Time-Capsules installed, or moved, to date in 2013

The year 2013 has already been the most active year for vault installations, and it's not over yet! For the first time a vault had to be moved due to building re-modeling.  This was at Browne Middle School.  Since vaults are bolted to the floor that involved opening the vault, removing all the letters and shelving, loosening the bolts so the vault could be removed from the location, and sheering off the bolts in floor level.

T. W. Browne Middle School Time-Capsule

The Browne Middle School Time-Capsule was then moved to a new location, just outside the front office and in a good location passed by all students several times a day. It was then bolted once again into the concrete foundation. If a toronado ever destroyed one of these schools, the 500-pound vault would remain fastened to the foundation.



To date in 2013 there have been three Time-Capsule installations of new vaults.  The first was at Rosemont K-8 school:

Rosemont K-8 Time-Capsule
The first 8th grade class will be in 2015.

The Time-Capsule project started in 2005.  It is rather symbolic to now have a time-capsule with the first year being 2015. Rosemont is transitioning into a K-8 school with this years 6th grade going forward to be that first 8th grade class, in 2015.  

The next installation was at Atwell Middle School. Atwell teachers had already had students planning for the future and writing their letters for the vault.  Therefore there are letters already on the 2013 shelf.  (Note: due to the national demand for vaults there is a normal month or more delay for installation.)

W. H. Atwell Middle School Time-Capsule

South Oak Cliff High School was the next installation:



South Oak Cliff High School Time Capsule

Lobby at South Oak Cliff High School with Time-Capsule

Dallas ISD Discipline Reports by Middle School 2012-13

From 2005/06 to 2012/13 the percentage of all discipline referrals within DISD that were made against middle school students grew from about 40% of the total to almost 60%.  The bulk of this increase happened due to the movement of 6th grade into middle school.  Sixth grade referrals increased from 5.6% to 19.4% of all referrals.

The following report covers discipline reports for each middle school and covers only the first semester of the 2012/13 school year.  It gives a very solid idea as to the distribution of discipline problems for each middle school.

Disciplinary actions per student in DISD Middle Schools 2012/13
Right click on image to enlarge or print.

This is ONLY a report on the official reports made. There are variations from school to school as to how the principal allows reports to enter the DISD system, but generally this gives some idea of differences between schools.   Some schools have ended their in-school suspension alternatives due to staffing cuts. In some cases this appears to have resulted in more out of school suspensions, but more study is needed.   If anyone wants to join with me in exploring this data I would gladly freely share the Excel data files that were released to me by DISD following upon an open records request.  Just email me at bbetzen@aol.com and state what you are requesting.

Dallas must bring these numbers down.  Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) must be used so that our classrooms, especially in middle schools, become more quiet and peaceful places of learning.