RESTORING JUSTICE

Making Things Right: Victim-offender Conferencing

Practicing Restorative Justice in the Schools

Restoring Justice: Peacemaking Court Project

When the Ypsilanti and Willow Run Community School Districts consolidated on July 1, 2013, the administration and staff made a fundamental commitment to do things differently.  They decided to take a “restorative” approach to discipline and to creating a sense of community.

In late August staff received training from the International Institute of Restorative Practices to learn how to teach students to own and accept responsibility for what they did wrong, and to be an active part of the solution to make things right. In January Ypsilanti Community Schools became the first school district in the state to take the “Solutions Not Suspensions” pledge to support restorative justice and other positive forms of discipline that keep students in the classroom.

“We can’t do things the same way and expect different results,” said Justin Jennings, principal of Ypsilanti Community High School. “We need kids who have empathy and care. It doesn’t matter whether they’re black or white. The kids need to hear that we love them.”

Since 2012 The Dispute Resolution Center, (DRC) which serves Washtenaw and Livingston Counties, has partnered with Ypsilanti Community High School to develop a peer mediation program and provide conflict resolution services the Restorative Center.  The center is a welcoming place where students can develop skills to peacefully resolve conflict. Over 66 days of suspension have been averted at Ypsilanti Community High School from September 2013 through January, 2014 through restorative circles and conferences facilitated by DRC staff and volunteers. (more…)