Chapter 10: Lowering Suspensions and Office Referrals Within an Urban Middle School: A Variable in Disrupting the School-to- Prison Pipeline

There is no such thing as a throw away child, because if there were then I would not be writing this chapter and you would not be interested in my story. The reason that I chose to be an educator is to give back to the community that gave to me and to give students who are undervalued a fighting chance. The community gave me an opportunity, a chance in life, a voice to be heard as a Latino male, the leadership to lead soldiers into battle and compassion to lead a school, which is something of astronomical value. Whose responsibility is it to break the vicious cycle of the school-to-prison pipeline and to decrease out-of-school suspension rates? It is the responsibility of a collective community to break the cycle, whether we are directly involved or indirectly involved in a child’s education.My story begins as a young man with no given direction and no goals in life, I was headed towards being part of the juvenile system. The only place that people, including my educators, saw for me was a future towards prison, I was an undervalued teen. I was in and out of trouble, running the streets at a very young age, with no supervision and surrounded by a great deal of poverty. What I encountered in the streets were toxic and dangerous elements for young, impressionable youths. I did not understand what a quality education could bring to my life. I fell behind in school and felt as if I wanted to give up and do nothing with my life. My father looked at me with disappointment in his eyes; my teachers looked at me as a problem child and pushed me out of class.