Restorative Practices
What are Restorative Practices?
Restorative practices are processes that proactively build healthy relationships and a sense of community to prevent and address conflict and wrongdoing. Restorative practices are increasingly being applied in individual schools and school districts to address youth behavior, rule violations, and to improve school climate and culture. Restorative practices can improve relationships between students, between students and educators, and even between educators, whose behavior often serves as a role model for students. They allow each member of the school community to develop and implement a school’s adopted core values.
Excerpt from: Restorative Practices: Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools
Proactive Practices
Affective language (“I” statements, empathetic listening)
Small impromptu conversations
Community-building circles
Responsive Practices
Responsive conversations or restorative conferences
Peer-based conferences
Restorative Practices within MTSS
Why Restorative Practices?
REDUCED:
Disciplinary referrals to behavioral staff
Suspensions and expulsions
Amount of instructional time lost to managing challenges in student behavior
Disproportionate referrals for minority students
IMPROVED:
Teacher retention and morale
School climate
Engagement of the school community
Student satisfaction and safety
Implementation Resources for Restorative Practices
200 Circle Prompts
How to Use Affective Questions
Other Means of Correction
Affective Statements
Restorative Practices in Action at Tier 1
Start of the School Year with Restorative Practices
Exploring the Social Discipline Window
Informational Videos on Restorative Practices
The "Why" of Restorative Practices
Introduction to Restorative Practices
Restorative Practices in High School