ELPS School Board Meets Tonight as High School Changes Disciplinary Approach

As struggles at East Lansing’s High School are making statewide news, the school’s administration has shifted approaches to student discipline starting today.

This comes as the East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education is set to hold a special meeting tonight night (Monday, Jan. 30) at 7 p.m. in the high school’s auditorium. The stated purpose of the meeting is “School Safety Plan” and the event will be livestreamed.

The district’s administration notified families on Sunday, “While the Safety Enhancement Plan presented [Monday night] is specific to the high school, we will be evaluating safety procedures and infrastructure at the middle school and our elementary schools next and will develop and share similar plans in the near future.”

The notification also said a detailed plan would be distributed to high school staff, students and families on Tuesday morning, and that the district is looking for feedback. Superintendent Dori Leyko is asking that people not email her but use “the forthcoming feedback tool to share your input.” She told ELi Sunday she has been receiving over two hundred messages per day seeking responses from her.

With ELHS Principal Shannon Mayfield reported to be “out of the building due to a non-covid-related health issue,” high school families were also notified by email yesterday by Associate Principal Ashley Schwarzbek the administration continues to work on addressing concerns.

“We know that the events of the last two weeks have caused disruptions to learning and significant emotional stress to many of you and your students,” she wrote. “Please know that the administrative team and all of our ELHS teachers and staff are committed to making this a great place to learn and grow moving forward.

Schwarzbek’s message came with a list of regulations and expectations that took effect this morning.

Those new regulations include a response to concerns – some expressed at Friday’s special “listening session” – that there are too many points of entry to the high school and a lack of security around those points of entrance.

Tuesday’s shelter-in-place order was set off in part by the finding of a propped-open door. Thursday’s shelter-in-place order was said to have been set off in part because of a student who was not supposed to be on campus entering the building. 

The high school will now restrict entry and is adding alarms and monitors to prevent unauthorized entries. Going forward, according to the notice sent Sunday, “Any student who is found opening a door to anyone will face serious disciplinary consequences.”

The bathrooms – a source of much concern at last Monday’s board meeting and Friday’s listening session – will now be more tightly regulated and monitored more closely.

“Any misconduct in bathrooms including vaping and skipping class will result in disciplinary consequences,” the announcement said. “While we assess the ability to hire additional staff, the 700 wing and fine arts wing bathrooms will be locked so support staff can better monitor the remaining bathrooms. All other bathrooms will remain open.” 

The school is also implementing “an in-school suspension process and room in our school which will be used to address a variety of behaviors and to administer interventions and supports according to specified student needs.”

Hall pass use is being limited and anyone in the halls at the wrong time is “subject to disciplinary action.” Excel passes are also being limited to “improve student movement.”

Students are being asked to “be reflective of your own behavior and be a part of positive change.” They are also asked to report safety concerns immediately to the main office “and not to social media or friends” to avoid misinformation taking off. Reminders have gone out about the OK2Say reporting system.

“Some students in our school community may no longer be with us due to repeated and/or serious disciplinary infractions,” today’s message to families said. “Any student that initiates or continues to engage in violent or threatening incidents will face serious disciplinary consequences.”