Five top 10s that show which New York City schools suspend the most students

Earlier this week, the city released a raft of new statistics showing that suspensions handed out under Mayor Bill de Blasio continued to plummet last school year, down 46 percent over the past five years.

And while certain groups — black students and those with disabilities, for instance — are suspended at disproportionately high rates, the education department cheered the overall reduction as evidence that its goal of discouraging punitive approaches to discipline is paying off.

But embedded in those statistics are other trends worth exploring. As has been the case in the past, a small number of schools are overwhelmingly responsible for the city’s suspensions. Just 10 percent of them accounted for 47 percent of last year’s suspensions, while 54 percent of schools issued five or fewer.

In the lists below, we take a closer look at the city’s newly released suspension data, including which schools suspend the most students and what students are being suspended for.

Schools that registered the most suspensions

1. Susan E. Wagner High School, 363
2. Tottenville High School, 331
3. Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, 280
4. J.H.S. 118 William W. Niles, 230
5. I.S. 61 Leonardo Da Vinci, 229
6. Abraham Lincoln High School, 209
7. John Bowne High School, 207
8. I.S. 318 Eugenio Maria De Hostos, 204
9. New Dorp High School, 195
10. Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences, 194

The numbers following each school name reflect total number of suspensions issued, not the number of students suspended.

Highest suspension rate (per 100 students)

1. Foundations Academy, 50.7 suspensions per 100 students (closed)
2. Pablo Neruda Academy, 48.2
3. Brooklyn School for Global Studies, 47.9
4. Brooklyn Frontiers High School, 47.72
5. Brooklyn School for Music and Theatre, 46
6. School for Democracy and Leadership, 43.2
7. Frederick Douglass Academy II Secondary School, 41.8
8. Bronx Aerospace High School, 41
9. The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, 39
10. Bronx Lab School, 36.5

These are the schools that issued the most suspensions compared to the number of students they serve.

Highest suspension rate for students with disabilities (per 100 students with disabilities)

1. Urban Assembly Maker Academy, 91.6
2. Brooklyn School for Global Studies, 88.4
3. Pablo Neruda Academy, 71
4. Frederick Douglass Academy II Secondary School, 68.1
5. Brownsville Academy High School, 65.6
6. The Urban Assembly School for Collaborative Health, 65.2
7. I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School, 64
8. High School for Innovation in Advertising and Medicine, 63.8
9. Bronx Lab School, 62.5
10. Urban Assembly Unison School, 58.1

These calculations reflect how many suspensions were issued to students with disabilities compared to the proportion of those students enrolled at a given school. Proportional to enrollment, for instance, Urban Assembly Maker Academy issued about 92 suspensions to students with disabilities per 100 students with disabilities enrolled there.

Citywide, students with disabilities are disproportionately suspended. While they make up around 19 percent of the city’s students, they accounted for nearly 39 percent of all suspensions.

Top schools for insubordination suspensions

1. East Bronx Academy for the Future, 159
2. Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, 110
3. Susan E. Wagner High School, 77
4. Cultural Academy for the Arts and Sciences, 52
5. Bronx Aerospace High School, 37
6. William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School, 35
7. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, 34
8. Pelham Lab High School, 33
9. Bronx Lab School, 30
10. H.E.R.O. (Health Education and Research Occupations High School), 29

Student justice advocates have long complained that suspensions for subjective offenses like “insubordination” allow implicit racial bias to slip into decisions about which students should be disciplined. The city now requires special review for insubordination suspensions, and this type of suspension decreased 75 percent to 1,530 suspensions last year compared to 6,132 the year before.

Still, some schools continue to use them. These 10 schools represent 39 percent of all insubordination suspensions.

Top suspension types (grades 6-12 only)

1. Altercation and/or Physically Aggressive Behavior, 7,375
2. Minor Altercation, 5,158
3. Weapon Possession (Category I), 1,805*
4. Coercion/Threats, 1,788
5. Intimidating and Bullying Behavior, 1,773
6. Insubordination, 1,530
7. Altercation and/or Physically Aggressive Behavior, 1,367*
8. Group Violence, 878*
9. Reckless Behavior with Substantial Risk of Serious Injury, 876
10. Sexually Suggestive (Verbal/Physical), 857

An asterisk denotes more serious “superintendent” suspensions, which is why one category appears twice. Each suspension category spelled out in the city’s discipline code can represent a wide range of behaviors. A category I weapon, for instance, could mean anything from a slingshot to a machine gun. You can find more coverage here about why the city’s youngest students get suspended.

Are you an educator, parent or student interested in talking about the culture of discipline at your school? We’re interested in hearing from you. Email azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.