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  • About
    • Mission and Vision
    • Equity Agenda
    • Our Team
    • Our Funding
    • The Latest
  • Teacher Campaigns
    • Restore Community Voice >
      • Myths and Realities on Mayoral Control of School
    • Latinx Educator Campaign
    • Teacher Turnover Action Group
    • Recruiting/Retaining Educators of Color
    • COVID-19 Teacher Response >
      • Coronavirus Recursos Espanol >
        • Información de Bienestar- COVID 19
        • Sitios de Comida en Las Escuelas
    • Transparency
    • Teacher Voice Summit 2018
  • Take Action
    • Join Teacher-led Campaigns
    • Contact DC Officials
    • Action Calendar
  • Research
    • The DC Landscape
    • About Teacher Turnover
    • Teacher Policy
    • Equity & Diversity
  • For Schools
  • Donate
  • Teacher Testimonies

Restorative Practices

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Picture

Barriers and Solutions

Time
Teachers are expected to build relationships, establish positive classroom communities, teach problem solving skills, and conference with students while also teaching academics.. When we share our concerns, administrators say we have permission to put the curriculum aside, but they still hold us accountable to an unrealistic pacing guide along with a laundry list of other things!  On top of that, teachers don't have sufficient training
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Answer: Teachers would feel less pressure and more eager to implement restorative practices in their classrooms if clear expectations, standards, and support were provided. Minutes for restorative practices on the daily schedule
  • Sufficient amount of time for restorative practices training
    • Added into PD schedule
    • Differentiated
    • Integrated implementation
    • Compensation

​​MEMBERS

Tiffany Pyen
Jill Telford
Josue Torres
Stephanie Beer
Suzannah Weiss
Candace Davis
Belinda Omenitsch
​
Group Contact: Tiffany Pyen
​
tpyen1@gmail.com

Barriers and Solutions

Measurement
As a teacher, when I write up a student for Tier 3 behavior, such as physical intimidation or throwing objects that might cause injury, I usually check the box for “Restorative Conference with student”, but often, administrators default to ISS for Tier 3 behavior... The mediation circle was highly effective. The student was calm and not attention-seeking like he usually was in my class when I would normally try to talk to him. The student tried harder to behave well after that talk. In contrast, I’ve noticed that after students come back from ISS they say “Don’t talk to me” or seem jaded that I “snitched” or “got them in trouble”, and sometimes shut down when they see me. As a new teacher, I understand the value of conversing individually with students about their behavior, however this is hard to implement in an environment where teachers are inundated with work due to high teacher turnover, and when admin. cracks down on disruptive behavior with ISS.
 
Answer: Teachers need help accessing Restorative Practices trainings that promote one-on-one discussions and mediation as opposed to punishment. We also need more more data to increase buy-in and spur change across the system. However, it is important to note that we also need an accountability system for administrators to implement Restorative Practices after their trainings. We recommend that DCPS hires data scientists to measure progress in Restorative Practices. However, there also needs to be an accountability system for teachers and admin.

Ask Candace: One suggestion is to create a restorative way to measure outcomes through qualitative assessments such as
  • Student surveys
  • Focus groups (student and teacher)
  • Student surveys
  • Focus groups (student and teacher)
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