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Restorative Practices

In our NUSD school communities, scholars and adults are invited to engage in restorative practices to build relationships among the school community to prevent bullying, conflicts, and wrong-doing before harm happens. These practices are also used when harm does happen, restorative practices provide a structured and compassionate approach to repair addressing the needs of those harmed, holding individuals accountable, and engaging the broader community in healing and support. A community can be as small as a circle of 2-3 classmates or as large as the community in which the school resides.

Restorative practices include both formal and informal practices that transfer the restorative mindset into the daily lived experiences of school. An overview of restorative practices includes the following components: 
 


Practices That Develop the Restorative Mindset:

  • Intentional creation of community 
  • Examination of one’s own relationship to harm
  • Exploration and understanding of implicit bias, trauma, and resilience 

Practices That Build Community and Respond to Harm:

  • Empathetic communication, which includes listening with care and curiosity, and speaking using language to repair harm
  • Circles to build and maintain relationships, to teach, to meet, to problem-solve, to provide on-going support, and/or to celebrate
  • Restorative questions used in conversations to support inquiry, empathy, and builds the practice of seeking to understand others’ perspectives
  • Use restorative circles or conferences with the appropriate individuals or groups to address concerns, repair harm, and rebuild trust
     

Restorative practices are used to build healthy relationships and to create community in school, to develop a positive school climate, prevent bullying and harm, and to help restore or repair relationships.  A common misconception is that restorative practices are used only in response to conflict; in reality, these practices are an inclusive approach to building and sustaining a healthy, supportive, welcoming school culture for all.