Restorative practices is a framework used globally. It’s a social science that emphasizes communication, and Jay Shannon of Project Oz said it’s not new.
“It's something that many cultures have used for hundreds of years, and it's really just the science of how we communicate,” said Shannon, program director of the Youth Empowered Schools, or YES, initiative at Project Oz.
YES is all about implementing restorative practices in schools, which means including students in the discipline process, talking through emotions, providing spaces for downtime and so much more.
Shannon said it’s mainly about building strong, healthy relationships, whether it's peer-to-peer, student-to-teacher, or even student-to-parent and teacher-to-parent.
“It's how we talk to each other when we're operating at our best,” Shannon said as a definition. “And once we realize what we do really well, we're more intentional about doing that every day.”
Shannon has been doing this work in District 87 for around 18 years. He also works with Unit 5 on using the framework. There are school specialists from YES in K-12 buildings across both districts.
Where restorative practices are used
Restorative practices also extend beyond the classroom, and local resident Kevin Jones wants to make sure McLean County is keeping up with the rest of the world. He works for the International Institute for Restorative Practices and consults locally, nationally and internationally on the topic.
“What I'm trying to build is capacity of trainers and coaches and restorative facilitators in McLean County,” he said. “That's how we become a hub. That's been my vision for seven years, and … I'm coming back to finish what I started to be honest with you.”
Starting this month, he’ll be holding training sessions for the community on the practices.
Sessions are being held in partnership with the Regional Office of Education #17. They start this month with an overview of the framework.
Jones has done this work in McLean County previously. He’s trained at local universities. He’s also monitored the work being done in District 87 and Unit 5.
But Jones said he would not call McLean County a leader in restorative practices just yet. He pointed to Detroit as an example of a model. He said the city itself incorporated restorative practices into the infrastructure over a decade ago.
“I would say we have done a phenomenal job of introducing central Illinois to restorative practices and with some great success, but there's still a lot more learning to do,” he said.
Shannon with Project Oz said the situation is similar in the schools. That’s because restorative practices, he explained, is an evolving science.
“We're still working through how it looks here,” he said. “We haven't perfected our model in either district, but I will say that there's a real commitment from both District 87 and Unit 5.”
How restorative practices are used
At the same time, there is some clear structure. Shannon said it starts with the 80-20 rule.
“80% of our time should be building the relationship, building the culture, building up the community, and 20% of our time is being spent repairing harm,” Shannon said.
Shannon said most people think restorative practices is only about avoiding discipline, that people just hug it out. That’s not the case.
He explains that there are natural consequences for behaviors, and restorative practices go beyond them.
“It's also how do we repair the harm that's done because if we don't repair the harm, we've left it right where it is,” he said. “And now we just have two individuals that are both leaving, and they feel hurt.”
When restorative practices are used
But most of the work Shannon and others at District 87 and Unit 5 do is proactive. It’s having conversations at the beginning of the school year to set boundaries and classroom rules. It’s having frequent conversation circles throughout the year to make sure students continue to be included in the mix.
Shannon and the school specialists also aren’t the only ones doing the work. Everyone plays a part.
Diane Gallucci is an eighth-grade teacher at Bloomington Junior High School (BJHS) and has been in the district for more than two decades. This includes some time before Project Oz began its official restorative practices work there.
Over the years, Gallucci said she’s seen how educators have changed. She said restorative practices were always used by individuals, but now there’s some uniformity.
“It's more of that top-down piece, where everybody understands the value of it and is getting behind it,” she said, adding that they’re working together so the school is now “steering the ship all in the same direction.”
Seventh-grade teacher Lydia Tobin at BJHS has been at the school for a little over five years. She said restorative practices were emphasized from day one.
She said building relationships makes the job easier.
“It is essential to understand your students and for them to understand you, and to be seen as a human,” she said.
One of the ways teachers like Tobin and Gallucci do this is by providing outlets for students who need to take a break. In Tobin’s classroom, she has a partitioned nook with a pillow and some worksheets to help students in emotional distress.
They also use restorative circles to do regular check-ins with students. Tobin said these help students feel empowered.
“Students ultimately want a voice,” she said.
YES Program Director Jay Shannon said he’s helped teachers use circles to calm a rowdy class or to bring parents, teachers, administrators and students together after an incident has occurred.
For one class, he was able to facilitate an agreement between the teacher and students on quiet time. The students agreed to let the teacher have the first 15 minutes of class for instruction, and in turn, they were allowed to have a few minutes at the end of class for themselves. They were also asked to decide on their own disciplinary measures for breaking the agreement.
The way Gallucci does her circles has evolved. She said she used to hold them once per quarter.
Now, she does them multiple times a month. Gallucci said she’s noticed the difference it makes.
“I know it's impacting students because if for some reason we have to miss a circle or we have to miss that piece, they're calling for it,” she said.
Gallucci added that teachers also gain from the circles.
“Oftentimes, we think we are the teachers, we run the classroom, but if you open up your mind to [the idea] that you're just one of many in the class — that it's not your class, it's our class — I think you can end up with some really good ideas from students on how to handle situations,” she said.
Tobin said restorative practices are important. She added that they’ve become a necessary part of the learning model because middle schoolers have big emotions that are expressed in different ways.
“They can show up in crying, they can show up in anger, they can show up in all sorts of ways, and if we aren't addressing that, then it's really hard to help students learn that content,” she said.
But the goal of school is still teaching traditional knowledge and skills, Tobin said.
Shifting to meet community needs
At the same time, YES Program Director Jay Shannon said how BJHS uses restorative practices might look a lot different than how other schools use restorative practices.
“We're dealing with different levels of development,” he said. “It doesn't always look exactly the same way.”
They adapt based on student needs.
Project Oz included elementary schools in its scope two years ago. Shannon said it will be exciting to see the impact that adjustment has down the road.
“Now that we're starting to introduce it at the elementary school level, you can pass students and families along the continuum all the way through high school,” he said.
This, he added, will ultimately lead to better learning for all.
