Why The School-To-Prison-Pipeline Must Be Stopped

What it is and what we can and must do about it.
You’ve probably heard of the school-to-prison-pipeline (STPP), but I think it’s a subject that needs more airtime. Like a song that keeps playing over and over on the radio until you begin to sing it, we must have frequent and continuous conversations about STPP to put an end to it.
What is STPP? It is a concept that encompasses many different policies and procedures. It’s not a specific policy or procedure, and every district goes about it in a different way. For instance, the use of school resource officers who are given carte blanch in enforcing school codes. It’s teachers who can determine which students will get expelled and which ones will be given second chances. And, if you didn’t already know, it is deeply rooted in bias, prejudice, and racism. It removes mostly brown and black children from the classroom preventing them from obtaining the education they need to compete in a global workforce, and it is a mainstay in the school system. What can we do about it?
First, we must teach our boys that it’s ok to be smart. Many times a smart black or brown boy is made to feel ashamed or is taunted by others. Our male children are more than the next Lebron James, who by the way is quite smart. They can be both great on the court and great in the classroom, but they must hear it from us, the adults, that it’s ok.
Second, our girls must be taught that they are beautiful just the way they are. Too much focus is on appearance. Simone Biles had to clap back at those talking about her hair at the Olympics. Enough already. Young girls should be applauded for their smarts as well as their looks. 
Lastly, we, the adults in the room, must continue to support them, create safe environments where they can thrive, and keep working on changing the system. It’s a long, hard game that we cannot afford to lose.
Written By: Yvette Scheiber PhD