Administrators

Articles exploring the inclusion of restorative practices in the school environment including statement of good practice.

Crime and entertainment at Franklin High

from the article by Rick Holmes in MetroWest Daily News: When outrage-inducing incidents become media sensations, the authorities respond with the tools they have available. Educators point to politically popular “zero tolerance” policies. ....Police charge the thugs with whatever laws they can find — even unlawful wire tapping — and set the wheels of justice turning. There will be lawyers and hearings and plea bargains, fines and probably time behind bars.

Restorative justice in higher education: A compilation of formats and best practices

from the guide by Justine Darling: ....There are many restorative tools and processes that can be used in the university setting. This guide is specific to Judicial and Residential Life processes within Institutions of Higher Education. Addressed below are the five most common methods of implementation that are used at the 9 colleges and universities in this study. The goal of all 5 Restorative Processes is for the respondent to acknowledge responsibility, identify harm and obligations, and develop a restorative plan agreed upon by the person responsible and impacted parties. Language used in Restorative Judicial Processes is different than the language used in Traditional Judicial Processes so that stigmatization is less likely to occur.

High Hopes Campaign releases a new report about restorative justice

from an article on www.suspensionstories.com: ....This week, the Campaign released a new report, From Policy to Standard Practice: Restorative Justice in Chicago Public Schools,” which illustrates that restorative justice practices improve school attendance, student achievement, school safety and culture. The key recommendations call for CPS to:

Chicago Public School students face racial discipline gap: Education Department

from the entry by Joy Resmovits on huffingtonpost.com In Chicago public schools, black students receive harsher punishments for in-school infractions than white students, a fact that mirrors a nationwide trend, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education Tuesday. The report paints a startling picture of racial disparities in how students are disciplined in schools across the country.

Campaign on way to counter cyberbullies

from Anthony Loncaric's article in Brimbank Weekly: Parents living in the north-west are calling for more support to deal with cyberbullying as the state government prepares a new advertising campaign to encourage young people to speak up. Education Minister Martin Dixon said the campaign would be similar to the hard-hitting advertisements aimed at reducing the road toll.

Applying a restorative justice approach to student conduct

from the article by Daniel Fusch in Academic Impressions: ....Taking an RJ approach requires a philosophical shift for the student conduct office – it entails new sets of questions for student conduct hearings and an alert ear for cases in which there is the possibility to restore harm that’s been done, rather than simply (or only) penalize. ....To learn more about how to make a restorative justice program most successful, we interviewed two officials from Colorado State University, which has frequently been recognized for its restorative justice and other student conduct programs. The two officials are Paul Osincup and Melissa Emerson, the associate and assistant directors of conflict resolution and student conduct services at CSU. Paul Osincup holds student conduct hearings; Melissa Emerson manages the restorative justice process once a student has been referred as a likely RJ candidate.

More action needed to bolster good behavior

from the article by Alan J. Borsuk in the Journel Sentinel: I don't know exactly what happened during a funeral at a church at N. 53rd and W. Burleigh streets last Tuesday, but I know it was bad. I know a lot more about what happened in the library at Bradley Tech High School the next morning, and I know it was good.

UC explores restorative justice in improving campus climate

from Harry Mok's article in UC Newsroom: A residence hall fire alarm is pulled as a drunken prank in the middle of the night. A fellow resident, who happens to be gay, witnesses it and confronts the culprit as the building is evacuated. In the exchange of words, the prankster utters a pejorative term for a homosexual man in a profanity-laced tirade. Fortunately, the situation was just part of a role-playing exercise. Twenty-three student affairs staff members, from all 10 University of California campuses, took part in training for restorative justice, a conflict resolution process that UC is considering for use when dealing with incidents of intolerance or hate, particularly for conduct that, while offensive, may not violate any laws or policies.

Editorial: Losing tolerance over zero-tolerance policies

from the Denver Post: Few events have shaped school discipline policies the way the 1999 Columbine High School massacre has — not just in Colorado but around the nation. Zero tolerance became a catchphrase for "doing-everything-possible-to-make-sure-this-never-happens-again."

Chicago Heights school helps launch anti-violence initiative

from the article by Jessica Villarreal in the Southtown Star: A number of characters were involved in a troubling incident at school. Their names fit their roles in the anger-sparked altercation: China Doll, Joe Swag, Bob Lame. But while the story that was acted out recently in a courtroom at the Daley Center in downtown Chicago was fictional, the program behind it is real and has a serious goal: reducing youth violence in the Chicago area.

Restorative hub-school model

from Restorative Approaches in Norfolk Schools: Norfolk County Council Children’s Services are currently working on a restorative hub-school model with the aim that schools who are proficient and committed to using restorative approaches can provide support and guidance to other schools.

“Somebody could have died that day.”

from the article by Laura Mirsky in Restorative Practices Blog: “Somebody could have died that day.” That’s what a student said after a fight nearly erupted at a small Detroit high school last month. But a restorative circle squashed the tension and prevented a tragedy.

Dade County schools hit upon alternative measures of punishment through restorative justice

from the article by Jimmie Davis, Jr in the Westside Gazette: It’s easy for administrators at Miami-Dade County Public Schools [MDCPS] to suspend and expel students for misconduct, but the underlying is-sue of why pupils misbehave will not be resolved. So instead of rushing to ruin a kid’s career, the Educational Transformation Office [ETO] has embraced Restorative Justice at some of the “Rising 19” schools to address the root causes of why kids act out. In particular African American and Latino students are getting kicked out more than Caucasians, which leaves them vulnerable to getting into more trouble and they end up catching a charge and facing time behind bars.

Program to revamp student justice

from the article by Libby Jelinek in The Vista University of San Diego (USD) alum Justine Darling, '08, has collaborated with Student Affairs to establish a one-year pilot restorative justice program on campus that has the potential to transform how students experience USD's student conduct system. ....The one-year pilot program will implement restorative justice conferencing and peace circles to find solutions for issues in the campus community. The restorative justice process focuses on three main goals: to empower, to educate and to build relationships. Throughout the program, students are involved and invested in the decision-making process. The most valuable aspect of restorative justice, according to Darling, is that students learn another way to handle conflict in their lives, such that bringing the offender and impacted parties together can develop what would otherwise be a negative relationship into a positive one.

More tolerance in new Chicago Public Schools code of conduct

from Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah's article in the chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Schools has adopted a new student discipline policy that one parent group says moves the district a step away from zero tolerance. Staff members are being told to treat minor infractions as learning opportunities to reinforce positive behavior. Out-of school suspensions are to be used as a last resort. CPS officials said for the most serious infractions, restorative justice--programs such as peace circle and a jury of student peers determining punishment--can be offered in addition to suspensions and expulsions.

James Madison University embraces restorative justice

from the news page at Eastern Mennonite University: In just three years, Josh Bacon has mobilized some 50 administrators and staff members in nearly a dozen departments sprawled across the 665-acre campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to embrace restorative justice practices when dealing with each other and with students. Bacon says it is not a difficult “sell.” One person gets hooked on restorative justice and tells another person and soon a group evolves to attend a restorative justice short seminar, with some continuing to multiple-day trainings. “The point is, RJ [restorative justice] works,” says Bacon. “And lots of other interventions used for years with students don’t.”

Restorative Justice in schools, further reading resources!

from Kris Miner's post in Restorative Justice and Circles: The newest item published for school based restorative justice: http://www.acschoolhealth.org/Docs/Restorative-Justice-Paper.pdf I would also recommend:

Intertwined: Community conflict management in the school

from the website of Forsee Research Group: The 27 minute film created within the programme targets secondary school students essentially, with the most important aim of supporting the responsiveness to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) with audiovisual tools. The above is realised primarily through the demonstration of the fundamental principles of ADR in educational situations, moreover, the film also cites a non-violent resolution of a specific in-school case, presenting the steps, methods and tools applied in the process. We intend to make the audience think and reflect on their own conflict resolution practices: to re-enforce their positive practices and to face ‘violent’ dispute resolution routines either applied or sustained by them. The film is presented by trained moderator pairs in the frame of a film and discussion workshop, through a pre-defined theme.

How to tell if your community is really doing restorative justice

from the entry by Benjamin Chambers on Reclaiming Futures: What's one of the biggest drivers pushing kids into the juvenile justice system these days? Schools. Schools often suspend or expel youth who misbehave, ostensibly to maintain order. Unfortunately, an analysis of 30 years of data on middle school expulsions and suspensions issued last year by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the sanctions were unfair and ineffective. So what can be done? For one thing, schools can partner with juvenile courts to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals to juvenile court (follow the link for a great 2010 presentation for the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance given by Judges Steven Teske and Brian Huff on how they accomplished this in their jurisdictions). But restorative justice offers another useful solution. Recent research done on a few schools in the U.S., Britain, and Canada suggests that adopting restorative justice techniques in the classroom can reduce suspensions and expulsions significantly.

How to tell if your community is really doing restorative justice

from the entry by Benjamin Chambers on Reclaiming Futures: What's one of the biggest drivers pushing kids into the juvenile justice system these days? Schools. Schools often suspend or expel youth who misbehave, ostensibly to maintain order. Unfortunately, an analysis of 30 years of data on middle school expulsions and suspensions issued last year by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the sanctions were unfair and ineffective. So what can be done? For one thing, schools can partner with juvenile courts to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals to juvenile court (follow the link for a great 2010 presentation for the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance given by Judges Steven Teske and Brian Huff on how they accomplished this in their jurisdictions). But restorative justice offers another useful solution. Recent research done on a few schools in the U.S., Britain, and Canada suggests that adopting restorative justice techniques in the classroom can reduce suspensions and expulsions significantly.