Restorative Practices Promoting School Safety, Conflict Resolution and Positive Discipline LEAP Presentation January 11, 2017 Suzanne Petersen, MA- Supervisor Student Support Services Loudoun County Public Schools Department of Pupil Services

WHAT ARE RESTORATIVE PRACTICES ? Approach derived from the Restorative Justice (RJ) philosophy The RP Hypothesis states that our students are happier, more productive and cooperative when people in positions of authority do things WITH them rather than TO or FOR them RP in the schools develops community and manages conflict and discipline by repairing harm and restoring relationships Retributive (punitive) vs. restorative. Restorative qualities are about relationships, community … and practicing in classrooms contributes to culture of the entire school. We’re restoring connection between people.

Restorative Practices (RP) What is RP? Benefits to Students: Restorative vs Retributive Repairing harm Alternative to traditional discipline, minimizing time out of the classroom Seeks to repair harm, build relationships, and fashion an agreement on future conduct Limits time out-of-school Promotes school safety Improves academic performance Skill-building: empathy, impact of behavior, conflict resolution, social-emotional, kindness, community values, communication These skills translate to life skills, resiliency, and positive mental health outcomes Conventional discipline has little impact on behavior, and suspension is highly correlated to future wrongdoing, poor academic performance, drop-out rates, etc. Out of school suspensions often reward students who don’t want to be in school. In school suspensions can promote the growth of a negative school subculture. Operative word is “Restorative.” It restores relationship by repairing harm that has been done. Harm-doer is held accountable for harm and asked to extend repair Person who is harmed is allowed a voice and a role in the agreement Sources 1. McCold, Ph.D., Paul (2008). International Institute of Restorative Practices. “We’ve shown in case study after case study that schools that adopt this approach report significant changes in their cultures,” leading to improved academic performance and school culture. 2. Angel, Ph.D, Caroline (2006), Univ. of Penn. Most RJ research takes a sociological view of cost/benefit, but Dr. Angel took a clinical approach. Her research demonstrates a dramatic improvement in victim conditions relative to stress, anxiety, irritability, etc., post-conferencing. - Site recent RP cases re: hyper-vigilance while at school.

Loudoun County Public Schools Restorative Practices Philosophy and Goals ​​Reduce the overall number of suspensions and expulsions. ​ ​​​Address the disproportionate number of minority and special education students who are suspended. Allow every student who is harmed to have a voice.​ ​​Give students the opportunity to learn from the process without having their education interrupted. ​ ​​Improved behavior, learning, and attendance​ ​​​​​​​Accountability, school safety ​and building positive relationships

Bullying Prevention and Restorative Practices Both Adhere to Principals of Inclusiveness and Prevention RP strategies used for Bullying Prevention include: Building Community Preventing Harm Avoiding Labels Engages all people impacted by the Bullying Helps students take responsibility for their actions Repairs harm to those affected by the Bullying

Informal Formal Restorative Ethos Restorative Mindset Informal Formal Community Building Circles Conflict Circles Circle with a small group of students or classroom Restorative dialogue between several students Affective Statements/ Language Conference with students, parents and teachers A continuum. Restorative processes use community, relationship and empathy to help students build belonging and develop self control. RP conference, right Notice, at no point is the student banned or excluded from school or community [WITH box] RP hypothesis Affective States: I statements. Expresses emotion. Lets the wrongdoer know how their behavior impacts other people. SKILLBUILDING: respectful communication; self-advocacy; positive school culture. Not just about students using Aff. Statements, but staff, too. Community Building Circles: Just that. They build relationships. Particularly helpful with ANXIETY kids….a sense of belonging is reported to be what is missing for these students. Pass the talking piece, and discuss a subject/topic/quote/song lyric/etc. of your choice. Restorative dialogue using restorative questions to address conflict/s. Classroom circles with a whole class – to address classroom dynamics RP Conference Last two categories are the most regimented, and require the most prep Types of Circles: understanding, healing, support, conflict, community building, attendance… Restorative Ethos

Why is Restorative Language Important? Language is the building block of your school’s culture. We all approach conflict differently: Humanizes the person making statements: sharing emotions or “getting real” makes it possible to restore relationship Does not protect students from the consequences of their behavior. Focus is on behavior, not the worth of the person (separate deed from doer). Encourages students to share their perspective and feelings.

Restorative Questions I (for Wrongdoer) What happened? What were you thinking of at the time? What have you thought about since? Who has been affected by what you have done? In what way? What do you think you need to do to make things right? International Institute for Restorative Practices, www.iirp.org Questions to respond to challenging behavior. The main question, then, is when there is a misconduct episode in school, what do we want to teach? Restorative responses — be they informal opportunities that take a couple minutes, or formal opportunities that take a couple hours — aim to teach three things to misbehaving youth: 1. OWNERSHIP – raises self-awareness of personal choices 2. EMPATHY – raises other-awareness of affected people 3. REPARATION – raises future-awareness of positive contributions At the same time, a restorative response gives equal attention to those impacted by a misconduct, and this very attention is integral to these three areas of learning.  This relational emphasis is a distinguishing mark of restorative discipline.

Restorative Questions II (for person harmed) What did you think when you realized what had happened? What impact has this incident had on you and others? What has been the hardest thing for you? What do you think needs to happen to make things right? International Institute for Restorative Practices, www.iirp.org Questions to help those harmed by other’s actions. In pairs, now switch roles of adult and student. Role play the conversation with a student who was shoved or who had a nasty word directed at him or her.

Restorative Conferencing Used for incidences when harm has been done and discipline is being considered Facilitated by trained conference facilitators Referred by school administrators The conference: Each participant will have an opportunity to share their story in a safe, confidential environment and decide how it can be resolved. Agreements are made, documented and shared with all participants.

What does the Research about using Restorative Practices for School Safety Issues Reductions in suspensions and expulsions and discipline disproportionality Reductions in amount of instructional time lost to managing student behavior challenges. Free expression of affect leading to building community and emotional bonding Authentic displays of happiness, excitement, care, concern and frustration. Improved teacher morale and retention Higher levels of trust and accountability Improved academic outcomes -Amos Clifford, Teaching Restorative Practices with Classroom Circles

Program Summary – 2013 -2016 Implemented – September 2013 Facilitated 147 Restorative Practices Cases Total of 302 students participated in the program Total of 210 – General Ed, 92 – Special Education Total of 402 parents participated in program (all services for a case) *2016-2017 School year- 31 new cases *Cases = pre-conferences, conferences, conflict circles, attendance circles, and re-entry circles

Types of Incidents – 2013-2016

Increased Growth of Restorative Practices - Conferencing * 125% increase in the number of cases from 14-15 to 15-16

RP Students Follow-Up Evaluation – 15-16 Students followed the agreement Felt the issue was resolved Felt safer at school Had no further discipline issues related to the event Changed their behavior at school Would participate in a Restorative Conference again 100% 97% 94% 91% 84% 82%

Restorative Practices “Allowing students to better understand the impact of their behavior is more likely to influence their future behavior than the standard sanctions we use in schools.” (Costello, Wachtel and Wachtel, 2009)