Fighting Back in Partnership with the Santa Barbara Restorative Network is striving to create a restorative community. Specifically we are partnering with schools to create campuses that implement a restorative approach to discipline. The following is an outline of our approach.
Project Summary
School Based Restorative Approaches (SBRA) utilizes the fundamental principles of Restorative Justice, viewing misconduct as a violation against individuals and damages relationships in the school and throughout the community. Schools can apply restorative approaches to respond to student’s needs and prevent or address conflict before it escalates. SBRA emphasizes the value of empathy, respect, honesty, acceptance, responsibility, and accountability.
- Accountability – SBRA provides opportunities for wrongdoers to be accountable to those they have harmed and enable them to repair the harm they caused in a meaningful way.
- Competency Development – Provides ways to effectively address behavior and other complex school issues. Seeks to build on the strengths in a person and increase the pro-social skills of those who have harmed others by addressing underlying factors that lead youth to misconduct.
- Community Safety – Improves safety by preventing future harm by offering a supportive environment that can identify concerning student behaviors.
- Reduced Suspension and Expulsion rate – By offering alternative discipline and interventions resulting in short and long term behavioral changes.
- Relationship Building – Enriches student/student and student/teacher relationships
Project Plan
School Based Restorative Approaches vary from a single program implementation to infusing school philosophy. The more pervasive SBRAs are utilized throughout the school, the more effective SBRA will be. SBRA can be implemented through daily or weekly practices used in the classrooms and/or as formal programs available to students who have violated school rules. SBRAs that involve routine classroom meetings promote awareness and understanding by discussing classroom issues and aid students in learning how to solve problems in a democratic setting. Below are four primary methods by which successful School Based Restorative Approaches will be implemented.
- Classroom Circles: Daily or weekly classroom relationship building practices
- Restorative mediation: Occurs when a student violate school rules.
- Re-entry Mediations: Occurs when a student has been removed from the school and is returning to campus.
- Student Leadership: Leadership skill building groups for students who are trained in Restorative Approaches
If you are interested in learning more please contact the office at 805-346-1774.