Restorative Practices and Actually Practicing It!

I am really passionate about Restorative Practices. I believe it can truly transform the culture of schools and thus positively impact the teaching and learning. This is a relatively new approach to discipline for our staff as we moved away from a highly structured punitive method of behavior management. Introduced last year, Restorative Practices, have really taken off. From students, to staff, to parents, everyone is getting involved and getting informed and equipped with skills to better deal with conflict.

This year we are really grounding our staff in the art of practice. Several of our regional leaders have attended professional learning in Denver this Summer with Relay. As a result we are heavily embedding practice into our staff on-boarding process. This looks like teacher practicing predetermined skills in front of their peers and receiving affirming and adjusting feedback to improve and try again. With all of this being said I am really excited to combine the art of practice with the restorative practice professional development sessions I have planned this year.

So far teachers have really taken a liking to the new form of practice. Though they may have been apprehensive at first, after the last two weeks of intentional practice they’ve become accustomed to it. In addition, they can see their growth in themselves, and are thus becoming even more engaged when practicing as they can see how it enhances their craft almost immediately. Another reason I want to combine the two are the way it allows myself and other leaders to see gaps in learning. I say this because over the last two weeks of practice I have been able to clearly discern which teachers have management gaps, and those who do not. Likewise I am anxious to learn who has RP gaps, so I can plan to support them throughout the year strategically.

Last  year in setting the foundation for our first year with the new discipline approach we did a lot of professional learning and dabbled in practice, however this year it’d be the practice would be much more intentional and for longer periods of time. Some tenants of RP that are hard for teachers and staff members to implement are affective statements, de-escalation strategies, and trigger reduction. Since these tend to be the hardest things to master, this is where our practice will be heavily based. I want my staff to have so many “at bats” or practice role-plays, that by the time a student gives them a chance to apply their learning for real they will be experts.