Restorative Practices in Schools: Circle in the Square

1. Restorative Practices in Schools: Circle in the Square Nancy Riestenberg School Climate Specialist

2. Pause. Listen. Breathe. education.state.mn.us

3. reductions Name; Where you live and where you work; Your favorite spring food. • Introductions

4. Outline education.state.mn.us Review of Restorative Measures in Minnesota Review of Research on Restorative Measures Reflections on the Alphabet: RM, PBIS, & SEL Opportunities and Challenges

5. Keep track of your knowledge education.state.mn.us • For each slide, give yourself a score: • 2 points for “I knew that!” • 1 point for “I didn’t know that…” • All Prizes will be awarded!

6. Restorative Schools are transparent and intentional education.state.mn.us • They build community & relationships • Accountability is to the person hurt and the school, not just the student handbook • Students are actively involved in fixing their mistakes • Support is given to the person harmed as well as the person who does the harm • Harm is seen as a teachable moment and a chance for face to face problem-solving • Circle in the Square, Riestenberg 2012

7. Restorative Measures: fair practice Person(s) harmed Person(s) who did harm Community • talk it through • identify solutions • restore order conflict/problem/harm done :

8. What happened? What were you thinking of at the time? What have you thought about since? Who has been affected by what you have done? In what way? What do you think you need to do to make things right? What did you think when you realized what had happened? What impact has this incident had on you and others? What has been the hardest thing for you? What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

9. Restorative Measures: The Practices • Restorative Group Conferencing • Incident-based: addressing harm • One or two meetings • Face to face, in a circle, with a trained Facilitator • Circle Process • Incident and other issues maybe addressed as needed • Can be on-going • Face to face, in Circle, with a talking piece and trained Circle Keeper education.state.mn.us

10. Welcome Conferencing What happened? What were you thinking? What were you feeling? Perspective Thoughts, emotions, actions Who has been affected? Empathy What are your strengths, what do you need to move on? Identify strengths and needs What could happen now to meet these needs and repair the harm? Trust and empowerment What next? agreements Plan and next steps From Belinda Hopkins, Transforming Conflict education.state.mn.us

11. Relational Elements of Circle Peacemaking Circles, Pranis, Stuart, Wedge, 2003

12. Program Evaluation showed the need for Whole School Implementation

13. Evaluations • Reduction in behavior referrals and suspensions—Minnesota, Pennsylvania • Improved attendance, behavior—Oakland, CA • Alternative to expulsion; family, participant, administrator satisfaction—Minneapolis • Improved school climate—Hull, Scotland • 90% conference agreement, participant satisfaction—Colorado • Parent willingness to trust school on other issues as well—Australia • Corrigan, 2012

14. Other Evaluations • New York Civil Liberties Union 2009 report • ‘successful schools’ had ‘significantly higher than average attendance, stability & graduation rates, & lower suspensions” than ‘metal detector schools.’ • Recommended mandated training on restorative practices, peer mediation and conflict resolution • New Zealand: • Suspensions of Maori Students reduced by 81% • Exclusions of Maori and non-Maori students halved • Academic achievement improved 10.8% in schools implementing restorative practices including above the national average improvement for Maori students

15. RestorativePracticesTriangle: Whole School Restorative group conferencing, Circle to repair harm Re-Build Relationships Few Some Early Intervention: mediation, restorative chats, classroom circles Repair Relationships Prevention & skill building; community building All Re-Affirm Relationships

16. Empathy

17. Build the skills of empathy education.state.mn.us The more we know of each other, the less likely we are to hurt each other.

18. Continuum of Restorative Practices Breathe Building Community Repairing Harm Community building circles Conference/circle with a small group of students Classroom circle with a whole class Affective Statements Restorative dialogue between several students Community conference /circle with students, parents and teachers From Thorsborne & Vinegrad, also, Costello, Wachtel & Wachtel and Mind Up! Curriculum

19. Why Breath? The Amygdala and Mindful Awareness Prefrontal Cortex Sens-ory Input Conscious Response and Learning Amygdala Prefrontal Cortex Amygdala Fight, Flight Freeze Response From The MindUp! Curriculum

20. The Circle Filmhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=RaI1PiobsGw education.state.mn.us

21. Pair/Share education.state.mn.us • What elements of restorative measures did you hear in that clip? • if you did a similar informational video for your school, • What situation would you use? • and who would you cast?

22. Respect Honesty Humility Sharing Courage Inclusivity Empathy Trust Forgiveness & Love Peacemaking Circles, Pranis, Stuart & Wedge Restorative Values

23. RP, SEL and PBIS Some thoughts about the alphabet

24. Discipline Approaches in Schools education.state.mn.us • Formal system: rule based, punishment for compliance • PBIS: teach pro-social behaviors, rule based, rewards over punishment for compliance • SEL: teach self management and awareness, self discipline outside the social context • RM: teach social engagement through relational practices that focus on individual and community well-being and accountability • Morrison and Vaandering

25. Integration of Restorative Practices with SEL & PBIS education.state.mn.us • Circle process provides a way of teaching social skills and the behaviors we want to see, while under-scoring relationship and community • Restorative interventions provide processes that use the skills we teach • Can respond to just the individual, but RM’s strength is in that it provides a community response • Involves with respect family, youth, staff • Offers opportunity to be culturally competent • Riestenberg

26. Theory and Practice education.state.mn.us • School-Wide PBIS framework has shelves for all practices • Environmental change, focusing on the adult behavior first • Integration: • Circle to re-enforce relationship while teaching academics or SEL • Restorative intervention provides the leverage of relationship to support behavior change

27. Minneapolis Triangle An example of the integration of various restorative, social emotional learning and positive behaviors programming around tiered levels of support. Minneapolis Public Schools

28. Minneapolis Public Schools • Return from Suspension, • Administrative Transfer or School Crime Diversion: • Victim Offender Meetings • Family/Community Group Conferences Early Intervention Intensive Intervention • Alternatives to Suspension: • Peer Mediation • Conflict Resolution Training • Circle to Repair Harm Prevention & Skill-building • Classroom and • Peace-keeping Circles: • Morning Meeting • Circles for SEL-Second Step • Instruction or Advisory • Staff Meetings • PTA Meetings • IEP Meetings Fall 2011 (jyb)

29. Support Each Other RP provides other interventions at the yellow and red levels Circle provides a way of delivering content, especially SEL, that strengthens relationships at the same time as helping adults see each child PBIS as a framework provides the attention needed to effectively implement programming

30. Issues--Challenges Disproportionate Minority Representation in Suspensions and Expulsions Bullying Implementation: building and stoking the RP fire

31. Disproportionality in Suspensions, Expulsions • In Minnesota, Students of Color are more likely to be suspended than White students: • Black students—7 times more likely • American Indian students—5 times more likely • Hispanic students—2 times more likely • America Indian students are 2% of the student population, and 10 % of the students expelled • Black students are 9 % of the student population, and 13% of the students expelled. • 2013 Report to the Legislature; http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/StuSuc/StuRight/StuDisc/Expul/index.html

32. Restorative Justice as Alternative Youth who are suspended and expelled are at greater risk of being referred to the juvenile justice system. Restorative justice offers an alternative to zero-tolerance policies and a way to keep youth of color in schools and out of the correctional system. School Based Restorative Justice as an alternative to Zero tolerance Policies – Lessons from West Oakland, Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, UC Berkeley, School of Law 2010

33. Bullying and Cyberbullying • Who is affected? Students, administrators, family members, parents, friends, teams, neighbors, teachers, staff, police, other schools, the IT department, janitors, the lunch lady… • Which is to say: • “Bullying is a relationship problem that requires relationship solutions.” • Pepler & Craig http://www.education.com/reference/article/role-of-adults-in-preventing-bullying/

34. Restorative Practices are Relational • Practices that sustain “safe and just school communities, grounded in the premise that human beings are relational and thrive in contexts of social engagement over control.” • Morrison, 2011, • Pranis, 2007

35. Implementation • Takes time—to implement any new program fully take 2-5 years: • To bring people together • To plan • To train and coach • To collect and review data • To participate in a restorative process

36. education.state.mn.us “On the whole, programs in which implementation was systematically monitored tended to be more effective than programs without any monitoring.” • The Effectiveness of Whole-School Antibullying Programs: A Synthesis of Evaluation Research, Smith, Schneider, Smith & Ananiadou, School Psychology Review, 2004, Volume 33, No. 4, pp. 547-560.

37. The Use and Effectiveness of Anti-Bullying Strategies in Schools, 2010 education.state.mn.us • 5.5.2: Restorative approaches provide an effective, flexible range of strategies to prevent and respond to bullying, but need to be used consistently and throughout the whole school • (Full Report, pp. 99-102, Section 4.3.6; general findings, pp. 73-82, Section 4.1). Thompson & Smith, 2010

38. If adopting restorative approaches as a whole-school approach: education.state.mn.us • provide whole staff training – adult modeling is critical … and staff need training in restorative approaches before attempting to apply it to a bullying incident • embed restorative approaches with the students – including training any peer schemes in restorative approaches • direct sanctions are needed as a back up if the restorative process fails. • Thompson & Smith, 2010

39. Minneapolis Public Schools Alterative to Expulsion program evaluation, 2011 education.state.mn.us • Preliminary analyses indicate: • Students report making better decisions and avoiding expulsion proceedings; • Significant reductions in number of suspensions during referral year vs. one year later; • Improvements in communication and school connections for both students and family. • Applying Restorative Justice Practices to Minneapolis Public School Students Recommended for Possible Expulsion: A Pilot Program Evaluation of the Family and Youth Restorative Conference Program

40. Final Thought education.state.mn.us

41. Behavior is influenced by food, sleep and exercise education.state.mn.us

42. Smile at kids. Call them by name. Show interest in their lives.

43. Thank you! Nancy Riestenberg School Climate Specialist Minnesota Department of Education 651-582-8433 nancy.riestenberg@state.mn.us

44. References • Circle in the Square: Building Community and Repairing Harm in Schools, Nancy Riestenberg, 2012. Living Justice Press, www.livingjusticepress.org. • Corrigan, M. (2012) Restorative Practices in New Zealand: The Evidence Base. Ministry of Education. Contact Mark.corrigan@minedu.govt.nz. • Gun Free Schools Act of 1994. http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/sec14601.html. • McMorris, B.J, et. al. Applying Restorative Justice Practices to Minneapolis Public School Students Recommended for Possible Expulsion: A Pilot Program Evaluation of the Family and Youth Restorative Conference Program poster session. Contact Dr. Barbara McMorris, University of Minnesota at mcmo0023@umn.edu. • MindUp Curriculum: Brain-focused Strategies for Learning—and Living. The Hawn Foundation, Scholastic, 2011. www.thehawnfoundation.org. • Minneapolis Public Schools, Student Support Services, (612) 668-0867, julie.young-burns@mpls.k12.mn.us • Morrison, BE., & Vaandering, D. (2012). Restorative Justice: Pedagogy, Praxis, and Discipline, Journal Of School Violence, 11:2, 138-155. Retrieved 4/10/2012 at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2011.653322. • Morrison, B. (2011). From social control to social engagement: Enabling the “time and space” to talk through restorative justice and responsive regulation. In R. Rosenfeld, K. Quinet, & C. Garcia (Eds.), Contemporary issues in criminology theory and research (pp. 97-106). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

45. References education.state.mn.us • Minnesota Department of Education • Student Success—Safe Schools http://education.state.mn.us/mde/index.html . • Implementation of Effective Practices http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/BestPrac/ImpleEffecPrac/index.html • Positive Behavior Intervention Supports, http://pbismn.org/ . • Pranis, K (2007). Restorative Values. In G. Johnstone & D. Van Ness (Eds.), Handbook of Restorative justice (pp. 59-74). Cullompton, England: Willan. • Restoring Safe School Communities: a whole school response to bullying violence and alienation, Brenda Morrison, Federation Press, 2007, www.federationpress.com.au. • Thompson, F., Smith, P.K., (2010). The Use and Effectiveness of Anti-Bullying Strategies in Schools. Research Report DFE-RR098, Department for Education, United Kingdom. • Ttofi, M.M., Farrington, D.P., & Baldry, C.A. (2008). Effectiveness of programs to reduce school bullying: a systematic review. Stockholm: Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. • Ttofi, M. M. & Farrington, D. P. (2008) Bullying: short-term and long-term effects, and the importance of Defiance Theory in explanation and prevention. Victims and Offenders, 3 (2), 289-312. • Ttofi, M. M. & Farrington, D. P. (2008). Reintegrative shaming theory, moral emotions and bullying behavior. Aggressive Behaviour, 34 (4), 352 – 368.