Restorative Practices in Schools
What Are Restorative Practices?
Restorative Practices Training is all about relationships. The philosophy is simple: people thrive when they feel connected, valued, and heard. In schools, this means intentionally creating a culture where students (AND STAFF!) build trust, resolve conflicts, and take ownership and accountability in building their community.
Healthy relationships are crucial in the context of restorative practices. These practices not only address conflict but also foster a community that nurtures strong relationships among students and educators, ultimately enhancing the learning experience and promoting equity.
Community members play a vital role in building trust and accountability, contributing to a collaborative environment that supports positive change and effective solutions in educational settings.
What Is Restorative Justice And Is It The Same Thing As Restorative Practices?
What are Restorative Practices? Think of Restorative Practices as an umbrella that encompasses both the prevention/proactive strategies as well as the responsive strategies (Restorative Justice) to repair conflict. Many times, schools want to adopt Restorative Practices solely as a response to disciplinary situations rather than a proactive approach to building community. While Restorative Practices have explicit and effective ways to impact discipline systems and repair relationships, their true power lies in prevention. In fact, 80% of RP is focused on proactive strategies like circles and affective language that build social capital, while 20% is focused on repairing harm and addressing harmful behavior.
Restorative practices shift school discipline from punitive measures to more collaborative approaches, promoting accountability and relationship rebuilding rather than punishment.
It’s not just about what to do when things go wrong—it’s about building the kind of relationships that make things go right.
The Importance of Restorative Practices in School Climate
The impact of Restorative Practices in schools is evident in multiple high-quality research studies. You can find a list of outcomes and links below.
But consider for a moment the impact of the gradual erosion of natural opportunities for connection and community. More and more, we have lost what we had when we lived in fully integrated communities. In the past, people often lived in multigenerational homes with extended family and remained rooted in the same communities where they grew up. Today, however, it’s more common for individuals to move away, live in separate households with private spaces, and even their own personal devices! Sitting in our rooms, engaged with our devices, ‘community’ has suffered a gradual loss in terms of belonging, meaning, support, and face-to-face encounters that provide the emotional regulation, connection, and care we need to thrive. This is why we have to be deliberate about creating relationships and community and be explicit about how we do it. Fremont High School has seen positive outcomes from implementing restorative practices and enhancing relationships within the school community.
But enough of that. Let’s look at the research.
Restorative Practices in schools have been shown to reduce incidences of suspension and expulsion, increase feelings of safety and belonging among students and staff, decrease disproportionate discipline, and improve the overall school climate. The Oakland Unified School District has successfully reduced suspensions and promoted equity through restorative practices.
Reduction in Suspensions, Disproportionate Discipline & Arrests: Research from the University of Chicago Education Lab reports that in Chicago Public Schools, Restorative Practice approaches reduced out-of-school suspensions, disproportionate discipline, and arrests.
What do we at CSC find compelling about this study?
The positive outcomes were NOT because of “mechanical” changes, like a simple change to their discipline response or code of conduct. The robust use of Restorative Practices was the driver of positive outcomes.
Equally important, the reduction in suspensions did NOT result in increased in-school suspension, classroom disruption, or poorer academic performance. Education Lab
Enhanced School Climate: Restorative Practices in schools contribute to a more positive school environment. This study from The Learning Policy Institute reported that schools increasing their use of Restorative Practices observed improvements in school climate, including reductions in misbehavior, substance abuse, and mental health challenges. ERIC
Increased Social Competency and Positive Relationships: Restorative Practices in schools foster better social skills and relationships among students. Studies have shown that these approaches lead to improvements in positive relationships and social competencies, essential components for positive youth development. ERIC
Improvement in Academic Achievement: Some, not all, studies show that exposure to Restorative Practices correlates with enhanced academic performance. This same research by the Learning Policy Institute indicates that middle schools utilizing RP saw improvements in student achievement across diverse racial and ethnic groups. ERIC
What Are Examples Of Restorative Practice In Schools and In Classrooms?
The question of “what it takes to apply restorative practices in schools” often arises because the demands of the classroom can make implementing anything new feel overwhelming. Building a strong school community through restorative practices not only addresses conflict and misbehavior but also fosters equitable, positive relationships within the school environment, enhancing the overall well-being and connectedness of students and staff.
Various school districts, like Oakland Unified, have successfully integrated restorative practices into their systems, shifting away from traditional discipline methods towards more inclusive and restorative approaches.
At CSC, we believe that if practices aren’t defined and operationalized, streamlined with key stakeholders contributing to the design and integration, it won’t last.
Here are some examples of specific Restorative Practices that we’ve helped our partners adopt and weave into their current systems:
Community-Building Circles for Students and Staff: Whether a quick prompt or a fuller circle lesson with a topic, these can be incorporated into morning meetings, staff meetings, or core classes.
Affective Statements: Simple, emotion-based statements that express feelings about a behavior, these can be woven into 4:1 reinforcement to redirection or wider communication strategies.
Curbside Conversations: On-the-spot, quick effective conversations to reset a situation before it escalates, these can be used staff-to-student but perhaps even more importantly, between colleagues to promote open communication early conflict resolution, and prevent larger rifts.
Restorative Conversations: Slightly more formal conversations for conflict resolution using the set of restorative questions.
Restorative Justice Conferencing: A formal process involving all parties impacted by a conflict to collaboratively repair harm.
Classroom Re-Entry Conversations: Short, scripted discussions to reintegrate students after being removed from class or returning from a suspension.
Peer Mediation Program: A student-led conflict resolution process where trained peers guide their classmates to collaboratively address and resolve disputes.
Restorative Tier 2 Interventions: Restorative student supports and interventions.
Grade Team Reflection Exercises for Staff: Popular exercises using the Engagement Window, the Compass of Shame, the Regulate-Relate-Reason Toolkits, and the Pre-Referral Menus are used to support reflection on current practice.
Family and Community Restorative Practices Training: Workshops to teach families the same RP strategies used in schools.
Fair Process Decision Making: Explicit structures to gather input and communicate decisions are shaped for upcoming decisions or design for future programming.
While some of these practices are essential staples, think of them as a menu to choose from to slowly integrate over the years, rather than trying to integrate them all at once.
What Are The 5 R's Of Restorative Practices?
A frequently asked question is, "What are the 5 R's of Restorative Practices?" Some organizations bucket RP steps into things like Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, Reintegration, and Repair. However, at CSC, we believe that operationalizing steps like these with the design help of stakeholders is key.
Here’s what CSC uses as the 5 Steps for using Restorative Practices in schools, each having a simple menu/checklist of options to simplify for easy adoption:
Calm Self
Often skipped over in Restorative Practice models, if you’re not calm before you engage, it’s not likely to go well. We have an interactive toolkit to do just that.
Calm Other
Before moving into conversation, the other party has to be calm first. Help the student or colleague de-escalate using grounding strategies and active listening.
Reflect
Consider the root causes of the behavior and its impact. Tools like the Compass of Shame and Engagement Window are helpful here. We have a menu of options to help guide decision-making.
Repair
Address harm using a menu of Restorative Practice options such as Affective Statements, Curbside Conversations, Classroom Re-Entry Conversations, or Responsive Circles.
Plan
Create a forward-looking plan to ensure accountability and support for all involved.
This approach aligns with the 4 pillars of restorative practices, which focus on the frameworks to guide integration.
What Are The 4 Pillars Of Restorative Practice?
Another frequent question we hear is, "What are the 4 pillars of Restorative Practices?" These pillars or core components are central to CSC’s approach and include:
High Support and High Accountability
Striking a balance between being compassionate and holding others accountable ensures restorative practices work effectively.
Fair Process Decision-Making
Involving stakeholders in decisions fosters trust and ownership.
Strategies to Express, Share, and Reflect
Using restorative questions and affective statements helps students and staff process emotions and learn from conflicts.
Explicit Practices to Build and Repair Relationships
Proactive tools like circles and mediation strengthen relationships and prevent harm.
Combining the 5 Steps of Restorative Practices and these pillars creates a cohesive, impactful framework for building stronger school communities.
What It Takes To Apply Restorative Practices In Schools?
Successfully implementing restorative practices in schools requires intentional planning and commitment. Here’s what it takes to make them stick:
Assess Organizational Readiness
Evaluate existing systems like PBIS and classroom management to determine readiness for integration.
Build Buy-In
Engage stakeholders—including skeptics—early in the process to ensure commitment and alignment.
Provide High-Quality Training
Restorative Practices for Educators training is essential. CSC’s sessions are led by experienced educators who offer salient stories and actionable strategies.
Engage Leadership and Champions
Strong leadership and a team of Restorative Practice champions ensure sustainability and alignment.
Embed Practices into Systems
Integrate Restorative Practices into daily routines, classroom protocols, and school policies.
Monitor Progress and Provide Coaching
Use data and feedback to refine implementation over time and ensure lasting change.
Restorative Practices Training
CSC’s Restorative Practices Trainings aren’t your average professional development. We feel fortunate to say that it never fails to engage people and produce those Ah-Hah moments. Here are some snippets from a recent training in which CSC provided training to over 300 people in 13 groups across 7 schools:
100% of attendees rated the trainer as highly knowledgeable and effective, while 97% said the strategies were extremely useful in helping them learn, practice, and implement restorative tools. But it’s the qualitative feedback that truly highlights the difference we make:
“I am walking away with something I can do tomorrow, next week, and next year. I have tools I didn’t have before.”
“Every moment was intentionally spent, and the learning was so well-scaffolded and layered.”
“I appreciated how interactive it was—I never felt rushed or overwhelmed. The facilitator truly listened to our needs and adapted to them.”
“I loved how much modeling took place. These are strategies I can take back to my space and use right away.”
“The focus on both the 'why' of restorative practices and the practical 'how' was incredibly motivating.”
“Great pace; respectful leaders; extremely knowledgeable; safe space to learn and feel like I was valued.”
“The honest and open stories shared by the facilitator, the neutral questions, the circle explanations, the shame compass, and the ‘With Box’—loved it all. These are worthy and helpful methods for supporting kids, from the first slide to the last one. Amazing.”
CSC can help you design a plan that starts where you are and moves at a pace of adoption that works for your community. Reach out to us to talk about your school or district’s needs!