By Cres Vellucci
Vanguard Sacramento Bureau Chief
STOCKTON, CA – Although details are sketchy, the firing of the Stockton Unified School District director of child welfare and attendance Kenneth Goeken last week allegedly came after Goeken sounded “the alarm on student expulsions and enrollment at Stagg High School,” according to a Stockton Record account.
School expulsions are a sensitive subject for communities of color.
The average statewide suspension rate during one recent academic year study was 3.5 percent in public schools, while the average rate for African American students was 9.1 percent—higher than any other racial group, according to a report by the Black Minds Matter Coalition.
And, at Stockton Unified, while just six percent of students have been suspended, the Record reports, students “identified as African American, American Indian, homeless or disabled were among the groups with the highest suspension rates.”
In fact, the rates for African American students suspended in Stockton Unified were higher than the state average, hitting 13.1 precent in 2022-2023. American Indian students were second highest at 10.8 percent, reported the Record.
Goeken, who said he was given a letter of reprimand by members of the superintendent’s cabinet after speaking to media outlets about his concerns regarding the school district, has now been advised he won’t be invited back.
“Goeken said he was informed by Susana Ramirez, assistant superintendent of student support services, that he was being suspended with pay until his contract expires on June 30. At that point, Goeken said he was told to pack his belongings with district police present,” the Stockton Record wrote.
Part of the reason details are sketchy is that the district won’t comment, telling the Record, “It’s a confidential personnel matter and we cannot comment on personnel matters.”
But, Goeken has said he filed an Office of Civil Rights complaint because the superintendent’s cabinet made “unwarranted” and “unethical” expulsions. And, then, said the Record, he was notified that “he would not be returning for the 2024-2025 school year.”
A state report (https://bit.ly/3rS9yPd) examines the use of suspensions and other forms of exclusionary discipline and how they affect the education of Black children in California public schools.
The report noted, “Ultimately, exclusionary discipline practices inhibit children’s learning, growth, and development by removing them from learning environments and fostering oppositional relationships between school educators and the children and families they serve.”
“This rate is 2.6 times higher than the statewide average and should serve as a clarion call to educators and policymakers alike,” according to “Suspending Our Future: How Inequitable Disciplinary Practices Disenfranchise Black Kids In California’s Public Schools.”
The report added the average statewide suspension rate for males was 4.8 percent during the 2018–19 school year compared to 11.8 percent for African American males. The average was just two percent for females compared to 6.1 percent for African American females.
Similar to the statistics in Stockton, “Native American students (statewide) were the only group who even came close (to the high rates for Black students), with an average of 7.5 percent statewide and 10.1 percent and 4.7 percent for males and females,” the study said.
Middle schoolers—like the 7th grader in Stockton—were the most likely to be suspended, with a 6.7 percent statewide average…but the average leaped to 19.1 percent for Black males and 12.5 percent for Black females.
The two main categories of suspensions are in-school and out-of-school. Worth noting, according to the report, is that not all suspensions are properly documented. “Ultimately, exclusionary discipline practices inhibit children’s learning, growth, and development by removing them from learning environments and fostering oppositional relationships between school educators and the children and families they serve.
“Now that Goeken has been placed on paid administrative leave, he said he is concerned that district staff will not be able to answer questions about an expulsion case set to be presented to the Stockton Unified Board of Trustees on April 23. Part of his job duties included presenting expulsion recommendations to the board,” wrote the Record.
