Restorative Practice

at
Berkshire Middle School

Restorative Approach

Respect:
Listening to opinions and
valuing
Responsibility: Being accountable for
actions
Repair:
Individual members have the
skills to identify solutions
and repair harm
Re-Integration: Work to ensure
behavior is
not repeated
and allows
student to remain in school.

Process

Incident

Preparation

Conference

Contract

Follow-Up

When is there a
Referral?

Disruptive behavior in and out of classroom

Arguments/Disagreements between
student-student, student-staff

Friendship Issues

Hallway/Cafeteria issues

Mistreatment of Peers

Conference

Need permission from individuals involved to take place

A neutral facilitator mediates

Ground rules.

Everyone has a voice

Make the wrong.right

The wrong-doer (s) accepts responsibility for their actions

Participants

Develop-Truth telling skills,

responsibility, accountability, empathy

Learn about-the impact of their

actions on others, real consequences

Be able to-make amends, show

remorse, change behavior

Questions Asked
When challenging behavior (Aggressor):
What happened?
What were you thinking of at the time?
What have you thought about since?
Who has been affected by what you have done?
In what way have they been affected?
What do you think you need to do to make things right?
To help those affected (victim):
What did you think when you realized what had happened?
What impact has this incident had on you and others?
What has been the hardest thing for you?
What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

Results

Reductions in disciplinary
referrals to office
Reductions in suspensions
Reductions in amount of instructional time
lost to in managing student behavior
challenges
Improved teacher morale
Improved academic outcomes
Improved connection with students

Behavioral Comparison
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

2013-2014
2014-2015

Restoratives in 2013-2014 (only

month of Dec.)
Restoratives in 2014-2015 (months
of Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.)