Evaluating restorative justice for schools

Randall Comfort, Assistant Upper School Director
Mounds Park Academy
2051 Larpenteur Ave. East
St. Paul, MN 55109

It seems that weekly there are stories in the news about kids acting out in society and communities struggling to find ways to heal from deep wounds. Press conferences seem to provide little consolation for a grieving public and often the perpetrators of harm get most of the attention. In schools, the typical response of administrators is to remove students that have committed harm in order to protect the safety of others. There is an alternative to this approach that may have a far greater impact on society and actually help schools reclaim their place as community institutions that care for each young person. The alternative solution to suspension or expulsion is called Restorative Justice (RJ) and it may change the way schools operate.

PEASE Academy in Minneapolis was selected for fall 2002 as a pilot site for RJ. The entire staff attended a three day comprehensive training on Restorative practices and were trained to become “Circle Keepers.” All who participated learned a bevy of skills relating to restoring safety to a community after an event or conflict has arisen. The concept of Restorative Justice is to allow each person in a “community” to both have a chance to speak and to be an active listener while sitting in a circle. The circle keeper is the one person that shapes the topic to be discussed, and facilitates the passing of a talking piece around the circle. A participant may choose to pass the piece without talking, but only the person with the talking piece is allowed to speak. It is an amazing process that allows all members of the community equal access to input and feedback and can be used as a teaching device, a community issue forum, a classroom management tool, or an opportunity to resolve conflict.

Restorative practices have been used in indigenous communities for ages as a way to have the community have a say in how to handle its problems. Before educators began to utilize the power of circles, corrections systems in the United States had implemented circles with victims and offenders in order to facilitate healing and personal responsibility. The concept of a community circle is certainly not new, but the application of RJ to school discipline is newer and some schools in Minnesota seem to be early adopters of the practice.

As with any new approach to educating students, there are always questions that arise. For example, does RJ just make people feel good and not actually discipline a wrong-doer? Well, one of the key components of RJ is that the process can be very healing for a community that has suffered a blow. Participation in an RJ circle must be totally voluntary, it cannot be coercive. Often the victims of the harm have little voice in the follow through and the perpetrators, once removed, do not have to hear the pain that they have caused by their action. Personal responsibility is one of the cornerstones of American jurisprudence and circles actually contribute more to someone having to own their behavior and listen to how they affected others. They may still be removed from the community if necessary, but at least there is an approach that the community gets to help shape a plan of action for all to go forward.

What happens if circles are not effective in solving a problem? Circles are not designed to solve any given problem and should be seen as part of a process of healing and learning and not as the end result of any situation. When used appropriately, circles are extraordinary in opening lines of communication and understanding. Conversely, if overused, the power of using RJ circles can become diluted and ineffective. School leadership must understand when to use a circle rather than only direct punishment, how to shape the focus of the circle to end up in a proactive place and the vision required to use a culture building somewhat non-traditional approach to dealing with negative behavior.

What if someone agrees to be part of a circle because they think they should and they don’t really participate? It is always possible that an individual will not actively share, but in being present and needing to listen respectfully, it is virtually impossible for someone to not get something out of a circle. It has been my experience that it may the person least likely to speak out that has the most profound impact on the group and that reluctant participants are not immune from being moved. There are no sure bets with circles, but the group may still get a benefit even if some are reluctant to join the proceedings. Each person has the opportunity to share in earnest from their perspective, so a Circle Keeper must be sensitive to cultural differences, emotional sensitivity of the participants, and that the outcome is not something that can be manipulated. The group dynamic will assert a will on the participants and listening to feedback can be very difficult for some participants. But, it should be understood that simply by agreeing to participate in a circle, one must make a gesture toward inclusion and be respected regardless of what they have done.

Who should participate in a circle? There are different types of circles and each one is unique. The ideal use of circles is to have anyone participate that is part of a community that wishes to have an input. For example, if two students vandalize some property near the school, then the participants of a circle would be the owners of the property, the students who committed the act, any police community relations officers, some students concerned about the perception of the school, a school administrative representative, and, perhaps, a parent of one of the students who vandalized. The use of RJ as a teaching tool can be a phenomenal way to get reluctant students to participate in the community. Also, a class can have a circle of learning or understanding, or address the harmful affects of negative attitudes and behavior. The type of circle dictates who should be present and how it should be facilitated.

The initial training in RJ was three days long and was full of intensive role playing scenarios, theory and history of RJ, and various community experts sharing their wisdom. Since being adopted by PEASE, the staff has seen some amazing culture shaping occur at our school. The number of disciplinary interventions has dropped throughout the school year due to positive impact of circles. Students report feeling more connected to the community and to each other, and the personalization of the school’s mission is profound. The Mounds View district was awarded a grant to implement and train other selected sites for becoming RJ adopters. The extensive training in August 2002 allowed the PEASE staff to be coached by some highly sought after and respected mentors. The entire staff also participated in a one-day refresher training and sharing session three months after the initial training.

The mission and values of PEASE Academy are thoroughly supported by implementing RJ into the community. PEASE is a school that works with students in recovery from chemical addiction and gets students from all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Progressive leadership that seeks to empower their organizations to take ownership of problem solving can utilize RJ to shape a positive, inclusive, and compassionate learning environment. Peers play such a large role in the development of teens, but teens in recovery from chemical addiction especially need to process and be heard. Recovering teens also need to give up using friends to protect their sobriety and, in order to sacrifice what they have known and been drawn to, they need to have a personal connection to other people and their learning community. In a sense, RJ is a framework for how students at PEASE need to be supported.

The adoption of restorative justice practices has helped PEASE Academy significantly and formalized how all members of a learning community should be treated. The focus of rebuilding trust and hope to a community that has been harmed is paramount to any healing and growth. Restorative practices also seem to have an effect on the lack of students requiring discipline intervention. The impact on an administrator’s time to not have to be drawn into student and staff conflict is immeasurable. The next time a student acts out in your school consider there might be a better way to deal with them.

Further reading

Boyes-Watson, Carolyn. The Journey of Circles at ROCA. Report on the Period July 2001-June 30, 2002. The Center for Restorative Justice at Suffolk University.

Fiene, Joan. The Three “R”s and the Three “P”s: Using Restorative Justice as a Tool for Learning and Drop Out Prevention. Conciliation Quarterly Newsletter, Vol. 12, No. 2, Spring 1993.

Mikaelsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear. 2001. Harper Collins, New York, NY.

http://restorativejustice.org (extensive website)

Strang, Heather. Crime Against Schools: the Potential for a Restorative Justice Approach. Position Paper. Australian National University. 1999.

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