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…where restorative practices come from?

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Restorative practices come from cultures that appreciate community. All people are part of a community. All community members are responsible for protecting their community and responsible for their actions. When a harmful action has happened, the community comes together to help the person who has harmed others make things right and restore relationships that have been damaged.

Recently, people have found out that school discipline can lead to unequal outcomes. For example, students of color are often suspended or expelled a lot more than white students, or some students are punished more harshly than others for doing the same thing. This does not seem fair.

Now schools are beginning to try out restorative practices to make sure that everyone's voice is heard. Students can take responsibility for any harm they might have caused to the school community. With support from their teachers, students are given the opportunity to make things right and restore relationships so that their school community can remain strong, fair and trusting.