Restorative Practices

Restorative Practices are ways for a school community to build relationships, problem solve and learn. In this approach, relationships are the most important way we learn about the world and ourselves.

A Restorative Practice school and community believe:

• Everyone in the school community is good, wise and powerful.
• We are all connected to one another.
• All of us want to be in good, healthy relationships with others.
• We all have talents and gifts we bring to school.
• It takes time, habits and support to build and maintain positive relationships.

In addition to the Restorative Practice sites, many schools are seeking to use restorative approaches to create a sense of community and repair harm.

Why Restorative Practices?

Restorative Practices has four core objectives:

1. Students and educators will experience increasingly authentic, nurturing relationships
2. Harm within school settings will be recognized and repaired, with people who cause harm increasingly taking responsibility for actions, and supportive adults seeking to address root causes of misbehavior
3. Attendance improves (fewer unexcused absences, less chronic absenteeism)
4. Discipline becomes more equitable, less frequent

The 7 Core Assumptions

1. The true self in everyone is good, wise and powerful.
2. The world is profoundly interconnected.
3. All human beings have a deep desire to be in a good relationship.
4. All human beings have gifts and everyone is needed for what they bring.
5. Everything we need to make a positive change is already here.
6. Human beings are holistic.
7. We need practices to build habits of living from the core self.

 

If you are having trouble viewing the document, you may download the document.

Contact Us

• Shawn Davenport (shawn.davenport@spps.org), District Restorative Practices Lead
• Jim Yang (jim.yang@spps.org), District Restorative Practices Coordinator