How to not only switch from traditional discipline to restorative practices but also reinforce those practices.
A few years ago, I taught a group of 7th graders that led multiple teachers to resign mid-year. Their behavior was unlike anything the veteran teachers had ever seen before, and the usual disciplinary actions just weren’t working.
Threats about getting a phone call home were met with responses like, “I’ll call them for you.” Students have access to the world at their fingertips, so a suspension doesn’t equal being temporarily cut off from peers until their return to school.
In fact, our students viewed suspensions as “a day off.” Many negative behaviors stem from unmet needs, and unfortunately, students don’t always know how to communicate those needs in a healthy way.
Our students’ behaviors changed when we spent time getting to know them better and focused on addressing the root causes of their behaviors instead of punishing them. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were implementing restorative practices.
The following school year, we were proactive by starting with restorative practices already in place.
Restorative practices are activities that use communication, conflict resolution, and relationship-building to manage student behavior.
Instead of punishing students with referrals and suspension for negative behaviors, schools that use restorative practices turn behavior incidents into teachable moments.
The incidents become opportunities for students to take accountability for their actions and for educators to learn and address the root cause of the behavior.
Schools that use restorative practices create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued. Students learn to view school staff as supportive partners in their education rather than as authority figures who will punish them for every mistake.
Restorative practices can decrease the number of behavior incidents because the students know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, feel empowered to advocate for themselves and trust that the adults in the building will help them if there’s a problem.
All of these benefits remind students that there’s no need to “take matters into their own hands.” This ultimately results in fewer referrals, fewer suspensions, and a safer school environment.
Restorative practices can be proactive or reactive. Proactive restorative practices center around building a community of trust and healthy communication.
One way to do this is by collaborating with students at the beginning of the school year to create a behavior contract. This sets a positive tone for the school year because it shows students that you value their voices.
Other examples of proactive restorative practices include:
Unfortunately, despite being proactive, there will still be behavior incidents that need to be addressed.
Restorative practices serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident and helping the student learn from it. One example that can fit the bill for both proactive and reactive practices is restorative circles.
Restorative circles are commonly used to resolve conflicts between students. Instead of sending students to detention for arguing, they can participate in a restorative circle where they can talk to each other to understand their perspectives and work together to solve the problem.
But they can also be utilized as a proactive, preventative measure as well. With restorative circles, you’re developing a protocol for the members of your classroom community to communicate
Restorative practices can be used at the district level, school level, or as a classroom management tool. Switching from traditional discipline to restorative practices can be a drastic change for educators who are not used to it and for students who are not used to solving problems in a healthy way.
It’s important not to rush into a full overhaul without taking the proper steps to ensure a successful implementation. Let’s dig into the steps for Implementing Restorative Practices:
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to restorative practices. Restorative practices seek to avoid traditional discipline measures such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
Some teachers may be more familiar, and more comfortable, with traditional discipline, which means it’s important to have an open discussion about the benefits of restorative practices and fully explain the reasoning behind using them.
The main goal of restorative practices is to improve student behavior and/or maintain positive behavior. Although everyone in a school building can “feel” when there’s an improvement in behavior, that improvement needs to be measured.
Many schools use traditional discipline like referrals, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions to respond to negative behavior. Restorative practices will not completely eliminate the need for these consequences, but they can greatly reduce them.
By choosing metrics like suspensions and tracking behavior with a behavior management platform like LiveSchool, administrators and district leaders can quickly measure the impact of restorative practices on the school.
Ensure everyone is on one accord by offering professional development that goes in-depth about what restorative practices are, what they aren’t, how to use them, when to use them, and how to measure their effectiveness.
This type of comprehensive professional development will set a solid foundation for teachers to build on when transitioning to restorative practices.
Restorative practices can be used with any age group, but they need to be adapted to fit your school. For example, kindergarten students might create a finger painting instead of writing an apology letter.
High school seniors, on the other hand, might benefit from restorative circles where they can gain insight into their peers’ perspectives on situations.
The way you implement restorative practices to students will depend on a variety of factors such as age, time of school year, and degree of transformation.
Although restorative practices should be sprinkled throughout the school day so that they become a part of the school culture, students may need to learn new expectations and routines. Practices like restorative circles might be brand new to students, so they must be taught how to communicate in one.
Smaller transformations, such as collaborating to create a behavior contract, typically don’t require as much time and teaching.
Now that we have some examples and you’ve got a game plan for implementation, let’s talk through some keys to success. In order for restorative practices to take hold within your school community, it need to work alongside some of the existing structures you already have in place.
Let’s dive into three of the most common:
Restorative practices and SEL go hand-in-hand. When students are socially and emotionally healthy, it shows in all of their interactions.
By teaching students how to communicate, advocate for themselves, empathize with others, etc., the students will be better equipped to participate and benefit from restorative practices.
PBIS points are awarded to students for displaying positive behaviors, and these points can be redeemed for prizes.
PBIS points can be a powerful reinforcer for restorative practices because the students receive immediate feedback about their behavior and can change it before it progresses. PBIS focuses on rewarding students for positive behaviors rather than punishing them for negative ones.
Although the students can lose points, they have opportunities to gain them back by demonstrating positive behaviors. This allows students to take accountability for their actions, which is a major component of restorative practices.
It’s crucial to know if your school’s restorative practices are working or need to be adjusted. Behavior rubrics allow you to quantify behaviors, which makes it easier to spot behavior trends and make changes when necessary.
Behavior rubrics can also serve as a behavior guide for students because they outline exactly what behaviors are expected of them.
Restorative practices, especially when combined with other behavior management strategies like PBIS, can greatly reduce the need for referrals and suspensions–resulting in an overall safer school environment.
Measuring this impact using behavior rubrics and behavior management platforms like LiveSchool can help you strengthen your behavior management programs because they provide quantitative data that can inform future decisions.
Whether you use restorative practices, SEL education, PBIS, or a combination of all three, prevention is the key to reducing behavior incidents.
A few years ago, I taught a group of 7th graders that led multiple teachers to resign mid-year. Their behavior was unlike anything the veteran teachers had ever seen before, and the usual disciplinary actions just weren’t working.
Threats about getting a phone call home were met with responses like, “I’ll call them for you.” Students have access to the world at their fingertips, so a suspension doesn’t equal being temporarily cut off from peers until their return to school.
In fact, our students viewed suspensions as “a day off.” Many negative behaviors stem from unmet needs, and unfortunately, students don’t always know how to communicate those needs in a healthy way.
Our students’ behaviors changed when we spent time getting to know them better and focused on addressing the root causes of their behaviors instead of punishing them. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were implementing restorative practices.
The following school year, we were proactive by starting with restorative practices already in place.
Restorative practices are activities that use communication, conflict resolution, and relationship-building to manage student behavior.
Instead of punishing students with referrals and suspension for negative behaviors, schools that use restorative practices turn behavior incidents into teachable moments.
The incidents become opportunities for students to take accountability for their actions and for educators to learn and address the root cause of the behavior.
Schools that use restorative practices create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued. Students learn to view school staff as supportive partners in their education rather than as authority figures who will punish them for every mistake.
Restorative practices can decrease the number of behavior incidents because the students know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, feel empowered to advocate for themselves and trust that the adults in the building will help them if there’s a problem.
All of these benefits remind students that there’s no need to “take matters into their own hands.” This ultimately results in fewer referrals, fewer suspensions, and a safer school environment.
Restorative practices can be proactive or reactive. Proactive restorative practices center around building a community of trust and healthy communication.
One way to do this is by collaborating with students at the beginning of the school year to create a behavior contract. This sets a positive tone for the school year because it shows students that you value their voices.
Other examples of proactive restorative practices include:
Unfortunately, despite being proactive, there will still be behavior incidents that need to be addressed.
Restorative practices serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident and helping the student learn from it. One example that can fit the bill for both proactive and reactive practices is restorative circles.
Restorative circles are commonly used to resolve conflicts between students. Instead of sending students to detention for arguing, they can participate in a restorative circle where they can talk to each other to understand their perspectives and work together to solve the problem.
But they can also be utilized as a proactive, preventative measure as well. With restorative circles, you’re developing a protocol for the members of your classroom community to communicate
Restorative practices can be used at the district level, school level, or as a classroom management tool. Switching from traditional discipline to restorative practices can be a drastic change for educators who are not used to it and for students who are not used to solving problems in a healthy way.
It’s important not to rush into a full overhaul without taking the proper steps to ensure a successful implementation. Let’s dig into the steps for Implementing Restorative Practices:
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to restorative practices. Restorative practices seek to avoid traditional discipline measures such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
Some teachers may be more familiar, and more comfortable, with traditional discipline, which means it’s important to have an open discussion about the benefits of restorative practices and fully explain the reasoning behind using them.
The main goal of restorative practices is to improve student behavior and/or maintain positive behavior. Although everyone in a school building can “feel” when there’s an improvement in behavior, that improvement needs to be measured.
Many schools use traditional discipline like referrals, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions to respond to negative behavior. Restorative practices will not completely eliminate the need for these consequences, but they can greatly reduce them.
By choosing metrics like suspensions and tracking behavior with a behavior management platform like LiveSchool, administrators and district leaders can quickly measure the impact of restorative practices on the school.
Ensure everyone is on one accord by offering professional development that goes in-depth about what restorative practices are, what they aren’t, how to use them, when to use them, and how to measure their effectiveness.
This type of comprehensive professional development will set a solid foundation for teachers to build on when transitioning to restorative practices.
Restorative practices can be used with any age group, but they need to be adapted to fit your school. For example, kindergarten students might create a finger painting instead of writing an apology letter.
High school seniors, on the other hand, might benefit from restorative circles where they can gain insight into their peers’ perspectives on situations.
The way you implement restorative practices to students will depend on a variety of factors such as age, time of school year, and degree of transformation.
Although restorative practices should be sprinkled throughout the school day so that they become a part of the school culture, students may need to learn new expectations and routines. Practices like restorative circles might be brand new to students, so they must be taught how to communicate in one.
Smaller transformations, such as collaborating to create a behavior contract, typically don’t require as much time and teaching.
Now that we have some examples and you’ve got a game plan for implementation, let’s talk through some keys to success. In order for restorative practices to take hold within your school community, it need to work alongside some of the existing structures you already have in place.
Let’s dive into three of the most common:
Restorative practices and SEL go hand-in-hand. When students are socially and emotionally healthy, it shows in all of their interactions.
By teaching students how to communicate, advocate for themselves, empathize with others, etc., the students will be better equipped to participate and benefit from restorative practices.
PBIS points are awarded to students for displaying positive behaviors, and these points can be redeemed for prizes.
PBIS points can be a powerful reinforcer for restorative practices because the students receive immediate feedback about their behavior and can change it before it progresses. PBIS focuses on rewarding students for positive behaviors rather than punishing them for negative ones.
Although the students can lose points, they have opportunities to gain them back by demonstrating positive behaviors. This allows students to take accountability for their actions, which is a major component of restorative practices.
It’s crucial to know if your school’s restorative practices are working or need to be adjusted. Behavior rubrics allow you to quantify behaviors, which makes it easier to spot behavior trends and make changes when necessary.
Behavior rubrics can also serve as a behavior guide for students because they outline exactly what behaviors are expected of them.
Restorative practices, especially when combined with other behavior management strategies like PBIS, can greatly reduce the need for referrals and suspensions–resulting in an overall safer school environment.
Measuring this impact using behavior rubrics and behavior management platforms like LiveSchool can help you strengthen your behavior management programs because they provide quantitative data that can inform future decisions.
Whether you use restorative practices, SEL education, PBIS, or a combination of all three, prevention is the key to reducing behavior incidents.
A few years ago, I taught a group of 7th graders that led multiple teachers to resign mid-year. Their behavior was unlike anything the veteran teachers had ever seen before, and the usual disciplinary actions just weren’t working.
Threats about getting a phone call home were met with responses like, “I’ll call them for you.” Students have access to the world at their fingertips, so a suspension doesn’t equal being temporarily cut off from peers until their return to school.
In fact, our students viewed suspensions as “a day off.” Many negative behaviors stem from unmet needs, and unfortunately, students don’t always know how to communicate those needs in a healthy way.
Our students’ behaviors changed when we spent time getting to know them better and focused on addressing the root causes of their behaviors instead of punishing them. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were implementing restorative practices.
The following school year, we were proactive by starting with restorative practices already in place.
Restorative practices are activities that use communication, conflict resolution, and relationship-building to manage student behavior.
Instead of punishing students with referrals and suspension for negative behaviors, schools that use restorative practices turn behavior incidents into teachable moments.
The incidents become opportunities for students to take accountability for their actions and for educators to learn and address the root cause of the behavior.
Schools that use restorative practices create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued. Students learn to view school staff as supportive partners in their education rather than as authority figures who will punish them for every mistake.
Restorative practices can decrease the number of behavior incidents because the students know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, feel empowered to advocate for themselves and trust that the adults in the building will help them if there’s a problem.
All of these benefits remind students that there’s no need to “take matters into their own hands.” This ultimately results in fewer referrals, fewer suspensions, and a safer school environment.
Restorative practices can be proactive or reactive. Proactive restorative practices center around building a community of trust and healthy communication.
One way to do this is by collaborating with students at the beginning of the school year to create a behavior contract. This sets a positive tone for the school year because it shows students that you value their voices.
Other examples of proactive restorative practices include:
Unfortunately, despite being proactive, there will still be behavior incidents that need to be addressed.
Restorative practices serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident and helping the student learn from it. One example that can fit the bill for both proactive and reactive practices is restorative circles.
Restorative circles are commonly used to resolve conflicts between students. Instead of sending students to detention for arguing, they can participate in a restorative circle where they can talk to each other to understand their perspectives and work together to solve the problem.
But they can also be utilized as a proactive, preventative measure as well. With restorative circles, you’re developing a protocol for the members of your classroom community to communicate
Restorative practices can be used at the district level, school level, or as a classroom management tool. Switching from traditional discipline to restorative practices can be a drastic change for educators who are not used to it and for students who are not used to solving problems in a healthy way.
It’s important not to rush into a full overhaul without taking the proper steps to ensure a successful implementation. Let’s dig into the steps for Implementing Restorative Practices:
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to restorative practices. Restorative practices seek to avoid traditional discipline measures such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
Some teachers may be more familiar, and more comfortable, with traditional discipline, which means it’s important to have an open discussion about the benefits of restorative practices and fully explain the reasoning behind using them.
The main goal of restorative practices is to improve student behavior and/or maintain positive behavior. Although everyone in a school building can “feel” when there’s an improvement in behavior, that improvement needs to be measured.
Many schools use traditional discipline like referrals, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions to respond to negative behavior. Restorative practices will not completely eliminate the need for these consequences, but they can greatly reduce them.
By choosing metrics like suspensions and tracking behavior with a behavior management platform like LiveSchool, administrators and district leaders can quickly measure the impact of restorative practices on the school.
Ensure everyone is on one accord by offering professional development that goes in-depth about what restorative practices are, what they aren’t, how to use them, when to use them, and how to measure their effectiveness.
This type of comprehensive professional development will set a solid foundation for teachers to build on when transitioning to restorative practices.
Restorative practices can be used with any age group, but they need to be adapted to fit your school. For example, kindergarten students might create a finger painting instead of writing an apology letter.
High school seniors, on the other hand, might benefit from restorative circles where they can gain insight into their peers’ perspectives on situations.
The way you implement restorative practices to students will depend on a variety of factors such as age, time of school year, and degree of transformation.
Although restorative practices should be sprinkled throughout the school day so that they become a part of the school culture, students may need to learn new expectations and routines. Practices like restorative circles might be brand new to students, so they must be taught how to communicate in one.
Smaller transformations, such as collaborating to create a behavior contract, typically don’t require as much time and teaching.
Now that we have some examples and you’ve got a game plan for implementation, let’s talk through some keys to success. In order for restorative practices to take hold within your school community, it need to work alongside some of the existing structures you already have in place.
Let’s dive into three of the most common:
Restorative practices and SEL go hand-in-hand. When students are socially and emotionally healthy, it shows in all of their interactions.
By teaching students how to communicate, advocate for themselves, empathize with others, etc., the students will be better equipped to participate and benefit from restorative practices.
PBIS points are awarded to students for displaying positive behaviors, and these points can be redeemed for prizes.
PBIS points can be a powerful reinforcer for restorative practices because the students receive immediate feedback about their behavior and can change it before it progresses. PBIS focuses on rewarding students for positive behaviors rather than punishing them for negative ones.
Although the students can lose points, they have opportunities to gain them back by demonstrating positive behaviors. This allows students to take accountability for their actions, which is a major component of restorative practices.
It’s crucial to know if your school’s restorative practices are working or need to be adjusted. Behavior rubrics allow you to quantify behaviors, which makes it easier to spot behavior trends and make changes when necessary.
Behavior rubrics can also serve as a behavior guide for students because they outline exactly what behaviors are expected of them.
Restorative practices, especially when combined with other behavior management strategies like PBIS, can greatly reduce the need for referrals and suspensions–resulting in an overall safer school environment.
Measuring this impact using behavior rubrics and behavior management platforms like LiveSchool can help you strengthen your behavior management programs because they provide quantitative data that can inform future decisions.
Whether you use restorative practices, SEL education, PBIS, or a combination of all three, prevention is the key to reducing behavior incidents.
A few years ago, I taught a group of 7th graders that led multiple teachers to resign mid-year. Their behavior was unlike anything the veteran teachers had ever seen before, and the usual disciplinary actions just weren’t working.
Threats about getting a phone call home were met with responses like, “I’ll call them for you.” Students have access to the world at their fingertips, so a suspension doesn’t equal being temporarily cut off from peers until their return to school.
In fact, our students viewed suspensions as “a day off.” Many negative behaviors stem from unmet needs, and unfortunately, students don’t always know how to communicate those needs in a healthy way.
Our students’ behaviors changed when we spent time getting to know them better and focused on addressing the root causes of their behaviors instead of punishing them. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were implementing restorative practices.
The following school year, we were proactive by starting with restorative practices already in place.
Restorative practices are activities that use communication, conflict resolution, and relationship-building to manage student behavior.
Instead of punishing students with referrals and suspension for negative behaviors, schools that use restorative practices turn behavior incidents into teachable moments.
The incidents become opportunities for students to take accountability for their actions and for educators to learn and address the root cause of the behavior.
Schools that use restorative practices create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued. Students learn to view school staff as supportive partners in their education rather than as authority figures who will punish them for every mistake.
Restorative practices can decrease the number of behavior incidents because the students know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, feel empowered to advocate for themselves and trust that the adults in the building will help them if there’s a problem.
All of these benefits remind students that there’s no need to “take matters into their own hands.” This ultimately results in fewer referrals, fewer suspensions, and a safer school environment.
Restorative practices can be proactive or reactive. Proactive restorative practices center around building a community of trust and healthy communication.
One way to do this is by collaborating with students at the beginning of the school year to create a behavior contract. This sets a positive tone for the school year because it shows students that you value their voices.
Other examples of proactive restorative practices include:
Unfortunately, despite being proactive, there will still be behavior incidents that need to be addressed.
Restorative practices serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident and helping the student learn from it. One example that can fit the bill for both proactive and reactive practices is restorative circles.
Restorative circles are commonly used to resolve conflicts between students. Instead of sending students to detention for arguing, they can participate in a restorative circle where they can talk to each other to understand their perspectives and work together to solve the problem.
But they can also be utilized as a proactive, preventative measure as well. With restorative circles, you’re developing a protocol for the members of your classroom community to communicate
Restorative practices can be used at the district level, school level, or as a classroom management tool. Switching from traditional discipline to restorative practices can be a drastic change for educators who are not used to it and for students who are not used to solving problems in a healthy way.
It’s important not to rush into a full overhaul without taking the proper steps to ensure a successful implementation. Let’s dig into the steps for Implementing Restorative Practices:
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to restorative practices. Restorative practices seek to avoid traditional discipline measures such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
Some teachers may be more familiar, and more comfortable, with traditional discipline, which means it’s important to have an open discussion about the benefits of restorative practices and fully explain the reasoning behind using them.
The main goal of restorative practices is to improve student behavior and/or maintain positive behavior. Although everyone in a school building can “feel” when there’s an improvement in behavior, that improvement needs to be measured.
Many schools use traditional discipline like referrals, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions to respond to negative behavior. Restorative practices will not completely eliminate the need for these consequences, but they can greatly reduce them.
By choosing metrics like suspensions and tracking behavior with a behavior management platform like LiveSchool, administrators and district leaders can quickly measure the impact of restorative practices on the school.
Ensure everyone is on one accord by offering professional development that goes in-depth about what restorative practices are, what they aren’t, how to use them, when to use them, and how to measure their effectiveness.
This type of comprehensive professional development will set a solid foundation for teachers to build on when transitioning to restorative practices.
Restorative practices can be used with any age group, but they need to be adapted to fit your school. For example, kindergarten students might create a finger painting instead of writing an apology letter.
High school seniors, on the other hand, might benefit from restorative circles where they can gain insight into their peers’ perspectives on situations.
The way you implement restorative practices to students will depend on a variety of factors such as age, time of school year, and degree of transformation.
Although restorative practices should be sprinkled throughout the school day so that they become a part of the school culture, students may need to learn new expectations and routines. Practices like restorative circles might be brand new to students, so they must be taught how to communicate in one.
Smaller transformations, such as collaborating to create a behavior contract, typically don’t require as much time and teaching.
Now that we have some examples and you’ve got a game plan for implementation, let’s talk through some keys to success. In order for restorative practices to take hold within your school community, it need to work alongside some of the existing structures you already have in place.
Let’s dive into three of the most common:
Restorative practices and SEL go hand-in-hand. When students are socially and emotionally healthy, it shows in all of their interactions.
By teaching students how to communicate, advocate for themselves, empathize with others, etc., the students will be better equipped to participate and benefit from restorative practices.
PBIS points are awarded to students for displaying positive behaviors, and these points can be redeemed for prizes.
PBIS points can be a powerful reinforcer for restorative practices because the students receive immediate feedback about their behavior and can change it before it progresses. PBIS focuses on rewarding students for positive behaviors rather than punishing them for negative ones.
Although the students can lose points, they have opportunities to gain them back by demonstrating positive behaviors. This allows students to take accountability for their actions, which is a major component of restorative practices.
It’s crucial to know if your school’s restorative practices are working or need to be adjusted. Behavior rubrics allow you to quantify behaviors, which makes it easier to spot behavior trends and make changes when necessary.
Behavior rubrics can also serve as a behavior guide for students because they outline exactly what behaviors are expected of them.
Restorative practices, especially when combined with other behavior management strategies like PBIS, can greatly reduce the need for referrals and suspensions–resulting in an overall safer school environment.
Measuring this impact using behavior rubrics and behavior management platforms like LiveSchool can help you strengthen your behavior management programs because they provide quantitative data that can inform future decisions.
Whether you use restorative practices, SEL education, PBIS, or a combination of all three, prevention is the key to reducing behavior incidents.
Deiera Bennett is a freelance EdTech copywriter with a background in marketing and 6 years of experience as an educator. When she’s not writing, you can find her binge-watching The Office for the 5th time, spending time with family, or looking up recipes on Pinterest.
If you’ve been in education for a while, you’ve probably noticed that traditional discipline (like referrals and suspensions) isn’t as effective as it might have been in the past.
A few years ago, I taught a group of 7th graders that led multiple teachers to resign mid-year. Their behavior was unlike anything the veteran teachers had ever seen before, and the usual disciplinary actions just weren’t working.
Threats about getting a phone call home were met with responses like, “I’ll call them for you.” Students have access to the world at their fingertips, so a suspension doesn’t equal being temporarily cut off from peers until their return to school.
In fact, our students viewed suspensions as “a day off.” Many negative behaviors stem from unmet needs, and unfortunately, students don’t always know how to communicate those needs in a healthy way.
Our students’ behaviors changed when we spent time getting to know them better and focused on addressing the root causes of their behaviors instead of punishing them. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were implementing restorative practices.
The following school year, we were proactive by starting with restorative practices already in place.
Restorative practices are activities that use communication, conflict resolution, and relationship-building to manage student behavior.
Instead of punishing students with referrals and suspension for negative behaviors, schools that use restorative practices turn behavior incidents into teachable moments.
The incidents become opportunities for students to take accountability for their actions and for educators to learn and address the root cause of the behavior.
Schools that use restorative practices create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued. Students learn to view school staff as supportive partners in their education rather than as authority figures who will punish them for every mistake.
Restorative practices can decrease the number of behavior incidents because the students know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, feel empowered to advocate for themselves and trust that the adults in the building will help them if there’s a problem.
All of these benefits remind students that there’s no need to “take matters into their own hands.” This ultimately results in fewer referrals, fewer suspensions, and a safer school environment.
Restorative practices can be proactive or reactive. Proactive restorative practices center around building a community of trust and healthy communication.
One way to do this is by collaborating with students at the beginning of the school year to create a behavior contract. This sets a positive tone for the school year because it shows students that you value their voices.
Other examples of proactive restorative practices include:
Unfortunately, despite being proactive, there will still be behavior incidents that need to be addressed.
Restorative practices serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident and helping the student learn from it. One example that can fit the bill for both proactive and reactive practices is restorative circles.
Restorative circles are commonly used to resolve conflicts between students. Instead of sending students to detention for arguing, they can participate in a restorative circle where they can talk to each other to understand their perspectives and work together to solve the problem.
But they can also be utilized as a proactive, preventative measure as well. With restorative circles, you’re developing a protocol for the members of your classroom community to communicate
Restorative practices can be used at the district level, school level, or as a classroom management tool. Switching from traditional discipline to restorative practices can be a drastic change for educators who are not used to it and for students who are not used to solving problems in a healthy way.
It’s important not to rush into a full overhaul without taking the proper steps to ensure a successful implementation. Let’s dig into the steps for Implementing Restorative Practices:
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to restorative practices. Restorative practices seek to avoid traditional discipline measures such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
Some teachers may be more familiar, and more comfortable, with traditional discipline, which means it’s important to have an open discussion about the benefits of restorative practices and fully explain the reasoning behind using them.
The main goal of restorative practices is to improve student behavior and/or maintain positive behavior. Although everyone in a school building can “feel” when there’s an improvement in behavior, that improvement needs to be measured.
Many schools use traditional discipline like referrals, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions to respond to negative behavior. Restorative practices will not completely eliminate the need for these consequences, but they can greatly reduce them.
By choosing metrics like suspensions and tracking behavior with a behavior management platform like LiveSchool, administrators and district leaders can quickly measure the impact of restorative practices on the school.
Ensure everyone is on one accord by offering professional development that goes in-depth about what restorative practices are, what they aren’t, how to use them, when to use them, and how to measure their effectiveness.
This type of comprehensive professional development will set a solid foundation for teachers to build on when transitioning to restorative practices.
Restorative practices can be used with any age group, but they need to be adapted to fit your school. For example, kindergarten students might create a finger painting instead of writing an apology letter.
High school seniors, on the other hand, might benefit from restorative circles where they can gain insight into their peers’ perspectives on situations.
The way you implement restorative practices to students will depend on a variety of factors such as age, time of school year, and degree of transformation.
Although restorative practices should be sprinkled throughout the school day so that they become a part of the school culture, students may need to learn new expectations and routines. Practices like restorative circles might be brand new to students, so they must be taught how to communicate in one.
Smaller transformations, such as collaborating to create a behavior contract, typically don’t require as much time and teaching.
Now that we have some examples and you’ve got a game plan for implementation, let’s talk through some keys to success. In order for restorative practices to take hold within your school community, it need to work alongside some of the existing structures you already have in place.
Let’s dive into three of the most common:
Restorative practices and SEL go hand-in-hand. When students are socially and emotionally healthy, it shows in all of their interactions.
By teaching students how to communicate, advocate for themselves, empathize with others, etc., the students will be better equipped to participate and benefit from restorative practices.
PBIS points are awarded to students for displaying positive behaviors, and these points can be redeemed for prizes.
PBIS points can be a powerful reinforcer for restorative practices because the students receive immediate feedback about their behavior and can change it before it progresses. PBIS focuses on rewarding students for positive behaviors rather than punishing them for negative ones.
Although the students can lose points, they have opportunities to gain them back by demonstrating positive behaviors. This allows students to take accountability for their actions, which is a major component of restorative practices.
It’s crucial to know if your school’s restorative practices are working or need to be adjusted. Behavior rubrics allow you to quantify behaviors, which makes it easier to spot behavior trends and make changes when necessary.
Behavior rubrics can also serve as a behavior guide for students because they outline exactly what behaviors are expected of them.
Restorative practices, especially when combined with other behavior management strategies like PBIS, can greatly reduce the need for referrals and suspensions–resulting in an overall safer school environment.
Measuring this impact using behavior rubrics and behavior management platforms like LiveSchool can help you strengthen your behavior management programs because they provide quantitative data that can inform future decisions.
Whether you use restorative practices, SEL education, PBIS, or a combination of all three, prevention is the key to reducing behavior incidents.
If you’ve been in education for a while, you’ve probably noticed that traditional discipline (like referrals and suspensions) isn’t as effective as it might have been in the past.
A few years ago, I taught a group of 7th graders that led multiple teachers to resign mid-year. Their behavior was unlike anything the veteran teachers had ever seen before, and the usual disciplinary actions just weren’t working.
Threats about getting a phone call home were met with responses like, “I’ll call them for you.” Students have access to the world at their fingertips, so a suspension doesn’t equal being temporarily cut off from peers until their return to school.
In fact, our students viewed suspensions as “a day off.” Many negative behaviors stem from unmet needs, and unfortunately, students don’t always know how to communicate those needs in a healthy way.
Our students’ behaviors changed when we spent time getting to know them better and focused on addressing the root causes of their behaviors instead of punishing them. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were implementing restorative practices.
The following school year, we were proactive by starting with restorative practices already in place.
Restorative practices are activities that use communication, conflict resolution, and relationship-building to manage student behavior.
Instead of punishing students with referrals and suspension for negative behaviors, schools that use restorative practices turn behavior incidents into teachable moments.
The incidents become opportunities for students to take accountability for their actions and for educators to learn and address the root cause of the behavior.
Schools that use restorative practices create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued. Students learn to view school staff as supportive partners in their education rather than as authority figures who will punish them for every mistake.
Restorative practices can decrease the number of behavior incidents because the students know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, feel empowered to advocate for themselves and trust that the adults in the building will help them if there’s a problem.
All of these benefits remind students that there’s no need to “take matters into their own hands.” This ultimately results in fewer referrals, fewer suspensions, and a safer school environment.
Restorative practices can be proactive or reactive. Proactive restorative practices center around building a community of trust and healthy communication.
One way to do this is by collaborating with students at the beginning of the school year to create a behavior contract. This sets a positive tone for the school year because it shows students that you value their voices.
Other examples of proactive restorative practices include:
Unfortunately, despite being proactive, there will still be behavior incidents that need to be addressed.
Restorative practices serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident and helping the student learn from it. One example that can fit the bill for both proactive and reactive practices is restorative circles.
Restorative circles are commonly used to resolve conflicts between students. Instead of sending students to detention for arguing, they can participate in a restorative circle where they can talk to each other to understand their perspectives and work together to solve the problem.
But they can also be utilized as a proactive, preventative measure as well. With restorative circles, you’re developing a protocol for the members of your classroom community to communicate
Restorative practices can be used at the district level, school level, or as a classroom management tool. Switching from traditional discipline to restorative practices can be a drastic change for educators who are not used to it and for students who are not used to solving problems in a healthy way.
It’s important not to rush into a full overhaul without taking the proper steps to ensure a successful implementation. Let’s dig into the steps for Implementing Restorative Practices:
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to restorative practices. Restorative practices seek to avoid traditional discipline measures such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
Some teachers may be more familiar, and more comfortable, with traditional discipline, which means it’s important to have an open discussion about the benefits of restorative practices and fully explain the reasoning behind using them.
The main goal of restorative practices is to improve student behavior and/or maintain positive behavior. Although everyone in a school building can “feel” when there’s an improvement in behavior, that improvement needs to be measured.
Many schools use traditional discipline like referrals, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions to respond to negative behavior. Restorative practices will not completely eliminate the need for these consequences, but they can greatly reduce them.
By choosing metrics like suspensions and tracking behavior with a behavior management platform like LiveSchool, administrators and district leaders can quickly measure the impact of restorative practices on the school.
Ensure everyone is on one accord by offering professional development that goes in-depth about what restorative practices are, what they aren’t, how to use them, when to use them, and how to measure their effectiveness.
This type of comprehensive professional development will set a solid foundation for teachers to build on when transitioning to restorative practices.
Restorative practices can be used with any age group, but they need to be adapted to fit your school. For example, kindergarten students might create a finger painting instead of writing an apology letter.
High school seniors, on the other hand, might benefit from restorative circles where they can gain insight into their peers’ perspectives on situations.
The way you implement restorative practices to students will depend on a variety of factors such as age, time of school year, and degree of transformation.
Although restorative practices should be sprinkled throughout the school day so that they become a part of the school culture, students may need to learn new expectations and routines. Practices like restorative circles might be brand new to students, so they must be taught how to communicate in one.
Smaller transformations, such as collaborating to create a behavior contract, typically don’t require as much time and teaching.
Now that we have some examples and you’ve got a game plan for implementation, let’s talk through some keys to success. In order for restorative practices to take hold within your school community, it need to work alongside some of the existing structures you already have in place.
Let’s dive into three of the most common:
Restorative practices and SEL go hand-in-hand. When students are socially and emotionally healthy, it shows in all of their interactions.
By teaching students how to communicate, advocate for themselves, empathize with others, etc., the students will be better equipped to participate and benefit from restorative practices.
PBIS points are awarded to students for displaying positive behaviors, and these points can be redeemed for prizes.
PBIS points can be a powerful reinforcer for restorative practices because the students receive immediate feedback about their behavior and can change it before it progresses. PBIS focuses on rewarding students for positive behaviors rather than punishing them for negative ones.
Although the students can lose points, they have opportunities to gain them back by demonstrating positive behaviors. This allows students to take accountability for their actions, which is a major component of restorative practices.
It’s crucial to know if your school’s restorative practices are working or need to be adjusted. Behavior rubrics allow you to quantify behaviors, which makes it easier to spot behavior trends and make changes when necessary.
Behavior rubrics can also serve as a behavior guide for students because they outline exactly what behaviors are expected of them.
Restorative practices, especially when combined with other behavior management strategies like PBIS, can greatly reduce the need for referrals and suspensions–resulting in an overall safer school environment.
Measuring this impact using behavior rubrics and behavior management platforms like LiveSchool can help you strengthen your behavior management programs because they provide quantitative data that can inform future decisions.
Whether you use restorative practices, SEL education, PBIS, or a combination of all three, prevention is the key to reducing behavior incidents.
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