“Restorative justice in education is holistic, requiring more than a set of skills or practices, but rather a belief that all people are worthy and relational and a desire to nurture relationships that are built on respect, dignity, and mutual concern.
Additionally, rje centres justice and equity and the intentional work of dismantling oppression in all of its forms, including but not limited to white supremacy, heterosexism, transphobia, ableism, classism, and sexism.
As such, for rje to address the complexities of school culture (i.e, relationships, curricular decisions, school discipline, etc.), it must first be grounded in a commitment to nurturing just learning communities, addressing and repairing harm (in all of its forms), embracing conflict as potentially transformative, and committing to our mutual well-being as humans.”
(Kathy Evans 2020)
Created by Skye Bowen
Previous Challenges in PDSB Restorative Practices Training:
Focus on after harm has occurred
Prescriptive processes on restorative circles (required formal scripts)
Occurs in vacuum from race and oppression
Came across as strategies or processes to implement
‘Training’ that offered a ‘certification or designation’ of being RP Trained
Continual harm and oppression to racialized students leading to continual disproportionate outcomes for Black, Indigenous and other racialized students
Often required forced conversations and conferences that re-traumatized students and reinforced power imbalance between staff and community
Lack of transparency of restorative justice process with community stakeholders
Bias and discrimination often led to the increased harm of Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students
Restorative Justice in Education:
Relationship centered
Based on foundational principles of anti-racism and anti-oppression
Is a mindset and stance
Centers community voices: students, parents, staff, and community stakeholders
Understanding that the roots of restorative justice are based on decolonized educational practices which focus on relationships, community voice, and affirming identities NOT on conformity, compliance, and control
A way of being in community through relationships with students and families
Is ongoing professional learning that continues to build capacity on being an anti-racist/anti-oppressive educator
Aligns with current board supports of EML, Destreaming, and school success planning
Removes the onus of the student being the “problem” and recognizes the critical self-reflection and humility required by staff
Created by Skye Bowen
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