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Challenge

My school, (and eventually district,) needs to revisit our discipline policies and procedures. Current systems are not consistent or equitable, and students and teachers are often left frustrated and unsupported. I believe that creating a system centered on restorative justice/practices would be beneficial. Restorative practices are not a tool that can be selected from a menu of options, but rather about creating a system focused on building, maintaining and repairing relationships. In order to do that, we ned to learn about restorative practices, and determine if that is a collective mindset we are willing to adopt.

Stakeholders

• Students & families

• Building staff, certified and classified

• Building and District Administrators

Why is it important for your diverse stakeholders that this challenge be addressed?

At the building level, each group of stakeholders will be impacted through the process of learning about and remolding our current systems (policies) to center around restorative practices. Our building administrator will look at and handle "major behaviors" differently. Our staff, both classified and certified, will understand the system better, and have strategies for working through challenges with students and each other. Our students and families will benefit because our policies will be created with equity in mind, and they will be consistent and clear.

In what ways will addressing the challenge promote or support diversity, equity, cultural competence?

My goal is that my school will be a leader in our district in ensuring that all students are learning with teachers who understand and work to create socially just learning communities. In order for this to happen, we need to ensure that we recognize issues that might impact equity and empathy in our building. Restorative practices can not happen if we do not examine our current systems and understand our own personal and professional biases.

Is it your intention to change an existing policy or implement a new policy? Explain.

I would like to rewrite our current school discipline policy. (See school handbook below) It is written with a "punishment" mindset. I think if we truly want a school that celebrates learning, community, and safety, we need to think about behavior and discipline like we think about academics. We need to give students the chance to make mistakes, repair and learn from those mistakes. Our policies need to reflect that mindset.

I do need to investigate whether or not it is possible to start by changing our school policy, or if I will need to look at policy from the district level. I know I can work with our MTSS plans to begin with.

Why might this policy be a viable solution for your challenge?

There is a desire amongst staff for something to change in terms of behavior and discipline. It has been an ongoing concern, for at least 3 years. We've admired the problem for a long time, but we haven't had anyone step up to take action. Restorative practices will not be the "set of tools" that staff is looking for, but they can be part of a system that creates a culture of safety and learning in our building. I believe that we need to not only learn about and in the future, implement, but we need to make sure our families and community understand what restorative practices are, and how they will impact the way we deal with challenges. That happens when we have policy and procedures written, studied and clear. (See survey results, and narratives gathered from staff below)

On which two Overarching Competencies will you focus on addressing the identified challenge? Why are they relevant to this particular challenge?

Reflective Practice: In order to create this kind of systems and policy change, there will need to be a lot of reflection. Each member of our staff will need to be practicing some self reflection, and examining their own practices and beliefs. We will need to be reflective as a group, considering what has worked for us, what hasn't, and what our data tells us.

Group Processes: There will be many opportunities for conversations as we work through this learning. I believe there is potential for some difficult conversations as we uncover some practices that may unknowingly cause harm, or have not been successful practices. We have staff members that are very adamant about having a list of consequences, and restorative practices might challenge that thinking. As a group, we'll need to work hard to listen and speak, understanding that we are working towards a common goal.

On which competency within Diversity-Equity-Cultural Competence will you focus on address the identified challenge? Why is it important for this particular challenge?

I believe we will be working through the "Collaborate Purposefully" competence, with the goal being that we are indeed able to land in the "Cultivate Socially Just Learning Environments." If positive climate and culture are a part of my school's mission, and if we want our systems to be reframed around restorative practices, we need to identify our shared goals, and then work to make sure we are including and learning from all voices in our community.

Which competency in the Policy pathway will you focus on in addressing this challenge? Why is it relevant for this particular challenge?

Implementation: As a group we have determined that our current procedures (and policies) are not working for our students or staff. They are unclear and followed inconsistently. Using research, collaboration and consideration of current practices, we can create a change that when implemented, is easy to understand and follow, and it will reflect our mission and vision.

With whom will you work in addressing your identified challenge? Who else might you recruit beyond your own cultural and/or professional identity group?

I will be working closely with my building administrator. We will be coming at the task with very different perspectives. I've been at my school for 17 years, and this is his first year with us. He is very data driven, and though I think data is important, I'm very "person" driven. He will be a great resource for me in nudging me out of my comfort zone. We will also need a team of people willing to learn. I believe it will be beneficial to include some of the staff that might be more hesitant about this potential change. They can be a great sounding board for seeing things from yet another perspective.

Which resources (people, money, programs, time and space, etc.) do you have to address the challenge? What resources will you need?

I need the support of my principal and our MBI team. If we are going to learn more in order to rewrite policy, we'll need training, which means money to pay for books (book study,) and time. There is the potential to bring in a Restorative Practices consultant. In order to make all of these things happen, my principal will need to budget for them, and get the go ahead from our district team.