As you integrate restorative justice into your learning community, remember that there is no single path to achieving integration. Remember also, that this is a journey that takes many schools three to five years.
Begin with adopting the restorative philosophy—looking for ways to heal the harm, engaging those most affected in deciding how that healing should manifest, treating everyone with respect, etc. Then begin where you have an opportunity and build from there.
There are a number of excellent resources to help guide your journey. The following list includes links to manuals from districts and organizations that have shown success in adopting and integrating restorative justice into their cultures. Take time to explore the resources they share. Select the ones that fit your culture, or use them to inspire your development of new resources to fit your needs.
Various RJ-in-Education manuals include the following:
- Baltimore Community Schools and you might also like the website that has this and other great information.
- Canadian Restorative Practices Resource Project you can find the Circle Guidelines handouts on pages 202 to 205, but click on the Tools for Curriculum Applications links and you will find even more great resources. Honestly, this is chock full of treasures!
- San Francisco Public Schools’ Manual: Teaching Restorative Practices with Classroom Circles Note that you will have to give them your contact info, but the manual is a good one–especially for younger students.
- Oakland Unified School District, RJOY (Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth) Implementation Manual their website also includes more info you might find useful
- Restorative Justice Colorado has guidelines for integrating RJ in Schools and a lot of general information on their website.
- Colorado State University’s School of Human Development and Family Studies Educating for Peace Manual includes model Circles for elementary students based on the work of Tom Cavanagh, a researcher in the field of education, with special interest in how we can use restorative practices in a culture of care to create safe schools, physically, emotionally, and culturally. The manual includes three sections available through the live links that follow:
Feel free to contact us for more information. Enjoy your restorative justice journey!