Patrick Van Amburgh has worked with children and adolescents for years, including two years as an in-school suspension teacher for Wallkill Senior High School in New York. Under the supervision of professionals like Patrick Van Amburgh, students serving in-school suspensions can stay on track with their lessons even while removed from the classroom environment temporarily for minor infractions.

In-school suspensions are a way to retain the structure of a school environment and an opportunity to teach effective lessons while still taking disciplinary action for bad behavior and encouraging reform. A conventional suspension, in which the student is removed from the school entirely for a period of time, can communicate the message that the student does not belong in school or has nothing to offer in an educational setting.

A good in-school suspension program requires several policy considerations. Schools must consider how long students are to be suspended, with indefinite in-school suspension typically doing more harm than good. Some disciplinary problems, such as truancy or failure to complete homework, respond poorly to in-school suspension. Other forms of intervention, such as mediation and behavior contracts, can supplement and augment an in-school suspension program’s overall effectiveness.