Putting conflict resolution into kids’ hands




RESTORING HARMONY—In an icebreaker, seventh-grader Danielle Cox mimics poses from other students in a mock circle during the restorative justice program Feb. 22 at Valley View Middle School. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

RESTORING HARMONY—In an icebreaker, seventh-grader Danielle Cox mimics poses from other students in a mock circle during the restorative justice program Feb. 22 at Valley View Middle School. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

When asked if they felt at ease at their school, every hand went up in Kathleen Erickson’s restorative justice class at Valley View Middle School.

The 30 or so sixth- through eighth-graders in Erickson’s class practice a simple formula for defusing disputes and problems on campus that can in some instances escalate into worrisome situations.

They talk.

In restorative justice, students take some responsibility for disciplining peers who’ve broken school rules by ditching class or vaping, for example—offenses that usually get a kid in trouble or even suspended.

To be sure, students still go to the principal’s office when they’re caught doing something wrong. But now, instead of getting detention or a suspension, offending students can go before a panel of their peers to mediate a resolution and make amends.

Think of it as an intermediary step before suspension, said social studies teacher Traci Bowden, who together with Erickson created the class as an elective three years ago.

The two educators had read online about how schools in the East were using restorative justice as a disciplinary alternative, and they got permission from Principal Michael Hall to bring a program to Valley View.

After some tweaking by Erickson and Bowden, the elective class now also includes segments on building self-esteem and making friends and social connections in school.

“Our suspension rate stands at 2 percent,” Bowden said. “The year before it was 6.1 percent, and the year before that it was 6.6 percent. So our suspension rate has gone down every year of the program.”

At the start of new school year, seventh- and eighth-grade students from the class are assigned to help incoming sixthgraders, showing them around campus and introducing them to other students.

“I’ve definitely seen them go from being shy and nervous on their first day to being more outgoing and more confident,” said seventh-grader Dylan Passon, who befriended a couple of sixth-graders this year.

When students get into trouble and are referred by the principal to mediation, they are asked by students on the mediation panel a series of questions designed to get them to think about what they’ve done and the consequences, seventh-grader Brendon Gerbers said.

“After we ask the restorative questions, we will take (the student and their parent) out of the room and come up with consequences,” he said.

Students who go through the mock trial must sign a contract that includes making amends such as doing extra homework or helping out around the house, along with a promise not to repeat the offense.

Generally, parents go along with whatever the mediation panel decides.

High school and middle school students can get suspended for relatively minor offenses, including defiance of school authority, failure to report to after-school detention, class disruption, truancy, dress code violations and leaving campus during school hours without permission, according to a study by the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

Suspensions have a significant influence on the dropout rate, according to a report in Education Digest. And they’re costly for school districts, a study last year by UC Santa Barbara and the UCLA Civil Rights Project concluded.

That study, “School Suspensions Cost California Billions,” found that “the overuse of suspensions . . . is harming student achievement and graduation rates and resulting in billions of dollars in economic damage.”

In addition to reducing suspension rates, the restorative program at Valley View is helping students feel more comfortable and positive about school, Bowden said.

“We see a real difference in our school’s climate,” Bowden said.

“The students are more positive, more connected to the school. Students are bringing their own voice to what they want their school to be like.”