Leyden is undertaking a new program, SIT, Student intervention Time, which is a version of what other schools call in school suspension.

A lot of people may think in school suspension is sitting in a room all day doing nothing. But, with this new approach, Student Intervention Time (SIT), will provide empowerment to students to make healthy decisions towards positive life experiences.

According to The State Journal-Register, Illinois’ school discipline policy has reformed to reduce out-of-school suspensions and  put interventions in place to prevent minor infractions from becoming major problems.

New Leyden student intervention facilitator, Entesar Ebrahimi, discusses SIT: “The program is to assist students, not only with their academic studies, but also with any behavioral and/or social emotional issues. The idea is to combine group and individual counseling, academic studies assistance, and setting measurable goals to allow students to move forward and take action.”

The individuals responsible for developing the program are Assistant Principal Anita Huffman, Dean Michael Grosch and Dean Dennis Byrne. What they plan to accomplish in the new program is to give students a place and an opportunity to discuss any and all issues they may have.

Entesar noted, “We want students to understand that their time in Student Intervention is not a punishment, but rather an opportunity to grow.”

Principal Jason Markey believes that this program will actually reduce the chance of suspensions happening. “Not only will it reduce suspension, which it likely will, but also reduce repeated incidents.” Markey added, “We never liked the idea of students being suspended out of school and out of a learning environment.” The goal Leyden has with this program and what it holds for the future is giving students a better opportunity to think about the incident that happened and think through their decision making process, and come back into school with a fresh and positive approach.