Discipline Isn’t the Whole Story: What Rock Island’s Data Reveals About School Safety
Concerns about safety and student behavior at Rock Island High School are no longer isolated complaints—they’ve become a consistent theme in public meetings and community conversations. Teachers have described rising disruption and disrespect. Board members have used words like “chaos,” “dangerous,” and “crisis.” Students have argued their school environment is compromised, mainly in the hallways and bathrooms, by unpredictable consequences or lack of enforcement of basic cod
9 hours ago9 min read
Do School Budgets Shape Student Behavior?
An Analysis of Rock Island’s Staffing and Spending In recent months, concerns about student behavior at Rock Island High School have circulated widely in the community. Alongside those concerns, a number of theories have emerged about what might be driving the perceived changes in school climate. One explanation that has surfaced repeatedly in my conversations is financial: the idea that district spending decisions—particularly the growth of administrative staffing—may have c
Mar 69 min read
Policing by the Numbers in Rock Island: A Look at Gender
Last week, I posted data on police hiring and race. Interested readers wanted to see the same data reflecting gender. Over the past three years, women have represented a minority of applicants but a growing share of hires. The data suggest that while relatively few women apply to become officers in Rock Island, those who do apply advance through the hiring process at higher rates than their male counterparts. The Applicant Pool Between February 2023 and February 2026, 187 ind
Mar 42 min read
When the Data Challenged Me: What Rock Island’s Police Hiring Numbers Actually Show
Editor’s Note / Update (March 4, 2026): After publication, the Rock Island Human Resources department provided corrected data for the agility and psychological testing stages of the hiring process. The department discovered that several applicants had been omitted from the agility testing totals, which lowered the reported pass rates across most groups. One psychological test result was also miscoded and has been corrected. The charts and percentages in the article have been
Feb 258 min read
%20(1).png)
