Restorative justice: the evolution of an issue

from the entry by Colette Kimball for the Prevention Researcher blog:

....It was 2007 when I was first asked about doing an issue on restorative justice by our author, Sandra Pavelka. Although I was potentially interested, two things kept this issue from happening more quickly: First, I felt like the literature surrounding restorative justice needed to have a stronger research-base; and, second, restorative justice was a concept and approach I struggled to fully understand. There are so many types of interventions that fall under the rubric of “restorative justice” that seeing the connections was difficult for me.

Feb 04, 2013 School, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Policy, Evaluation, Teacher, Country:USA

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Restorative justice is not enough: A new essay about school-based interventions in the carceral state

from the article by Jane Hereth, Mariame kaba, Erica R. Meiners, and Lewis Wallace:

“Take her! Take her!”

It’s 9:00 A.M. on Monday, and the visibly upset kindergarten teacher screams at me from across the hall. She is holding a six-year-old by her wrist. The little girl, with a dozen pink and white barrettes framing her tear-stained face, yells, “Get off me, let me go!” The teacher pushes the student toward me. I reach out my hand, and the little girl grabs it.

“When should I bring her back?” I ask.

“NEVER,” the teacher yells. “I don’t want her! Never bring her back!”

Jan 16, 2013 School, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Teacher, Country:USA

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Restorative practices in the university: How two professors and a student worked together to resolve conflict

from the article by Mary Hoeft, Sarah Bennett and Altravis Lewis:

Altravis sat in the back of my algebra class.  He missed class often.  His work showed evidence of his struggle. When I focused on him, I could see a look of disengagement.  One day as I stood at the front of the classroom discussing a problem, I heard Altravis shout out in frustration.  I was shaken and scared. I knew that his outburst had rattled students. After class, I approached Altravis and asked what was going on.  He apologized and explained that it wouldn't happen again. 

Nov 09, 2012 Story, Practice, School, Region: North America and Caribbean, Teacher, Country:USA

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'Restorative practices': Discipline but different

from the article by Nirvi Shah in Education Week:

At City Springs and many other schools across the country, restorative practices are about holding students accountable and getting them to right a wrong. The approach is getting more notice than ever as criticism grows of zero-tolerance disciplinary policies that often require out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Educators are turning to restorative practices, peer courts in middle and high schools, and related efforts in the hopes of changing students' bad behaviors rather than simply kicking them out of school as punishment and risking disconnecting them from school altogether.

"It's about building relationships and having [students] do what you want them to do because they want to do it—not because they're afraid of what the consequences are," said Rhonda Richetta, the principal of City Springs, which has 624 students. "We really want kids to change."

Nov 07, 2012 School, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Policy, Teacher, Country:USA

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Parent-to-parent guide: Restorative justice in Chicago Public Schools

from the booklet by the Parents of POWER-PAC:

For too many of our children, “school discipline” has meant getting suspended or expelled—starting as young as kindergarten—being arrested, even in grade school—and ending up on the streets or in jail— without an education.

We are Chicago Public School parents, from many different neighborhoods and backgrounds, raising kids of all ages. We work together in POWER-PAC, and built our “Elementary Justice Campaign: Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline” because we’ve felt at times that school discipline works against—not with—our children and families.

Sep 18, 2012 School, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Policy, Teacher, Country:USA

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Judge Irene Sullivan on learning a lesson in restorative justice from teenagers

from her entry on Juvenile Justice Information Exchange:

In mid-May I traveled from my home in Florida to Evanston Township High School, just north of Chicago, to meet with students, school social workers and law enforcement officials. My intention was to talk to them about my nine years of service as a juvenile judge and the stories of the kids in court I wrote about in my book, Raised by the Courts: One Judge’s Insight into Juvenile Justice.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!

Instead of talking I was listening. Instead of teaching I was learning. Instead of being the center of attention, I was one person in a circle of 12. Instead of sharing my experiences with others, I listened while others shared some very personal and painful experiences with me. Instead of talking about guilt or innocence, crime and punishment, I found myself focused on the word “harm:” identifying the harm, acknowledging the harm and repairing the harm.

Jun 08, 2011 School, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Policy, Teacher, Country:USA

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Implementing restorative justice: A guide for schools

Recently, the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority released the guide Implementing Restorative Justice: A guide for  Schools as part of a series of resources created to help with the statewide implementation of restorative justice for working with young offenders. Developed with assistance from juvenile justice practitioners and school personnel,  it provides guidance for implementing policy and practice in both elementary and secondary schools. The goals of the guide include:

• Introduce to school personnel the concepts of restorative justice and restorative discipline.
  
• Offer new tools that can reduce the need for school exclusion and juvenile justice system involvement in school misconduct.
  
• Offer ways to enhance the school environment to prevent conflict and restore relationships after conflict arises.

Nov 12, 2009 School, Practice, Guidelines, Manual, Guideline, Region: North America and Caribbean, Policy, Standards, Teacher, Country:USA

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