restorative justice programs in california
The restorative-justice program at Ypislanti High School engages students in peer mediation in a "conflict resolution center." One of the students couldn’t afford to pay to replace the dispenser, so the student himself suggested that he could work with the custodian to pay his debt. Admissions Office. Check out our guide, What is Classroom Management? However, a secondary—and perhaps unintended—consequence has been a parallel reduction in the resources available to continue If the children help create the rules, then they have ownership. Tier III aims to help kids who’ve been out of school for a while due to suspension, expulsion, incarceration, or truancy. In dialogue circles, students sit facing each other to facilitate open dialogue. Photo credit: The Chapman Cultural Center via flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0). Offenders must accept responsibility for harm and make restitution with victims. Since then, it has expanded, and the district has seen promising reductions in suspensions, in addition to increased attendance. School-wide or system-wide restorative justice takes the full commitment of everyone involved in the education process—teachers, administrators, students, and parents. According to Philly Stands Up!, Transformative Justice is a way of practicing alternative justice that acknowledges individual experiences and identities and works to actively resist the state’s criminal injustice system.Transformative Justice recognizes that oppression is at the root of all forms of harm, abuse and assault. Tier II attempts to resolve conflicts and heal the harm students cause, while Tier III supports students reentering the school community after a suspension or expulsion. In one instance, two of Claassen’s eighth grade boys broke a paper towel dispenser in the bathroom. Restorative justice empowers students to resolve conflicts on their own and in small groups, and it's a growing practice at schools around the country. So Claassen told them, “We have a restorative discipline system here so we accept responsibility and can make things as right as possible. Tier II comes into play when students break rules and someone has caused harm to someone else. Restorative practices is an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities. Schools using this system find they still need traditional disciplinary actions available for circumstances like this. Schools can spend months or even years fully rolling out a program. Bullying in Schools: Teaching Respect and Compassion Through Restorative Processes, Restorative Practices in Schools: Research Reveals Power of Restorative Approach, Part I, Research Reveals Power of Restorative Approach, Part II, Study Shows Youth Are Less Aggressive With Restorative Practices, Restorative Practices Shows Promise for Meeting New National School Discipline Guidelines. More than this, restorative justice in schools requires a pledge of time and money from the district and its administration. I want you to succeed,’” emphasizes Claassen. But many teachers and administrators who use restorative justice say the benefits far outweigh the effort. For the growing number of districts using restorative justice, the programs have helped strengthen campus communities, prevent bullying, and reduce student conflicts. “When you get these kids talking, you learn about the traumas they have faced. Restorative justice is a theory of justice that focuses on mediation and agreement rather than punishment. Claassen worked with students to write a respect agreement. To seem weak in their world is a life-threatening thing, so I was really impressed.” This is the foundation for restorative discipline. Maybe their brother was killed, or their father was sent to prison. “It helps them develop rational skills—to understand a situation, follow a process, and resolve it. “They’ll talk about what can be done to repair the harm,” Yurem shares. “It gave the students incredible knowledge of a real-world situation in a way a suspension never could, and relationships improved instead of being damaged.”. The practice was so successful that by 2011 OUSD overhauled its system and made restorative justice the new model for handling disciplinary problems. Within three years, the pilot school saw a decrease in suspensions by a whopping 87 percent, with a corresponding decrease in violence. “Restorative discipline improved my relationships with students,” states Claassen. Access to abstracts and resources, as well as library services, remain available to you through this page. How did it happen? “Students aren’t afraid to admit when they’ve done something wrong as they are in a punitive environment, so you save a lot of time investigating who did what.”, Ron adds, “When you have a punitive system, the automatic response is to deny responsibility because you know you’ll get punished. I’ve seen kids share things that I was extremely surprised by, like eighth grade boys talking about what scares them. For restorative justice to work, it requires engagement from all involved parties. In 2013, Edutopia visited Glenview Elementary School in Oakland, California, to learn about their use of dialogue circles. Ideas, Inspiration, and Giveaways for Teachers. Schools and teachers dealing with behavior issues and bullying are constantly searching for new and effective ways to handle it all. Programs that promote dialogue between victim and offender demonstrate the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability. It’s really all about relationships—building and repairing them.”. Rolling out a restorative-justice program, whether in the classroom or across a school or district, requires comprehensive planning. Fortunately, there are a range of valuable resources that will help educators learn more about the subject and develop a plan that fits into their objectives. It also provides individualized support. There’s no ownership for the students in that. “That doesn’t work. This move streamlines access to OJP's content and services while offering improved Abstracts Database capabilities and enabling future … They have better relationships with their students and therefore less stress from unresolved conflicts. For conflicts that have already happened, say a fight, all students involved as well as their peers participate in a "restorative circle," which allows the student who has caused the harm to hear the views of peers. She’d seen the success her husband, Ron, had using it in his work with the juvenile criminal justice system. For specific conflicts, though, smaller groups are used, which bring together the harmed student, the person causing the harm, and a group of their peers or adults. The New York Times looked at a restorative justice program being used in Oakland, California schools in an article published on April 3, 2013. “Restorative justice is a major cultural shift from a punitive model to a restorative model,” notes David Yurem, OUSD’s first program manager of restorative justice. In the first, entire classrooms come together in community-building circles to talk about problems and voice their concerns, which encourages peer-to-peer respect. Schools like OUSD use a three-tiered approach. These interventions are designed to help resolve conflicts before they turn into bigger issues. Roxanne Claassen was one of the first teachers to try restorative justice in school. Ninety percent of the time the student did, and the problem ended there. Source: Orange County Department of Education. Will School-Discipline Reform Actually Change Anything? Our pay-as-you-go payment option consists of a per registration fee, a small percentage of revenue share, and a Cvent Payment Services fee should you decide to use our payment services. In traditional justice, this is when punishments are meted out. Tier I focuses on building a strong community within the school, laying the groundwork for responsibility and respect. She leads Sierra Club's campaign work to create equitable access to energy retrofits for low-income and Black households that can help reduce energy burden and decrease residential energy use that contributes to climate change. We only recommend items our team loves! Source: OUSD Restorative Justice Implementation Guide, “Restorative justice is a fundamental change in how you respond to rule violations and misbehavior,” said Ron Claassen, an expert and pioneer in the field. We've compiled a range of resources to help you learn more, see programs in action, and develop an implementation plan. Can Restorative Justice Keep Schools Safe? Glenview uses these gatherings to check-in, to settle disputes, and for academic interventions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other crimes, and moral support for victims. “Kids really resonate with this process. Teachers who want to implement sharing circles or mediation for misbehavior should spend time learning more about the process (see resources below). Sharonda Williams-Tack is the Associate Director of the Energy Justice Campaign, Healthy Communities. The primary institutions of the criminal justice system are the police, prosecution and defense lawyers, the courts and prisons Recent successful juvenile justice and juvenile detention reforms have resulted in better and more meaningful public policy on the use of custody facilities and have triggered significant reductions in juvenile detention and corrections populations. Teachers interesting in bringing restorative justice to their schools should talk with their administrators and work together to explore the process. The program is broken down into three tiers. “Teachers can’t say, ‘Here are my rules; sign them,’” says Yurem.