Vol, 7, No. 13: April 7, 2008		Get SEAchange by email

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3. "Restorative practices" nurture school culture in McFarland

McFarland educators say they've hit on a new model for preventing and resolving troublesome behaviors which is more effective, encourages positive school culture...and just feels better.

Several years ago, the School District of McFarland used a point system of discipline that school staff say caused teachers to spend increasing time on discipline without achieving noticeable improvement in student behavior.

"I think we were creating a vicious cycle," says Patty Kexel, a retired school counselor from the district, "We were punishing those students who most needed to feel that they belonged in our community by sending them away: we suspended them, we expelled them."

Now, more quickly than anyone had planned, the old culture has been replaced by one using "restorative practices," a system they say is proactive, positive, and powerful.

One hallmark of the approach is the "restorative conference." Student offenders sit down with those impacted by their actions, along with a trained facilitator. The "victims" become empowered and healed by having a voice in the plan to make things right. Offending students, by being part of the same planning process, get the opportunity to develop empathy and take responsibility for their actions.

Kexel and other McFarland staff discuss the district's use of restorative practices in a webcast available on the DPI website. It's part of the Safe Schools series produced in association with the Office of Justice Assistance, the Department of Health and Family Services, Wisconsin Emergency Management, and the Center for School, Youth and Citizen Preparedness.

Director of Instructional Services Roberta Felker has been moved by "watching young people come together with tears, with apologies, with . . . close interaction and respect for one another."

"Those interactions are the heart of what makes restorative practices so powerful," she says.

Preventive measures include a "circling" activity in class on Monday morning. In circling, whichever participant is holding a designated "talking piece"—anything from a pen to a stuffed animal—has the floor to express themselves until they pass the piece to the next person in the circle. Felker says staff have seen students transform themselves with new confidence and speaking skills developed through this activity.

The idea to use restorative practices first came to the district from a school board member who had seen the model in action in the juvenile justice system. Administrators shared their enthuisasm with school staff one summer by sending each and every employee a copy of the novel, Touching Spirit Bear, about a youth who is transformed through restorative practices. Enclosed with the book was a letter inviting participation in the district's first restorative practices workshop.

Turnout was "overwhelming," Felker says.

Within mere months, administrators and guidance counselors had to adjust their planning for the restorative practices program, as they watched their 2- and 3-year goals achieved and surpassed, far ahead of schedule.

Students have also reported high levels of satisfaction with the program in surveys administered after their conferences.

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Last updated on 4/7/2008