The School to Prison Pipeline

Mr. Bowen

Goldie Maple Academy

INTRODUCTION

The School to Prison Pipeline is a disturbing national trend wherein youth are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal legal systems. In NYC the trend becomes even more disturbing when you consider that the overwhelming majority of teens that are incarcerated are black or brown.

To help address this major issue NYC Mayor Eric Adams has tasked you with researching the issue, determining the causes, and proposing solutions to help aid this issue among teenagers of color in the city.

See the website linked above or the videos linked here and here for more background on the School to Prison Pipeline.

TASK

Your task in this WebQuest is to conduct research on the issue and create a presentation (using google slides) in which you analyze the issue following the 6 steps of the PPA. After completing your presentation, you will present your findings to the class as well. See rubric for presentation under the “evaluation” section

PROCESS/RESOURCES

When conducting your research and creating your presentation, you must follow the Public Policy Analyst steps listed below.

Overview of The 6 Steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA)

1.Define the Problem	2.Gather the Evidence	3.Identify the Causes
4.Evaluate an Existing Policy	5.Develop Solutions	6.Select the Best Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

★ FOR EACH STEP YOU MUST ANSWER THE QUESTIONS LISTED USING THE RESOURCES PROVIDED. EACH STEP SHOULD BE ROUGHLY 1-2 SLIDES IN YOUR PRESENTATION.

Define the Problem → (Are teens in NYC more likely to get kicked out of school or arrested than graduating? Which racial/ethnic groups are affected the most?)

RESOURCES:

● Video- Stuck In the School to Prison Pipeline

● Youth Incarceration in NY

● Rockaway’s School to Prison Pipeline

Gather the Evidence → (What statistical data can support your argument? Provide as much specific evidence as possible, charts and graphs will be beneficial to showcase the statistics.)

RESOURCES:

● The Sentencing Project- Youth Justice

● Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration

● Juveniles in Correction by State

Identifying the Causes → (Identify 3 causes for this problem. Are there any causes that are historical? Are there any modern/new causes that have made the issue more prevalent?)

RESOURCES:

● Zero Tolerance Policies

● ACLU Article on School to Prison Pipeline

Evaluate an Existing Policy → (What policies exist in NYC to combat this issue? Are there any policies that exist in other states/cities that could be beneficial to NYC?)

RESOURCES:

● NYC Juvenile Non-Secure Detention

● General Policies/Measures Taken

Develop Solutions → (Brainstorm possible solutions to this issue. What can the government/lawmakers do? Is there anything students/teens can do?)

RESOURCES:

● Use the graphic organizer provided to plot your potential solutions (must have at least 3). Graphic Organizer Link

● Rockaway Youth Task Force

● The Youth Anti Prison Project (YAPP)

● Healing Center Schools Task Force

Select the Best Solution → (Use the chart below to evaluate each proposed solution based on the feasibility and effectiveness of the solution)

RESOURCES:

EVALUATION

See the rubric below for how your PowerPoint will be graded.

Google Slides Presentation Rubric:

Element	4	3	2	1
Introduction _______/4	Presentation tells the audience what the social issue is, why it matters while also asking interesting questions to engage the audience	Presentation tells the audience what the social issue is and why it matters, yet does not invite reflection and audience participation.	Presentation tells the audience what the social issue is.	No introduction of PowerPoint.
Content _________/4	Presentation contains all content of Public Policy Analysis	Presentation contains most content of Public Policy Analysis	Presentation contains 1-2 of the required content sections from the Public Policy Analysis.	Presentation contains none of the required content from the Public Policy Analysis.
Layout _______/3	The Presentation is visually appealing and helps the audience’s understanding of the material.	The Presentation is visually appealing and helps the audience’s understanding of the material.	The Presentation is visually appealing but contains no visual graphics, or aids.	The Presentation is visually unappealing (color scheme makes it hard to read, small fonts, extra large fonts), and no images.
Resources ________/2	Presentation includes all resources used on dedicated works cited slide	Presentation includes resources used but is not neatly organized	Presentation includes some resources but they are not specific	Presentation does not contain a slide listing resources students used.
Writing Conventions _______/4	Presentation contains no more than 1 grammatical or spelling error.	Presentation contains between 2 and 3 grammatical or spelling errors.	Presentation contains between 4 and 5 grammatical or spelling errors.	Presentation contains many grammatical and spelling errors that hinder comprehension.
Total: _____________ / 15 = ________%

CONCLUSION

The work that you do while completing this WebQuest will allow you to reflect on the system of discipline in your community and your individual school so that you can best advise Mayor Adams. By creating a presentation, you will synthesize the information you researched and present it in a way which will lay out future steps that can be taken to aid the problems you highlighted.

STANDARDS

NYS Social Studies Framework

● A. Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence (standards 1,2 & 4-6)

● F. Civic Participation (standards 2 & 5-7)

NYS Learning Standards for Literacy

● RH1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

● RH7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

● RH9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Common Core Standards

● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.1.B: Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.

● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2.A: Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.