In the ISS room, Gerry Hebert supervises punished students. The purpose of ISS is to completely isolate students for a period of time and until they are deemed fit to return to their usual classes. "[ISS] takes away student's phones and social interactions at school, so that makes students want to no be [in this situation] again," Hebert said.
By Libby Howell
Isolation.
Stillness.
Silence.
This is what students feel ISS should stand for instead of In-School Suspension.
Students receiving ISS wake up everyday and get to school just as they would normally. Only upon arrival, they proceed to sit in one classroom for eight hours, forbidden to talk.
“I finish all the work I can complete without my teacher's help within the first three hours, so then I just find random things to pass the time,” junior Luna LaCrosse said.
This silence-filled classroom has caused feelings of loneliness for LaCrosse.
“It makes me really sad because it is so isolating and you can’t talk to anyone while in it,” LaCrosse said. “It's also hard because the teachers don’t trust you to do anything, so you really have no freedom.”
ISS is used to punish students for irresponsible and unacceptable action. However, students feel as though ISS has more consequences than intended. One of these second-hand punishments includes falling behind in school work due to the lack of instruction from teachers.
“When I was in ISS, a lot of my teachers did not email me back, and if they did, it would be days later and I would already be much further behind,” LaCrosse said.
Junior Kathleen Tilman agrees that being in ISS makes keeping up with schoolwork a much more difficult task.
“Usually I would say it’s the student’s job to keep up with their classwork, but in ISS, you have no idea what you're supposed to do,” Tillman said. “The teacher needs to be held accountable to tell the students what they need to do.”
Spanish teacher Rachel Newsom explains that teachers may not have time to help students in ISS because of their responsibilities for other classes. This makes ISS hard for teachers as well.
“It is hard because teachers are already so overworked that they may not have time to sit down with every student in ISS,” Newsom said.
“The teacher needs to be held accountable to tell the students what they need to do.”
Falling behind in schoolwork isn’t the only consequence of being put into ISS. Tillman argues that the suspension can create a bad reputation.
“You get a reputation for being in ISS and people start rumors about you and what they think you did,” Tillman said.
LaCrosse states that not only did the students around her treat her differently, the teachers did as well. In one particular case she asked a teacher for help with her work and was met with a frosty response from said teacher who told her to figure it out herself because she was disappointed in LaCrosse.
“I really needed help and she kind of turned me away even though I was already suffering the consequences,” LaCrosse said.
Though teachers may not try to create a bias, Newsom explains that sometimes it is inevitable.
“I am sure, on some level, even if it's subconsciously, there is a little bias,” Newsom said. “You may look at students and think, ‘Oh, that is a troublemaker.’”
Despite all of the negative effects ISS has had on her learning, LaCrosse believes that consequences and disciplinary actions are sometimes necessary for troubled students.
“Depending on what the kid has done, I do believe that ISS can be necessary,” LaCrosse said.
Though disciplinary actions can be beneficial, there are a few simple things that students and faculty members can do to make the transition back to normal school easier for students.
LaCrosse believes there could be a better teacher-student communication resource in order for students to keep on track with work.
“I think it would be very helpful if they had someone escort you to a classroom so you could talk to your teachers and ask them questions,” she said.
As these students transition back into normal school, there are also things that the school could do to make the transition less stressful.
"“I think it is important to make it easier for students to learn so even when we are being punished we can still keep up with things we are required to do either way.”
Newsome also suggests having a designated faculty member be in charge of a specific ISS student and work with them to create a schedule to make up their work. She believes this would result in a much smoother transition to regular learning. She also understands that the students may be facing some underlying issues that may affect their academic performance and motivation to make up work.
“I don’t know what extenuating circumstances there were, but [there was a] student [who] wasn’t super proactive about making up that work, so then they missed a few assignments and got zeros on them and because of the missed material, they weren’t doing as well when they did turn in work after that,” she said.
Newsome is adamant that changes be made to the system that will better benefit both students and teachers. She says the current method of suspension fails to address the underlying causes of poor behavior and academic performance.
“You don’t know what got the student into ISS, but they are going through something or they are experiencing something,” Newsom said. “There aren’t really any accommodations or supporting measures for them when they come back.”
LaCrosse agrees and believes that until significant changes are made, the current system will only continue to work against itself and do more harm than good.
“A lot of people don’t necessarily enjoy learning and going to school, but it is something that we have to do,” she said. “I think it is important to make it easier for students to learn so even when we are being punished we can still keep up with things we are required to do either way.”