“Courage to Restore”

Restorative Justice
Program
Beatrice Mackay, Elizabeth Fernandez, Neema Pandey
School of Education, Concordia University of Irvine
EDSC 541 Mental Health Interventions
Professor Kristin Fink
December 7, 2023
 Program Rationale

For our group, we decided to create a restorative justice program called

“Courage to Restore” which seeks a unique approach to discipline. Since
our school has an increased number of student drug use/possession
cases, we decided that our counseling program will not focus on treating
or punishing the student drug offenders (although discipline decisions will
be handled by administration). Instead, our program intends to help our
student drug offenders gain greater awareness, empathy, and
accountability about how drug use/possession harms them and their
relationships with others. Damaged relationships may include peers,
teachers, parents, etc. Our program’s ultimate goal is to help restore
relationships, decrease youth risk behavior, and improve the school
climate through our approach.
 1
Program Overview:
Plan
Conducting A Needs
Assessment for
Restorative Practices Needs Assessment Questionnaire
Restorative practice circles and restorative Frequency and Type of Drug Use:
mediations are based on: ● How often have you used drugs in the past month?
● What types of drugs have you used or been
❖ The needs of the school exposed to?
❖ Needs assessment questionnaires and surveys Reasons for Drug Use:
❖ Data pulled from incident reports logged and ● What motivates you to use drugs?
reported by stakeholders including; school ● Are there any specific situations or emotions that
counselors, administration, parents or student trigger drug use?
self referral. Peer Influence:
● How influential are your friends in your decision to
use drugs?
Awareness of Consequences:
● Are you aware of the legal and health
consequences of drug use?
Support Systems:
● Do you have a support system in place to help you
address drug-related issues?
 School Report Number of incidents reported
on Use/Possession of Drugs

Data
Total number of restorative circles or
restorative practice mediations done in 22-23
school year

(Data includes all and any restorative practices done)

Collaborating with Stakeholders
(Teachers, Parents, School Administrators, and Community Organizations)

To inform stakeholders about the rise of drugs on campus, the following strategies
can be applied:
Professional Development Workshops:
● Providing workshops on recognizing signs of drug use and addressing
related issues in the classroom.
Regular Communication:
● Sharing relevant information through regular newsletters or emails.
Guest Speakers:
● Inviting experts in the field of drug prevention such as law enforcement or
drug prevention programs specialist to speak with teachers to provide
updated information.
 Legal & Ethical Issues
Students may face consequences such as academic penalties, disciplinary
actions, and legal repercussions for drug use. Law enforcement may become
involved if illegal substances are found on school premises.
Informing students about these consequences is crucial and can be implemented
and delivered in restorative practice.
It is also essential to consider ethical guidelines when addressing drug-related
issues. Confidentiality, privacy, and treating students with dignity are critical
ethical considerations.
 Program
2 Development
 Program Development
Which Data Informs Our Program Practices:
> Based on our school’s incident reports, our
school has a high number of drug
use/possession cases within last 3 years.
> Based on our school’s discipline data, we
also have high number suspension rates among
our student drug offenders.
>Due to the high rates of suspension, we have
identified drug use/possession as among our
top priorities for our school’s systemic needs.
>Our program also looks at data from our
school’s universal screeners such as our
school climate surveys to have a better
understanding our students’ experiences.
 Program Development

What Does Research Say About Discipline

Data?
>Research informs us that there are racial
disparities among discipline rates.
>Traditional discipline has shown to have harmful
effects on students: negatively impacting their
academic performance, mental health, and
educational experiences.
>Traditional discipline can increase the
school-to-prison pipeline.
>Black students, according to studies, have a
higher risk of being negatively impacted if they
were either (1) suspended or (2) attend a school
with racial disparities in discipline.

Source: (California Department of Education, 2022)

 Program Development
How Did We Hear About Restorative
Justice? Why We Implement It?
>In 2014, the Department of Education
drafted the Dear Colleague letter, notifying
public schools of the consequences of
having discipline disparities. Schools could
lose Title 1 funding as a result (California
Department of Education, 2022.
>Since the Dear Colleague Letter, more
schools have now shifted into implementing
a more restorative approach to discipline,
especially here in California (California
Department of Education, 2022).
>Research supports that within 2 years of
implementation, restorative approach
practices have been shown to reduce rates
of suspension in schools, especially for the
Black student population (Augustine et al.,
2018).
 3
Program
Implementation
 Restorative Justice Circles
Tier 1 (Classroom circle)

● Teachers are encouraged in their homeroom to hold circles 2 times a week where
students gather around and asked questions.
● For example, questions like what worries them today? Something positive that
happen to them. How do they feel today? Community building within the students
● Positive school climate
● Students are encouraged to communicated in a respectful manner
● Students are encouraged by the teachers to show empathy, listen, and model
behavior for everyone.
● Having students share their thoughts and feelings.
 Program Implementation
Tier 2
● Student, parent,and Administrators all parties involved are to discuss the incident in
questions
● Discuss what happen and student share their feelings, allowing the student to
communicate
● Administrative team is to handle the cause and given lessons from school counselors to
the groups and individuals
● School counselors to hold circles once a week about setting goals and sharing thoughts,
feelings. Student share how this outcome affected them.
● Students meet for 6 weeks
● Students need to feel they have goals, values, and motivated towards their goals.
Students that didn’t not respond well to the tier 2 intervention will be referred to outside
resources.
 Program
4 Evaluation
Program Evaluation: Pre/Post Data
We plan to collect data from our Tier 2 Restorative
Justice Small Groups using Pre/Post Test Survey
Statements in which students respond on a Likert Scale
that align with the ASCA Student Standards.

1. “I believe that in order to have a healthy

development, I need to have physical, mental, and
social-emotional well-being.” (M-1)
2. “I can make ethical decisions at school.” (B-SS 5)
3. “I have social responsibility to keep school a safe
environment for myself and others.”(B-SMS 1)
4. “I can maintain respectful and positive
relationships with my peers and teachers at
school.” (B-SS 3)

Source: (American School Counselor Association, n.d.)

 Method of Tracking Progress
Tracking the progress of implemented restorative practices involves monitoring various
aspects to ensure effectiveness and positive outcomes, such as:

❖ Surveys and interviews

❖ Analyzing data
❖ Documentation of Restorative Sessions
❖ Student and Teacher Feedback
 References
American School Counselor Association. (n.d.). ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student
Success. School Counselor.
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Be
haviors.pdf
Augustine, Catherine H., John Engberg, Geoffrey E. Grimm, Emma Lee, Elaine Lin Wang, Karen
Christianson, and Andrea A. Joseph. (2018). Restorative Practices Help Reduce Student Suspensions,
RAND Corporation, RB-10051-DOJ. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10051.html
California Department of Education. (2022). Restorative Practices: Using data to strengthen your practice –
California Safe and Supportive schools. CA Safe and Supportive Schools.
https://ca-safe-supportive-schools.wested.org/event/restorative-practices-using-data-to-strengthen-
your-practice/
The relationship between restorative practices and consequences | The International Educator (TIE Online).
(n.d.).
https://www.tieonline.com/article/3539/the-relationship-between-restorative-practices-and-conseq
uences#:~:text=Restorative%20consequences%20focus%20on%20repairing,behavior%20reflection
%20sessions%20to%20restitution.
Walker, T. (n.d.). Restorative practices in schools work . . . but they can work better | NEA.
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/restorative-practices-schools-work-they-can-work-
better
 References
Administrator. (2022, October 3). 6 Restorative Justice Practices to Implement In Your Classroom [+Real
Examples]. University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education.
https://pce.sandiego.edu/restorative-justice-in-the-classroom/