What about a real school or a classroom? Roxanne Claassen was one of the first teachers to commit to school for decent justice. She had seen the success of her husband Ron in his work with juvenile justice. Roxanne decided to try the model at her elementary school in Fresno, California. Teachers who use restorative disciplinary practices see a dramatic improvement in classroom behaviour. They have better relationships with their students and therefore less stress due to unresolved conflicts. “The restorative discipline has improved my relationships with students,” says Claassen. “Instead of complicating relationships, it brought us closer together and improved our interactions.” If the problem continued, Claassen would work with the student to find a solution. “That`s where the problem is. What can we do about it? Your message to the child is: “I am not against you; I`m for you. I want them to succeed,” says Claassen.

On the first level, everything revolves around building communities as a preventive measure. Teachers or peer leaders take students into sharing circles where children open up their fears and goals. “Circles are based on Aboriginal practices that value inclusion, respect, community management and support for healing,” says Yurem. “Children are really swaying with this process. I have seen children share things that I was extremely surprised about, like the 4th-year boys, who talk about what scares them. Appearing weak in their world is a life-threatening thing, so I was really impressed. This is the basis of restorative discipline. Statistics show that the use of restorative practices keeps children in school. Prison systems often remove students from the classroom, even for minor offences. With restorative justice, everyone works together to keep children in the classroom where they can learn. Children who are expelled from school often end up in what education reform activists call the “school-prison pipeline.” Restorative justice wants to stop this cycle and keep children on the right track with their education.

Does your school need restorative justice or do you want to start? Come to Facebook with the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group and discuss your experience with other teachers. Within a few years, the success of these programs led to the study of restorative justice in schools, especially those who suffered from great student misconduct. In California, the Oakland Unified School District began using the program at a failing high school in 2006. In three years, the pilot school recorded an 87% drop in suspensions, with a corresponding decrease in violence. The boys admitted that they had done so. Claassen convened a meeting with all those involved or those involved, the boys, their parents and the administrator. They were talking about what was going on, and everyone had a voice. “The supervisor had the opportunity to let students know how difficult it is to replace a donor,” Claassen said. “Students had incredible knowledge of a real situation in a way that a suspension could never, and relationships improved rather than damaged.” While there is no major underlying problem, it is more constructive to deal with disciplinary issues. “The restoration process teaches students how to positively resolve conflicts,” says Claassen. “It helps them develop rational skills – understand a situation, follow and solve a process. These are life skills that they can take away from the world. In addition, equity in schools requires a commitment of time and money from the county and its administration.

There are several examples of schools that provide funds to implement the program but leave money unused.