Restorative practices in Schools

Restorative Practices In Schools

Building Community and Creating Healthy Learning Environments

Restorative Practices are ancient Native American traditions based on community values and principles that are designed to enhance social connections and build community. They seek to address all aspects of the holistic human experience (mental, physical, spiritual and emotional) to promote healing. Restorative Practices services provided include:

Circle Facilitation

Circles focus on building community, enhancing social connections, and creating opportunities for healing through counseling. Available Restorative Circles fall into 3 categories:

Tier 1: Community Building Circles
Tier 2: Repairing Harm Circles
Tier 3: Reintegration Circles

Available circles include but are not limited to welcome circles, connection circles, bereavement/healing circles, wellness support circles and celebratory circles. Also accountability circles, problem-solving circles, conflict resolution/mediation circles and other circles designed to address the social-emotional needs of the student and staff.

Training & Consultations

Consultations are provided to school administration to assist in improving school culture and building community. Coaching is provided to teach school staff how to effectively engage, manage and develop relationships with student ; specifically challenging/oppositional defiant youth. Training is provided to help teaching staff to understand mental health issues students present in classroom settings and how to effectively respond to these students using restorative language, chats an conversations to deescalate potential crises in restorative ways. Supervision is also provided to School Social Workers and Guidance Counselors to enhance the quality and effectiveness of counseling services and to improve productivity.