In the Fall of 2017, we attended MASSP’s Restorative Practices Foundations professional development offering. While many of us in attendance were there to learn about Michigan’s newly passed legislation requiring schools to consider restorative practices as it applied to the “7 Factors,” we walked away with so much more. Little did we know that our paths were going to cross with Roy Burton, the director of the Michigan Restorative Practices Trainers and Consultants. Roy captivated and inspired us to approach our job with a restorative mindset and we returned to Holly Middle School committed to learning more about, and applying, restorative practices.
We quickly learned that restorative practices are not just an “administration” thing, or a “some of us” thing. We learned that restorative practices are not something we do just after a negative issue arises. The mindset of the building needs to be focused on not just repairing and restoring relationships when they are damaged, but in creating the respectful and powerful relationships that prevent the damage from occurring in the first place. Ultimately, restorative practices are not what we do but it is who we are.
To help facilitate this shift in building culture, Haley and our counselors were trained in holding restorative circles. We began using circles when relationships were harmed and needed repair, both in student/student and teacher/student relationships. We had the ambitious plan to hold a restorative meeting between the teacher and student any time a student was sent to the office for a “minor” disciplinary situation (we’ve identified minor/major categories for students that land them in the office). While most of these meetings resulted in a positive outcome for the participants, we found that often the student would end up back in the office for another issue with someone else and the process would begin again. We needed to do more.
Last year we brought Roy in for a half-day inservice to help all of us understand the ideas and mindset behind restorative practices. It was an amazing morning. Roy connected and inspired us to see the need to develop a restorative culture and move beyond seeing restorative practices as something that is done only after something negative takes place. It also compelled us to develop a proposal to create a Restorative Practices Facilitator role in our building. Our proposal was met with great encouragement and support from our district leadership and we are excited to implement a Restorative Practice Facilitator in the 2019-2020 school year.
As we implement the role of a RP facilitator, our goal will be to coordinate 80 percent of their schedule to proactive measures. The RP facilitator will be responsible for staff training and professional development, campus supervision and the development of a strategic plan with goals and measurable data points. The RP facilitator will also coordinate with the administrative team to recruit, select and train core team members and create an educational program for parents. Furthermore, this role will assist with major school events, staff meetings and various school activities, along with establishing a routine schedule of restorative practice circles during our Leader in Me class time.
The other 20 percent of the role will be devoted to responding to conflict. The RP facilitator will be responsible for receiving students referred, collecting data from a referral, assessing the needs addressed within the referral and making considerations for inclusive, non-punitive ways to keep students in the academic environment. The RP facilitator will also use restorative discipline and conflict circles to address and repair harm.
Research tells us that Restorative Practices strengthens relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities. As we seek to further utilize and implement restorative practices throughout our building and through the intentional and purposeful use of a Restorative Practices Facilitator, the result will be a school culture that nurtures healthy relationships, works with students and staff to achieve desired outcomes, gives attention to student voices, and creates inclusivity and consistency.
Written by Eric Curl, Principal at Holly Middle School, and Haley Street, Assistant Principal at Holly Middle School