Restorative practices

PLO Goals

Learn about strategies and programs that seek to empower students and enable them to become more engaged in their school community & foster independence and empathy.

PLO Learnings

Peer Mediation creates a more democratic environment and school culture. It also promotes independence and strengthens conflict resolution skills for students who act as mediators as well as students who work through mediations.

Integration of Techniques and Practices

● Peer Mediation​ program has been piloted in one 5th grade classroom. One mediator has been trained though other students are interested. Ulima has facilitated numerous mediation sessions. Other teachers have been informed of peer mediation, and the process has been discussed with the parents of involved students.

● PAY IT FORWARD​ was created to further strengthen school community and foster student empowerment and empathy. 8th grade students voluntarily signed up to create a “Pay it Forward” committee with the goal of raising money for various community causes, and volunteering in elementary classes. Students created and maintained a “compliment box” and organized a trip to a senior center.

Reflection

GLOWS​:

Student buy in, parent engagement, effectiveness of peer-mediation

GROWS​:

Scheduling & logistics (finding space & allocating time), expanding programs

Next Steps

● Peer Mediation​ - We would like to spread the program into additional classrooms & grades. While creating a peer mediation room remains an end goal, we want to make sure that more students, teachers, and families are aware of the program and support the program.

● Pay it Forward​ - Current 8th grade members will select incoming 8th graders (current 7th graders) to continue the program. We hope to expand the classroom volunteering and create a more concrete system for teachers to request volunteers, and for students to request volunteer placements.