told the AP that if Zachary or another student had been hurt by the knife, the district would have taken the blame. There is also concern among school leaders that softening the disciplinary terms might send an inconsistent or biased message to other students.
Zachary's mother started a website, helpzachary.com, to recruit supporters to pressure the school board and superintendent to reverse the decision. After last night's vote, she wrote, "It is our hope that by working with the school board and local lawmakers, we'll be able to overturn and do away with all zero-tolerance policies and put into place policies that will take into consideration a student's age, intent, disciplinary history, and other circumstances that arise on a case by case basis."
Many districts nationwide have adopted zero-tolerance policies on weapons to combat student violence after the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, but debate has grown over whether the policies have become too severe. Education experts say the policies were initially treated more subjectively, but when studies revealed that under this system more African-Americans were expelled or suspended than other students for the same offenses, officials removed discretion from the disciplinary policies.
The Delaware district says more changes to its code of conduct are possible in the coming months.
What do you think? Should school officials exercise more discretion in handling such cases, especially when the "offender" is so young? Or is a rule a rule, and it's too dicey to assess the circumstances on a case-by-case basis?
- Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of America's Best Colleges.
Tags: education | K-12 education
Tools:
Share
|
| Comments (30) | Print
Reader Comments
Zero means zero
It may seem too much to pass down this consequence to this student because no one was hurt. But let's say he stabbed somebody, or threatened a student with it. The public would be upset if the administration responded "he is a 6 year Boy Scout" Parents need to think. Unless it is a school supply it should not be at school! He can practice with his weapon like tool at home. The next time a student brings such a weapon and makes a threat that wasn't heard by a 3rd or 4th reliable party, they'll be forced to follow the precedent set here.
zero tolerance in schools
These zero tolerance policies in school are the most ridiculous policies I've ever seen. It seems like common sense has given way to laziness by school boards that don't want to put any effort into doing their jobs. Wake up! The world is not absolute. If it were, why would we need courts? This moronic thinking does so much more harm than good because it causes people, especially children, to lose respect for authority.
Was anyone on any of these school boards ever a kid?
If the school districts have such a problem with weapons in schools that they can't take the time to use common sense and evaluate these circumstances on a case by case basis, then God help us and protect us from the next generation.
I hope my words don't fall on deaf ears. This is an issue that has infuriated me for years. My son was expelled from 8th grade for taking silly string to school one Halloween. Silly string? Really?
weapon?
This incident brings up a salient question: what constitutes as a weapon?
If a boy scout multi-tool is a "weapon", then what of pencils, scissors, or compasses? All of those items could (and probably have) be used to harm others. Zero tolerance policies make no sense. cases need to be judged on a case-by-case basis.
advertisement







