Restorative Justice
Explanation & Overview
"Restorative Justice (RJ) is a philosophy and set of practices, rooted in indigenous teachings, that emphasize our interconnection by repairing relationships when harm occurs while proactively building and maintaining relationships to prevent future harm" (David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris). A shift to restorative justice involves aligning the district’s culture with values of respect, equity, accountability, and trust. The goals of restorative justice include:
Creating just and equitable learning environments
Nurturing healthy relationships
Repairing harm and transforming conflict
Restorative justice does not simply fix harm. It is a process and guide that rehumanizes how we interact as a community - among staff, students, and all community members. It is both a practice and a path for us to start dismantling racist ideas, beliefs, and structures at all levels of our system - from the personal and interpersonal to the institutional and systemic. It will help us transform Winooski into a community that honors the dignity of all, respects the cultures of all, and centers mutual concern for all.
There are three tiers to restorative justice, each forming an important layer that helps support a cohesive system:
Tier 1 (Universal): Build Community & Strengthen Relationships
Tier 1.5 (Responsive): Respond in the Moment
Tier 2 (Targeted): Repair Relationships
Tier 3 (Intensive): Reenter Community
The following visual illustrates these tiers and provides examples of what each one looks like:
Note: You can see Universal and Responsive have been given their own layers, as they have distinct characteristics. Responsive is often referred to as Tier 1.5 because it begins to connect with the practices in Tier 2.
As WSD begins implementing restorative justice, it is important to be slow and thoughtful in the process, developing a strong foundation for Tier 1 first before moving deeper into Tiers 2 and 3. This allows time to form a consistent restorative mindset across the district while building trust and connection that are important for more responsive, targeted, and intensive practices. Also, we must be even more thoughtful with implementation during a pandemic.
There are many strengths that WSD already possesses: some staff members familiar with restorative justice have been using it in their classrooms as well at the Wellness Room; there is a strong social-emotional learning curriculum; and the Winooski Students for Antiracism have provided the district with a clear map for antiracism. The district wants to build upon these strengths as it seeks to ground its culture in restorative justice, creating an environment that will support further equity and antiracism work moving forward.
Click the following links for more information about youth involvement in restorative justice:
Year 1: 2020-2021 School Year
Laying the Foundations for Restorative Justice
Engage all staff in an introductory training on restorative justice in education
Solidify the district’s purpose for implementing restorative justice
Collect and analyze data through the youth-adult team to answer: "How do we make Winooski a beloved community by implementing restorative justice?"
Come up with a plan for integrating RJ with existing frameworks
Build community among staff within the school through restorative justice circles
Inform families about the shift to RJ
Begin developing a language around RJ
Strengthen the foundation for RJ: This requires progress toward anti-racism and a dismantling of traditional power structures including empowering youth voice
A Note on Language
Many schools use the language of “restorative practices” (RP). Some use RP to describe any proactive work and “restorative justice" (RJ) to describe any reactive work. Some schools do not use the language of RJ at all because of a belief that RJ is for the justice system while RP is for schools.
Winooski School District intentionally uses the term “restorative justice” instead of “restorative practices” with all aspects of the work because justice—the fostering of equitable systems and environments—should be the foundation of every step of the process. The language use of RP emphasizes the practices and often neglects the philosophy of RJ. The practices must be informed by the philosophy that is rooted in indigenous teachings. It's also important to remember that a significant part of RJ is a commitment to seeking justice which includes making right historical harms that manifest themselves through racism, patriarchy, colonization, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, adultism, etc.
Questions or Comments?
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