Let's Talk: Restorative Justice Practices

On Wednesday, May 9, over 125 community activists, teachers, school leaders, Harvard students, faculty, and staff gathered for the first annual Restorative Justice Conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The conference brought to light a rarely discussed topic among educators: zero tolerance discipline policies and the cradle-to-prison pipeline.

“The cradle to prison pipeline is a national crisis that leaves a black boy born in 2001 with a one in three lifetime chance of going to prison and a Latino boy a one in six risk of the same fate,” said workshop participant Barbara Best, director of foundation relations and special projects at the Children's Defense Fund.

For many of these youth, the pipeline starts early; their experiences in school with zero tolerance discipline policies have led to unnecessary criminalization of nonviolent behaviors and, in some cases, nearly tripled the occurrence of suspensions and expulsions. The consequences of these punitive punishments can be dire. Students that are suspended in school are three times more likely to drop out, and students that drop out are three times more likely to end up in prison in their lifetimes.

Restorative practices in schools provide an alternative to these zero tolerance policies. In fact, many school districts across the nation have been adopting these new transformative methods as a way to improve their school climates and keep kids in school. In many schools, the core restorative practice is the "peace circle" in which students and teachers engage in dialogue about a topic or issue. 

Radhika Khandelwal, student in the Human Development and Psychology Program, used circles regularly in her teaching practice as a manifestation of her teaching philosophy. “Everyone working in urban education -- teachers, administrators, counselors -- feel the pressure to 'close the achievement gap,' or 'show results' via hard metrics,” she said. “It's important to place the dignity of the child at the center of this work. For me, the way to do this is to embed restorative philosophies in my practice. It's so obvious: treat children with respect, empower their voice, see them rise. Yet, unfortunately, it's rare. It requires an ego shift and a mind shift, but those who have made it work have proven that ultimately, restorative practices sustain and keep all of us in the system as healthier and more productive students and educators."

Participants in the workshop engaged with keynote speaker Janet Connors, a longtime community activist and restorative justice practitioner, who shared her personal story about her son Joel, whom she lost to street violence when he was only a teenager. For Janet, who engaged in restorative dialogue with her son’s killers and currently facilitates circles across the Boston area, restorative practices are critical to ending the pipeline. “Huge as the horrific taking of my son’s life is...the maintenance of a society where young people are flushed down the school to prison pipeline is just as sad and just as wrong,” Connors said.

The panel that followed Connors’ speech comprised four students that hailed from Diploma Plus, an alternative learning community that uses restorative justice practices as part of their discipline model. The students articulately and expressively shared their views on Diploma Plus’ transformational impact on their lives.  “I hadn’t been attending school for a long time...Diploma Plus gave me a second chance,” one student said. Others commented on restorative practices: “Circles give an opportunity for students to share their voice and you realize that people do want to listen to what you have to say.”

Afterwards, attendees participated in breakout sessions led by nine trained, experienced circle facilitators including Kendra Hoyt, president and CEO of JUST Circles; master’s student and youth advocate Natalie Orozco; Cathy Hoffman, peace and justice activist; and Sunny Pai, administrator at Diploma Plus. Conversations explored a diverse range of topics including “Discussing Elephants in the Room: Diversity Issues at Harvard” and “Transforming Discipline Policies: How to be an Advocate at the System Level.” Participants passed around a “talking piece,” an object such as a rock, stick, or feather to facilitate respectful and thoughtful dialogue.

The workshop, envisioned and planned entirely by a team of master’s students, was extremely valuable for all that participated. “The vision, planning and hard work that [went into] this event … brought important and critical conversations and dialogue to the forefront,” said Liz Thurston, director of student affairs, “and we sincerely hope it can become an annual tradition within the HGSE community.”

To learn more, visit Coalition for Restorative Justice at Harvard at restorativejusticeatharvard.org.