Implementation

Resources for developing restorative processes in the school setting.

New online resource: Creating and maintaining a peaceful environment in elementary schools

from the introduction to the curriculum on Colorado State University's Department of Human Development and Families: This Collection is divided into three workbooks: (1) Feelings Circle, (2) Friendship Circle, and (3) Peacemaking Circle. The three workbooks are designed to engage students in cooperative learning and conflict resolution in the following grades: (1) 1st and 2nd grades – Feelings Circle, (2) 3rd and 4th grades – Friendship Circle, and (3) 5th and 6th grades – Peacemaking Circle.

Students train to facilitate justice program

from Kari Keller's article in the Longmont Times: On Tuesday morning, five Longmont High School students met at Teaching Peace to be trained as student team facilitators for their school’s restorative justice program. This is the first year that Teaching Peace plans to use a student team to help handle the restorative justice program in schools.

Just care: Restorative justice approaches to working with children in public care.

by Martin Wright Just care: Restorative justice approaches to working with children in public care. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009. 224pp. ISBN 978 1 84310 981 5 More and more schools are turning to restorative methods,` often helped by Belinda Hopkins’s previous book Just schools. Now she has applied the same principles to meeting the needs of the troubled and troublesome children who are looked after in state institutions. The ethos is similar, and the approach is spelt out clearly for those who do not have previous knowledge of it, with numerous diagrams and a good index. The examples are chosen to reflect the needs of the staff in children’s homes; others such as youth workers and foster parents could also find this book helpful.

Twilight for campus legal codes? Talking circles aid the aftermath of destructively drunk students and more.

from Bonnie Price Lofton's article in The Mennonite: After more than a decade of ushering misbehaving students at James Madison University (JMU), Harrisonburg, Va., through hearings, sanctions and other legalistic steps, Josh Bacon wanted a change. "I went into educational leadership and student affairs because I cared about young adults and their futures," he says. "But that’s not how they perceived me—they saw me as the 'bad guy,' somebody there to enforce the university's rules, somebody who wasn’t on their side.' Seeking a fresh approach, Bacon signed up for a restorative justice course at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, taught by an internationally recognized pioneer in the restorative justice field, Howard Zehr.

Denver Public Schools sings new tune on calming kids

by Burt Hubbard in DenverPost.com: ....For the past several years, North has been in the forefront of a new Denver Public Schools policy that emphasizes intervention and mediation to resolve fights and disruptions rather than out-of- school suspensions and expulsions. The session, geared toward letting students know their rights, was sponsored by Padres & Jovenes Unidos. The group's 2005 report charged that the district suspended too many students for nonviolent offenses and disproportionately targeted minorities. It helped lead to the policy changes. "It's important that every student know their rights," junior Brandon Garcia told the students after leading them in a Denver Broncos version of the wave.

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.

I love my job!

from Giles Charle's post on Restorative Justice at West Oakland Middle School: I am very happy with my job, even though I don't make very much money and I have no idea if it, or anything like it will exist next year. I do believe that Restorative Justice provides some crucial answers for us as we move towards our true potential as peaceful cooperative beings. With that said today was rough, I had more kids in lunch detention/thinkery then I new what to do with. Thanks to Mr. Brooks the co-principle of West Oakland Middle School (WOMS) we were able to sort out the students who understood what they did and were ready to take responsibility and head back to class from the kids who needed a little bit more reflection time before they would be ready.

Book Review: Discipline that restores

 

Black male conundrum

From Sarah Karp's article in Catalyst Chicago: In Chicago’s public schools, African-American males are suspended and expelled at a higher rate than any other student group. Yet educators are working to raise black male graduation rates, creating a classic case of policy and practice at odds.

Improving School Climate: Findings from Schools Implementing Restorative Practices

From the International Institute for Restorative Practices e-Forum: The International Institute for Restorative Practices has compiled a 36-page booklet of findings from schools in the United States, England and Canada that are implementing restorative practices.

Restorative Justice: Working with students

Part 2 of a series in the Badger Herald: While restorative justice programs are showing up across the country for many different state and federal criminals, the University of Colorado-Boulder and Skidmore College, among others, have decided to adopt such programs to introduce their students to non-traditional penalties.

Wachtel, Joshua and Costello, Bob and Wachtel, Ted. The Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators.

The Restorative Practices Handbook is a practical guide for educators interested in implementing restorative practices, an approach that proactively builds positive school communities while dramatically reducing discipline referrals, suspensions and expulsions. The handbook discusses the spectrum of restorative techniques, offers implementation guidelines, explains how and why the processes work, and relates real-world stories of restorative practices in action. (publisher's description)

Davey, Les and Preston, Nicola. An Introduction to Restorative Practices: Guidance and Implementation for Ages 11-18.

Built around an engaging story of an incident of wrongdoing and a restorative meeting held to address that incident, Part 1 of the workbook and guidance book is designed to introduce children and young people to the concept of restorative practices. Part 2 deepens this understanding by introducing key elements of restorative practices, including the Social Discipline Window, the Restorative Questions, Fair Process and Compass of Shame. The guidance book includes a resources CD and a 'Guide to Effective and Sustainable Implementation of Restorative Practices."

Haft, William. More Than Zero: The Cost of Zero Tolerance and the Case for Restorative Justice in Schools.

There is a trend in public education toward "zero tolerance" policies. Zero tolerance policies are designed to suspend or expel from public schools students who commit a single occurrence of proscribed conduct. The trend is largely a response to increased youth violence or the perception of increased youth violence, particularly in the aftermath of the Columbine High School shootings. In this context, William Haft contends that zero tolerance responses directly counter a fundamental purpose of public education, namely, the purpose of preparing children to live in a democratic society. Exclusionary policies should be a last resort not a first resort. Hence, it is necessary to have intermediate responses available to teachers and administrators. Haft urges the application of restorative justice principles and practices - particularly victim-offender mediation - as alternative responses to exclusionary policies in school settings.

Bodine, Richard and Crawford, Donna. Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings; Program Report

The first chapter defines conflict as a natural condition and examines the origins of conflict, responses to conflict, and the outcomes of those responses. It presents the essential principles, foundation abilities, and problemsolving processes of conflict resolution; discusses the elements of a successful conflict resolution program; and introduces four approaches to implementing conflict resolution education. Each of the next four chapters discusses one of these four approaches and presents examples of programs that use the approach. One chapter describes an approach to conflict resolution education characterized by devoting a specific time to teaching the foundation abilities, principles, and one or more of the problemsolving processes of conflict resolution in a separate course or distinct curriculum. Another chapter describes an approach in which selected, trained individuals provide neutral third-party facilitation in conflict resolution. A chapter presents an approach that incorporates conflict resolution education into the core subject areas of the curriculum and into classroom management strategies, and another chapter presents a comprehensive whole-school methodology that builds on the previous approach. The next two chapters address conflict resolution education in settings other than traditional schools, including juvenile justice and community settings. The final three chapters address more overarching topics: conflict resolution research and evaluation; a developmental sequence of behavioral expectations in conflict resolution; and the process of developing, implementing, and sustaining a conflict resolution program. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Claassen, Ron. An Introduction to 'Discipline that Restores'

Ron Claassen describes a restorative disciplinary program used in a school in California. The program, "Discipline that Restores" (DTR), was developed by Ron Claassen and his wife, Roxanne, to apply restorative justice principles in a school setting. A teacher in the school, Roxanne uses the program in her class of eighth graders, and they provide training for other teachers in the school. In this paper, Ron Claassen explains the principles of "Discipline that Restores," sketches a model he developed to illustrate four options for handling conflict, and recounts how another teacher uses a modification of victim-offender reconciliation to deal with conflicts between students and teachers.

Stern, Fred. Peer mediation in secondary school.

This workshop [presentation]provides an overview of peer mediation in secondary schools where the presenter has worked with teachers/students in this program since 1990. What’s worked, what hasn’t? How are other schools using this program?

. Bumps, knocks and potholes on the restorative roadway.

This PowerPoint presentation is from a workshop exploring presenter's experience with implementing restorative practices in the school environment. It includes both the things that went well and those that did not.

Blair, Geoff. Teacher talk, restorative practice, and tricky kids.

This PowerPoint presentation was from a workshop exploring the topic of teacher language. The workshop description was "A practical and theoretical session on the affect of teacher language on the mood of the classroom. The use of circles at the start of the year, semester or topic will set the tone for the class. When teachers and their classes have shared expectations and a clear understanding of how the class will operate it becomes the reference point for when things don’t go well. The primary factor in influencing student achievement is the teacher. When teachers focus on relationships, are concise and consistent with their language, the learning community becomes cohesive and strong. A strong learning community is the greatest gift a teacher/school can provide for kids who struggle and take up so much of student manager’s time."

. Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning

Restorative Circles in Schools is an in-depth guidebook on the use of the circle, an essential restorative practice for schools. The book includes a wealth of practical knowledge on circles, drawn from the experience of the International Institute for Restorative Practices, which has worked in a wide variety of settings worldwide. Stories from numerous educators illustrate the circle's use in diverse situations, including proactive circles for improving relationships and enhancing academics, responsive circles to solve problems and address conflict, and circles to address issues among faculty, staff, and administrators. (Excerpt)