Changing School Culture: 5 Schools Practicing Restorative Justice
by Shani Ealey, Staff Writer
August 25, 2016
The end of August is quickly approaching which means many of our students will be getting ready for the new school year. School is the place for new possibilities and higher learning. It is a place where youth are encouraged and supported throughout their academic journey. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case for every student. If you are Black or Brown and attend a school where there are police officers or school resource officers in schools, your academic experience may be wrought with violent and uncomfortable encounters with police.
This is something that no child should have to endure.
Over the last few years we have been working to address the criminalization of Black youth in schools. Through our Bettering Our School System campaign (BOSS), we have fought hard for the disinvestment of police in schools. Police officers are not the solution to school conflicts. There are other ways — restorative justice is one of them. Alternatives may seem hard to imagine when for so long police have been the resort that educators fall on when dealing with school conflict. But it is important that we stress that there are other ways to address the issue of school discipline. We can create healthy, encouraging, and supportive environments for our youth that do not involve police.
Check out these 5 schools that are utilizing alternative practices for dealing with school conflict, disciplinary actions, and well being.
1. Robert W. Coleman Elementary – West Baltimore
What happens when a school makes an intentional effort to center the emotional, mental, and academic well-being of their students? What happens when a school takes a step away from traditional punitive measures for student discipline and decides to center mindfulness? The answer is simple — a radically different school culture that centers the well-being of their students. This is what is happening at Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in West Baltimore.1 As a part of the Mindful Moment program of the Holistic Life Foundation, children at Robert W. Coleman began each day with a mindfulness breathing exercise and have the option of taking a yoga class. They have even created a mindful room where children go to recenter themselves, meditate and reflect when facing conflict, rather than interacting with a police officer or being sent to the principle’s office. Read more about Robert W. Coleman Elementary School
2. Pittsfield Middle High School – New Hampshire
Pittsfield Middle High, a small school in New Hampshire, is also taking a student-centered learning approach to discipline.2 Their response to low level conflict is to redirect it to their justice committee which is made up of student mediators and school administrators and teachers who serve as advisors. The justice committee meetings are held in a circle and encourage honest dialogue between the involving parties. The Pittsfield committee has handled a dozen mediations stemming from interpersonal disputes among students and some cases involving students and teachers. Again, here’s further proof that suspensions, expulsions, and calls to police are not the only option for handling student conflict. Read more about Pittsfield Middle High
3. Arturo A. Schomburg Satellite Academy – New York
Intention goes a long way when it comes to creating healthy and supportive learning environment for youth. At Arturo A. Schomburg Satellite Academy, english teacher Argo Gonzalez begins each class with a 5 minute mindfulness meditation. His students are Black and Brown, in their late teens, and have experienced trauma which impacts their well-being. With mindfulness, “it improves attention, reduces stress, and results in better emotional regulation and an improved capacity for compassion and empathy.”3 Gonzalez’ intention coupled with mindfulness demonstrates the importance of an educator who puts the concerns of students first and isn’t afraid to break the mold and try a new way. Read more about Arturo A. Schomburg Satellite Academy
4. Nystrom Elementary School – Richmond, California
Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, California uses mindfulness and restorative justice practices to address student conflict and trauma. According to KQED, “In 2013, there were four homicides, 39 armed robberies and 47 assaults with a deadly weapon reported to the police in South Richmond.”4 These young students are experiencing loss, grief, and trauma which impacts their emotions, work, and well-being. Since implementing mindfulness training at Nystrom, the school has seen a 20 percent drop in suspensions. Read more about Nystrom Elementary School
5. Ralph J. Bunche Academy – Oakland, California
“Restorative justice is not a program; it’s a way of being,” says Ralph J. Bunche Academy Principal Betsye Steele. Under the direction of principal Steele, Bunche Academy is working hard to incorporate restorative justice practices throughout the entire school which includes having a full-time restorative justice coordinator.5 Bunche Academy works in partnership with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), an organization that works to “interrupt these cycles by promoting institutional shifts toward restorative approaches that actively engage families, communities, and systems to repair harm and prevent re-offending.”6 As a result of this new way of being, the school culture and environment at Bunche Academy has seen a radical shift. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “Suspensions not only dropped by 51 percent last year, but they continue to fall, and Bunche eliminated disproportionality in suspensions for African-Americans.” Read more about Ralph J. Bunch Academy School.
We have to move away utilizing antiquated disciplinary methods that seek to constantly criminalize rather than support and heal our youth. This is what our BOSS campaign is all about. Our goal is to end the criminalization of Black and Brown students in the Oakland Unified School District. We have to stop pouring resources into police and invest in alternative models of school safety that don’t rely on police. And lastly, we want to restructure the current policies and practices within OUSD that don’t take a restorative justice approach to student discipline.
The five schools listed above are just a few examples showing us that it is possible. We can change school culture and keep our youth safe.
References
- “Baltimore school deals with conflict by sending kids to the Mindful Moment Room instead of the principal’s office” Inhabitots, 8-12-2016 http://bit.ly/2biheYf
- “When Restorative Justice in Schools Works” The Atlantic, 12-29-2015, http://theatln.tc/1krKniN
- “How Mindfulness Meets the Classroom” The Atlantic, 08-31-2015, http://theatln.tc/1JGOst6
- “Low-income Schools See Big Benefits in Teaching Mindfulness” KQED, 01-17-2014 http://bit.ly/2b6PaF6
- “Restorative justice: One high school’s path to reducing suspensions by half” The Christian Science Monitor, 3-31-2013, http://bit.ly/1hnApcj
- “Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth” 8-23-2016, http://rjoyoakland.org/about/