Restorative Practices
What Are Restorative Practices?
Restorative Practices is a social science focused on building and strengthening relationships among individuals, families, and communities. It represents a significant shift away from traditional punitive approaches embedded in various sectors, including schools, businesses, governmental organizations, and more.
In a school setting, Restorative Practices prioritize the sense of belonging for both students and staff. It emphasizes social-emotional learning, student and family engagement, community involvement, and racial equity. A key tool used in schools is the restorative circle, where participants check in, get to know each other better, and work to repair relationships when harm occurs. These practices are rooted in Indigenous teachings, emphasizing the importance of connection and community.
Addressing Serious Harm: Restorative Conferencing
When more serious incidents occur—such as fighting, drug use, weapons, or bullying—traditional exclusionary discipline methods like in-school suspension (ISS) and out-of-school suspension (OSS) are often employed. However, Hickman Mills C-1 School District (HMC-1) is committed to a different approach: Restorative Conferencing.
Restorative Conferencing is a structured meeting that brings together all stakeholders impacted by an incident. The goal is to hold the student accountable while also making the situation as right as possible. This process includes implementing supports to address underlying issues or unmet needs that led to the incident. Typically, this involves all students involved, a caregiver for each student, school staff, and a trained facilitator.
This approach not only helps mend relationships and maintain safety in schools but also aligns with the district's commitment to disrupt and dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline. This pipeline disproportionately affects black and brown students, students with IEPs, and male students. Restorative Conferencing helps to ensure that discipline is not only fair but also supportive, addressing the root causes of behavior rather than just the symptoms.
Additional Resources
Youth SEL Activities
RP Lesson Plan Guide: A comprehensive guide for educators to implement Restorative Practices in the classroom.
- Restorative Justice Choice Board: An interactive tool for students to explore different aspects of Restorative Justice.
- Intro to RJ Documentary for Students: A documentary designed to introduce students to the principles and practices of Restorative Justice.
Logical Consequences Cheat Sheet
- Logical Consequences Cheat Sheet: A quick reference guide for applying logical consequences in restorative settings.
District Policies and Procedures
- Staff Restorative Conferences Support Request: The process for staff to request support for Restorative Conferences.
- Staff Restorative Conferences Protocol: Detailed guidelines on how to conduct Restorative Conferences.
- Caregiver Restorative Conference Protocol Final: A protocol guide for involving caregivers in Restorative Conferences.
Restorative Books/Literature
- Youth Books About Restorative: A selection of books aimed at helping youth understand Restorative Practices.
- Touching Spirit Bear EBooks: A collection of eBooks that explore themes relevant to Restorative Practices.
Meet the Restorative Practices Team
Restorative Training Slides
- Module 1: Trauma ACES Resiliency: Training on understanding and addressing trauma in educational settings.
- Module 2: The School-To-Prison Pipeline & Mass Incarceration For Profit Prisons: Insights into systemic issues affecting marginalized communities.
- Module 3: The Fundamental Hypothesis: Core principles underlying Restorative Practices.
- Module 4: Fair Process: Ensuring fairness and transparency in disciplinary actions.
- Module 5: Reintegrative Management Of Shame: Techniques for helping students reintegrate after incidents of harm.
- Module 6: The Restorative Practices Continuum: A broad overview of restorative methods and their applications.
- Module 7: Circling – A Tool For Community Building: Using restorative circles to foster a sense of community.
- Module 8: Circling – A Tool For Classroom Engagement: Engaging students through restorative circles in the classroom.
- Module 9: Restorative Questions And Managing Misbehavior And Conflict: Practical approaches to managing conflict and misbehavior using restorative questions.