What is Restorative Practices in Academic Communities?

Restorative Practices Overview

• Restorative Practice in academic settings is a shift in culture that involves all community members from district office personnel to school site administration to all staff.  

• The adults in academic communities are responsible for creating the container (setting the tone of a culture) in which our students will engage with adults and one another.  

• Restorative Practices “calls in” all community members including family and creates spaces that leads with inclusion, community building and addressing individual needs.

• Restorative Practices is a paradigm shift from punitive actions and policies that discard community members to valuing relationship and inclusion.

Effects on Students

• Strengthen members' sense of connection with each other, creating a more kind and productive school-wide and classroom communities.

• RP bolster member’s social and emotional skills and their cultural and racial awareness 

• RP builds and strengthens relationships and communication among students and staff.

• develop skills to resolve conflicts and problem-solve, and repair harm in restorative ways rather than impose punishment (through restorative discipline) 

RP - Critical Implementation Steps

• Cherry Picking aspects of the Restorative Practices model can cause harm and reduces effectiveness.

• Educate the community on systems of inequity to better understand the need for RP.

  • Decisions need to be made about one’s desire to dismantle systems of inequity because these systems benefit those with privilege.

  • Dismantling punitive and carceral systems for those community members we discard creates fear based decision making.

• Invest time and energy in Tier 1 strategies and community building.

• RP implementation efforts are led by the decision makers/administrators for the school site and teachers per classroom community.

  • Administrators need to model their leadership and engagement through RP

  • Administrators give time and space for RP engagement when adults gather

  • Administrators give staff permission to invest the time for community building

• Invest in training, coaching and support for all members and work toward community agreements regarding implementation.

RP - Myths and Mistakes

• RP doesn’t work.

  • RP does not work when it’s not implemented with fidelity and by-in from community members.

  • RP does not work when it is used as an alternative disciplinary action (like suspension or expulsion).

  • Punitive Discipline is not working. (ie spanking)

• RP doesn’t do anything to an offender.

  • We have to determine if we want to do things TO people or WITH people.

  • When we create spaces that all community members values their sense of belonging, if they offend someone they want to take responsibility and make it right.

  • Being held accountable addresses the needs of the person who was harmed, the person who did the harming and the community members who may have been impacted.