Restorative practices provide meaningful opportunities for social engagement that foster empathy and mutual responsibility for the well-being of individuals and the community. Proactive practices intentionally build trust and understanding within the community to ensure a healthy supportive climate and environment. When things go wrong, restorative practices engage those affected and create space so that individuals and communities can effectively identify, understand, and address harms and needs—this facilitates healing.
Whole-Approach to Restorative Practices:
- Begins with proactive community-building circles to develop relationships with staff and students and increase a sense of belonging
- Promotes activities to ensure things go right such as, collaboratively establishing classroom norms and encourage assessments of how we are doing
- Establish systems and structures to apply restorative principles such as, establish clarity for what is expected to be managed in the classroom, what requires in-class support, and when to refer to the office.
- Woven into a school’s MTSS framework
“Restorative Practices to me is a lifestyle. It means community, it means building relationships, it means healing.”