Dr. Reid replacing school discipline with “restorative justice” ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.osibaltimore.org/2020/09/new-report-indicates-major-impact-of-restorative-practices-in-baltimore-city-schools/

School suspensions dropped by 44% in one year
72% of school staff reported improved school climate
69% of school staff reported improved student respect for one another
64% of school staff reported improved student respect for staff

Successful in Maryland

Baltimore City schools are not a success story.

Out of 150 schools, 23 Baltimore City schools had zero students proficient in math and another 20 schools with only one or two students total scoring proficient in math. Citing Baltimore City schools as demonstrating the success of restorative justice shows the opposite.

https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/23-baltimore-schools-have-zero-students-proficient-in-math-state-test-results-reveal-maryland-comprehensive-assessment-program-department-of-education-statistics-school-failures

Academics have taken a nosedive everywhere since the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Restorative justice is traumatic to the victims whether the victims are students or teachers.

Victims only participate voluntarily. No one is forced to do it. Parents must agree to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Restorative justice is traumatic to the victims whether the victims are students or teachers.

Victims only participate voluntarily. No one is forced to do it. Parents must agree to it.

So it is the parent who decides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.osibaltimore.org/2020/09/new-report-indicates-major-impact-of-restorative-practices-in-baltimore-city-schools/

School suspensions dropped by 44% in one year
72% of school staff reported improved school climate
69% of school staff reported improved student respect for one another
64% of school staff reported improved student respect for staff

Successful in Maryland

Baltimore City schools are not a success story.

Out of 150 schools, 23 Baltimore City schools had zero students proficient in math and another 20 schools with only one or two students total scoring proficient in math. Citing Baltimore City schools as demonstrating the success of restorative justice shows the opposite.

https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/23-baltimore-schools-have-zero-students-proficient-in-math-state-test-results-reveal-maryland-comprehensive-assessment-program-department-of-education-statistics-school-failures

When you start from zero, even minuscule improvement could be touted as a “success.”

[Anonymous]

Pointing to a prison system in Canada and inner-city Baltimore schools as evidence of “success” for restorative justice seems very suspect to me.

This new initiative by Dr. Reid appears to be another bad idea by FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Restorative justice is traumatic to the victims whether the victims are students or teachers.

Victims only participate voluntarily. No one is forced to do it. Parents must agree to it.

So it is the parent who decides.

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pointing to a prison system in Canada and inner-city Baltimore schools as evidence of “success” for restorative justice seems very suspect to me.

This new initiative by Dr. Reid appears to be another bad idea by FCPS.

Pointing to two of many examples provided seems very suspect to me.

It works.

But that won’t stop the haters from irrationally hating it or the Republicans from pushing misinformation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pointing to a prison system in Canada and inner-city Baltimore schools as evidence of “success” for restorative justice seems very suspect to me.

This new initiative by Dr. Reid appears to be another bad idea by FCPS.

Pointing to two of many examples provided seems very suspect to me.

It works.

It was a poster upthread who specifically held out the use of RJ in Baltimore City schools as a role model.

This is the type of thing Nardos King would do as well - blissfully unaware that most FCPS families do not want to emulate Baltimore City Public Schools with its track record of failure.

But that won’t stop the haters from irrationally hating it or the Republicans from pushing misinformation.

[Anonymous]

Reid is another in a long line of stooges for the School Board.

Fire the School Board in the elections and then fire Reid.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Reid if she continues to serve as FCPS will in 5 years have taken FCPS to the same level as Baltimore schools. Is that really what parent’s want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a good idea because it works.

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/jstc-rcdvs/index-en.aspx
The offenders who participated in the restorative justice program had lower recidivism rates than the matched group of probationers. With each year during the follow-up the differences in recidivism rates for the two groups widened. At the first year, the restorative justice offenders had a recidivism rate of 15% compared to 38% for the probation group. At the second year the respective rates were 28% and 54% and by the third year the rates were 35% and 66%.

https://thedcline.org/2018/07/27/restorative-justice-program-for-juveniles-aims-to-foster-empathy-heal-trauma/
In the 60 juvenile cases that have gone through this program since its inception in 2016, 48 have had successful outcomes, according to Gajwani. Success is measured by the rate of rearrests. Nationally, the rate of recidivism for youth who opt for restorative justice as opposed to a traditional court proceeding is at 40 percent.

You're citing juvenile court cases. Taking restorative justice from that concept to schools is like using a blowtorch for weeding. Wrong tool, wrong setting.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/07/15/restorative-justice-montgomery-county-schools/
"A recent report by Sean Darling-Hammond, assistant professor of health and education at UCLA, indicates that restorative practices improve middle school students’ academic achievement, while reducing suspension rates and disparities, misbehavior, substance abuse and student mental health challenges."

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED596786.pdf
"The earlier discussion about RJ theory suggests that a well-implemented program could
reduce punitive disciplinary actions and problem behavior over time (Tyler, 2006). All the
empirical studies we reviewed report a decrease in exclusionary discipline and harmful
behavior (e.g., violence) after implementing some type of RJ program. "

"But, across the studies, school attendance tended to improve after
RJ implementation. Baker (2009), for example, reports that students who participated in
an RJ program12 experienced a 50-percent reduction in absenteeism during the first year of
implementation and a decrease in tardiness of about 64 percent. "

"70 percent of staff reported
that RJ improved overall school climate during the first year of implementation."

It works in a wide variety schools all over the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dr. Reid says she is implementing “restorative justice.”

This is a portion of Michelle Reid’s weekly update sent to FCPS parents:

"The second initiative is our Restorative Justice Program’s new Responsible Pathway to Restorative Justice Facilitation. This pathway program will enable trained and endorsed members of Team FCPS to operate as school-based restorative justice facilitators. By this time next year, our goal is to have two of these facilitators in each of our schools. I’m thrilled about this program and how it will support us to provide excellence, equity, and opportunity for each and every one of our students, especially those impacted by discipline disparities. As I shared with the principals on Thursday, I know there likely are a lot of questions about these two initiatives! More information on our Instructional Rounds and the Responsible Pathway to Restorative Justice Facilitation will be made available in the coming weeks; stay tuned!"

Do you think this is a good idea? Will this new approach increase or decrease crime in your child’s school?

"This approach" is not explained in the OP. Does this mean no discipline ever?
Or does it mean discipline that doesn't stay on the record forever so as not to disadvantage kids' futures?
Does it mean progressive discipline? Discipline coupled with counseling?

I cannot say if I think it's a "good idea" or not if you haven't explained what it is beyond inflammatory soundbites. And, yeah, I could spend the time parsing it out online but since OP brought it up . . .

Sounds like most PPs are unfamiliar with it based on the many false assumptions.

Lots of info here:
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/RJInformationPacket.pdf

To answer some of your questions:
"Restorative Justice Practice is a philosophy based on a set of principles for responding to harm and
wrongdoing that is victim-centered and focuses on offender accountability to those who were
harmed and to the laws or rules that were broken. It also includes a principal-based approach to
establish and strengthen relationships."

"Criteria for Referral
This information is intended to guide administrators in making decisions about appropriate referrals
to a Restorative Justice (RJ) process. Once a referral is made, it is the responsibility of the Restorative
Justice team to make the final assessment of case suitability.

Parent permission is required to participate in a Restorative Justice process.
 Administrators should secure parent permission prior to making the Restorative Justice
referral.
 Administrators may seek support from their assigned RJ Practitioner when securing parent
permission and/or discussing the Restorative Justice process.

Participating in a Restorative Justice process is voluntary for all parties.

The offending student(s) must admit involvement in the incident.
 There are differing degrees of responsibility in an incident of wrongdoing; however, the
student(s) must admit to being involved in the incident.
There should be clear evidence to support that wrongdoing has occurred.
 The process is not meant to be used as an investigative method for determining guilt.
 It the offending student(s) and those harmed by the wrongdoing agree that there has been a
violation and harm has been done, but they can’t determine or won’t acknowledge who is
responsible for what, a conference can help sort out specific acts and responsibility for those
actions – but the offending student(s) referred for the process must admit to being involved
in the wrongdoing.

Every student should have access to restorative justice and be considered for referral.
 Every FCPS student must have access to a restorative justice process. Offending students
must admit to being involved to access the restorative justice process.
 Students who receive services from a school social worker, school psychologist, or medical
professional always have the option to include that person or persons with them in the RJ
process as supporters.
Prior offenses do not preclude a student from being referred to a Restorative Justice process.
 Often student(s) do not understand the impact of their actions. Students can benefit from a
RJ process, even if a prior history of wrongdoing is evident.

All incidents of wrongdoing and violation of the FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities
document are eligible to be referred to a Restorative Justice process.

In a Restorative Justice process, everyone adversely affected by the wrongdoing is a harmed
person. This includes participating students and their families.

Referrals can be made at all stages of the disciplinary process and for almost every incident or
wrongdoing, regardless of the seriousness of the offense.
 Referral can be made as a diversion from the traditional disciplinary process for appropriate
situations.
 Restorative Justice can be utilized in combination with other discipline actions such as: oneday suspension and referral to RJ, as opposed to 3–10-day suspension. This option works
well for fighting and verbal altercations when both students admit involvement.
 A Restorative Justice process can be initiated for re-entry into the classroom or school after a
disciplinary action has been completed.
 A referral to a Restorative Justice process should not be used as an additional punishment or
sanction for the offending student(s).

Here are some actual details for the current FCPS RJ program.

Does anyone have any real comments or do you just want to irrationally bash Reid and the school board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Restorative justice is traumatic to the victims whether the victims are students or teachers.

Victims only participate voluntarily. No one is forced to do it. Parents must agree to it.

That is not how it is proposed to the parent. It is presented as "this is what we are doing". Parents whose kids are never in trouble do not know the system - but the problematic parents have problematic kids, and you bet they know the system well - they certainly work it to their advantage. The victim loses out, obviously. Something has to change.

The perp should not be allowed to walk around school as if they are not a liability, because they are.

[Anonymous]

It’s a torrent of words but the intent is to serve as a diversion program, so that bullies and others who cause trouble and can’t follow the rules aren’t held accountable. That will then allow FCPS to manipulate statistics and claim it’s making progress towards meeting “equity” goals.

No one who really wades through all the verbiage and Reid’s statements as to the goal will come away believing for one second that this is really “victim-centered,” so please just cut out the BS.

[Anonymous]

Just parroting “it works!” over and over does not make it true.