Restorative Practices and Mental Health in Schools
By Patricia A. Ciccone, C.A.G.S., L.P.C. & Jo Ann Freiberg, Ph.D.
Students at all grade levels continue to struggle with learning and behavior in the classroom nearly two years after a frightening pandemic when they did not have the safety, security, and predictability of school every day. The question for educators now: what is the path forward?
Schools face the nearly impossible task of attempting to make up the lost time in students’ lives academically, socially, and emotionally.
How can we successfully support everyone and foster healing without adding to the trauma experienced during the pandemic?
The answer is quite straightforward: Safe and equitable classrooms promote learning and social-emotional growth. Our task is to create school environments that are safe in all ways, equitable for all students, no matter their circumstances, and foster social, emotional, and behavioral growth. Although daunting, this clear and present set of tasks can be met through the Restorative Practices (RP) theory of action. We know that educators who intentionally cultivate wonderful relationships and safe and equitable classroom communities have students who experience the highest academic achievement. Leading with relationship and community-building, the foundations of RP, yields the best outcome.
One exciting development to encourage schools to implement RP is the replacement of Connecticut’s Anti-Bulllying legislation with School Climate legislation, which requires schools to work restoratively to create “healing” environments that hold individuals accountable for any misbehaviors, broken rules, and harm to others or property.
Restorative Practices
Restorative Practices (RP) is a proven strategy to achieve positive culture change and decreased behavioral referrals, detentions, suspensions, expulsions, and other forms of exclusionary discipline that results in increased attendance, a decrease in chronic absenteeism, higher achievement, and improved school climate data. RP is about creating healing environments. The Fundamental Hypothesis of RP is very simple:
“Human beings are happier, healthier, more productive and cooperative and most likely to make positive changes in their own behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them.”
RP is not a program or curriculum – it is how you do what you do. RP can suffer from its name that places a confusing label on this theory’s approach. In fact, the majority of restorative work is not about restoring or repairing anything. The RP framework focuses squarely on the environment and guides educators on how to build high-quality relationships between and among all school community members while creating meaningful, viable, and positive classroom, team, and/or school communities. Positive school climates are “destinations” for all, safe and welcoming, intrinsically motivating, collaborative, and joyful places to learn.
This is an educative model; not a punitive one. When students struggle academically, schools provide whatever support may be necessary to help them achieve mastery. Behavior should be no different. Rarely can we punish students into social, relational, or behavioral skill development. These skills are best learned when they are taught through practice and example. Educators who practice restoratively embrace and use a set of well-researched strategies that are equitable and used by all in a context-dependent fashion. The process never changes; consequences or accountability is determined by examining the context of the situation and following a questioning process that allows all voices to be heard and the problem or situation that resulted in harm or disagreement to be solved, fixed and/or repaired. Solving problems restoratively is educative, meaningful, and typically ends the (mis)behavior once and for all.
