"Restorative circles" WTF.

sprout said:

callista said:
Somewhere, there is a consultant who was paid a pretty penny, hopefully not by us, to come up with that little gem of a title.

FWIW: Restorative Practices/Restorative Circles are methods that have been around for decades:
https://books.google.com/books?id=v8Y8cZk8-g4C&lpg=PA23&ots=mvT4TqDNJv&dq=restorative%20circles%20practices&lr&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q=restorative%20circles%20practices&f=false
ETA: I believe the renewed interest in these methods are in response to "zero tolerance" policies which, due to their over-reliance on suspensions, have been shown to feed the school-to-prison pipeline.
A difficulty with disciplinary policies and practices is the substantial challenge of moving towards optimal outcomes for all involved.

If my child was sexually assaulted the last thing I would be looking for is a restorative circle. Instead I believe the appropriate response for a sexual assault is a police report of the alleged offense, police investigation and summons issued to perpetrator(s) if probable cause exists. Actions have consequences (IMHO many students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior as a result of being suspended from school for unsocial/illegal behavior).

It's true that this is the age when kids are pushing boundaries in a serious way, and I'm sure they have all kinds of impulses thanks to puberty and don't quite know what to do with them. They make all kinds of bad choices. So it's up to all the adults in their lives to help them rein it in. Sadly, the school seems to be dropping the ball in a big way.

RealityForAll said:

sprout said:

callista said:
Somewhere, there is a consultant who was paid a pretty penny, hopefully not by us, to come up with that little gem of a title.

FWIW: Restorative Practices/Restorative Circles are methods that have been around for decades:
https://books.google.com/books?id=v8Y8cZk8-g4C&lpg=PA23&ots=mvT4TqDNJv&dq=restorative%20circles%20practices&lr&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q=restorative%20circles%20practices&f=false
ETA: I believe the renewed interest in these methods are in response to "zero tolerance" policies which, due to their over-reliance on suspensions, have been shown to feed the school-to-prison pipeline.
A difficulty with disciplinary policies and practices is the substantial challenge of moving towards optimal outcomes for all involved.

If my child was sexually assaulted the last thing I would be looking for is a restorative circle. Instead I believe the appropriate response for a sexual assault is a police report of the alleged offense, police investigation and summons issued to perpetrator(s) if probable cause exists. Actions have consequences (IMHO many students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior as a result of being suspended from school for unsocial/illegal behavior).

I attended a PD session last year where a panel of students who had been suspended multiple times described how they fell further behind in school with each suspension, and would act out again for the purpose of being suspended because they were just going to fail at school anyway. They preferred to hang out at home or on the street. (The parents didn't stay home with the kids during the suspension, since they had to go to work).

Students on the panel were those who eventually found their way back to school (either GED programming, or via some intervention the school performed that got them back on track), and were currently on successful paths (some nearly completing their diploma/GED, others attending college). What seemed to get some of them 'back on track' was a strict-but-caring teacher that helped them learn to succeed in a school setting. Others were given realistic options, and made their own decisions from them. And some just decided they were ready at a later age to complete their degree, and did so via the GED.

My point is: The students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school.

sprout said:

RealityForAll said:

sprout said:

callista said:
Somewhere, there is a consultant who was paid a pretty penny, hopefully not by us, to come up with that little gem of a title.

FWIW: Restorative Practices/Restorative Circles are methods that have been around for decades:
https://books.google.com/books?id=v8Y8cZk8-g4C&lpg=PA23&ots=mvT4TqDNJv&dq=restorative%20circles%20practices&lr&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q=restorative%20circles%20practices&f=false
ETA: I believe the renewed interest in these methods are in response to "zero tolerance" policies which, due to their over-reliance on suspensions, have been shown to feed the school-to-prison pipeline.
A difficulty with disciplinary policies and practices is the substantial challenge of moving towards optimal outcomes for all involved.

If my child was sexually assaulted the last thing I would be looking for is a restorative circle. Instead I believe the appropriate response for a sexual assault is a police report of the alleged offense, police investigation and summons issued to perpetrator(s) if probable cause exists. Actions have consequences (IMHO many students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior as a result of being suspended from school for unsocial/illegal behavior).

I attended a PD session last year where a panel of students who had been suspended multiple times described how they fell further behind in school with each suspension, and would act out again for the purpose of being suspended because they were just going to fail at school anyway. They preferred to hang out at home or on the street. (The parents didn't stay home with the kids during the suspension, since they had to go to work).
Students on the panel were those who eventually found their way back to school (either GED programming, or via some intervention the school performed that got them back on track), and were currently on successful paths (some nearly completing their diploma/GED, others attending college). What seemed to get some of them 'back on track' was a strict-but-caring teacher that helped them learn to succeed in a school setting. Others were given realistic options, and made their own decisions from them. And some just decided they were ready at a later age to complete their degree, and did so via the GED.
My point is: The students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school.

Your analysis fails take into account that 99% (or maybe its 90% but safe to say an overwhelming majority) of students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior when the consequence of such behavior is being being suspended from school. Instead, you want to change the rule based on the 1% outliers (viz., students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school). Generally, making rules based on the values or desires of the 1% (students who preferred to be out of school and would act out in order to be suspended) does not work for the 99%.

sprout said:

RealityForAll said:

sprout said:

callista said:
Somewhere, there is a consultant who was paid a pretty penny, hopefully not by us, to come up with that little gem of a title.

FWIW: Restorative Practices/Restorative Circles are methods that have been around for decades:
https://books.google.com/books?id=v8Y8cZk8-g4C&lpg=PA23&ots=mvT4TqDNJv&dq=restorative%20circles%20practices&lr&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q=restorative%20circles%20practices&f=false
ETA: I believe the renewed interest in these methods are in response to "zero tolerance" policies which, due to their over-reliance on suspensions, have been shown to feed the school-to-prison pipeline.
A difficulty with disciplinary policies and practices is the substantial challenge of moving towards optimal outcomes for all involved.

If my child was sexually assaulted the last thing I would be looking for is a restorative circle. Instead I believe the appropriate response for a sexual assault is a police report of the alleged offense, police investigation and summons issued to perpetrator(s) if probable cause exists. Actions have consequences (IMHO many students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior as a result of being suspended from school for unsocial/illegal behavior).

I attended a PD session last year where a panel of students who had been suspended multiple times described how they fell further behind in school with each suspension, and would act out again for the purpose of being suspended because they were just going to fail at school anyway. They preferred to hang out at home or on the street. (The parents didn't stay home with the kids during the suspension, since they had to go to work).
Students on the panel were those who eventually found their way back to school (either GED programming, or via some intervention the school performed that got them back on track), and were currently on successful paths (some nearly completing their diploma/GED, others attending college). What seemed to get some of them 'back on track' was a strict-but-caring teacher that helped them learn to succeed in a school setting. Others were given realistic options, and made their own decisions from them. And some just decided they were ready at a later age to complete their degree, and did so via the GED.
My point is: The students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school.

So what to do? In the good old days, these kids would be farm laborers or sailors on sailing ships. What do we do nowadays with kids at the age where energy exceeds judgement and who don't want to be in school?

RealityForAll said:

Your analysis fails take into account that 99% (or maybe its 90% but safe to say an overwhelming majority) of students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior when the consequence of such behavior is being being suspended from school. Instead, you want to change the rule based on the 1% outliers (viz., students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school). Generally, making rules based on the values or desires of the 1% (students who preferred to be out of school and would act out in order to be suspended) does not work for the 99%.

Can you find a citation that supports this?

The research I've come across in school discipline tend to start with the premise that while suspension/expulsion are effective in removing the students from the school for a period of time, they are not effective in improving student behavior on their own, and the student's loss of instructional time during a suspension/expulsion may in fact increase the chance of recidivism.

tjohn said:

So what to do? In the good old days, these kids would be farm laborers or sailors on sailing ships. What do we do nowadays with kids at the age where energy exceeds judgement and who don't want to be in school?

At the moment, the push from the legal side (e.g., ESEA) appears to incentivize education agencies (e.g., districts, charter schools, etc.) to get all their students to complete a high school diploma.

sprout said:

tjohn said:

So what to do? In the good old days, these kids would be farm laborers or sailors on sailing ships. What do we do nowadays with kids at the age where energy exceeds judgement and who don't want to be in school?

At the moment, the push from the legal side (e.g., ESEA) appears to incentivize education agencies (e.g., districts, charter schools, etc.) to get all their students to complete a high school diploma.

And, if that comes at the expense of real victims, there will be a backlash.

sprout said:

RealityForAll said:

Your analysis fails take into account that 99% (or maybe its 90% but safe to say an overwhelming majority) of students are dissuaded from future unsocial/illegal behavior when the consequence of such behavior is being being suspended from school. Instead, you want to change the rule based on the 1% outliers (viz., students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school). Generally, making rules based on the values or desires of the 1% (students who preferred to be out of school and would act out in order to be suspended) does not work for the 99%.

Can you find a citation that supports this?
The research I've come across in school discipline tend to start with the premise that while suspension/expulsion are effective in removing the students from the school for a period of time, they are not effective in improving student behavior on their own, and the student's loss of instructional time during a suspension/expulsion may in fact increase the chance of recidivism.

I think that you have made your own case against restorative circles. In that, your quote is as follows: "students on the panel stated that suspension didn't prevent them from acting out in the future - because they actually preferred to be out of school rather than at school."

This quote above is implicit acknowledgment that these troubled students did not accept/acknowledge the power of the school to enforce rules of conduct upon them (this is an important lesson - student's failure to learn this lesson prior to graduation would likely give such students the impression that society's laws should not be enforced upon them). Additionally, the above student statement also states that school rules and policies will not deter such students from violation of rules of conduct in the future. Further, those students who violate the same rules of conduct repeatedly can usually expect a harsher penalty for each repeat violation.

Punishment serves numerous social-control functions, but it is usually justified on the principles of retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and/or restoration. See https://marisluste.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/soda-filozofijas-3.pdf

I never defended restorative circles, nor do I have any experience with them.

I am more familiar with the suspension literature, which seems to fairly uniformly indicate that suspensions, on their own, do not tend to improve student behavior, nor improve school climate.

Did you read the piece you linked to? As you stated, it seems to describe/define and provide a bit of history of the various options of managing behavior - but it isn't a study, and it doesn't suggest which direction to use or not to use out of:

1. RETRIBUTION
2. INCAPACITATION
3. DETERRENCE
4. REHABILITATION
5. RESTORATION (which is the basis behind restorative practices/circles)

These do seem to be the options education agencies have to manage behavior. (Although it misses one big one: PREVENTION)

But questions education agencies tend to grapple with include: When and how to use each one for fair and optimal outcomes for the students, the school, and the community.

sprout said:
Did you read the piece you linked to? As you stated, it seems to describe/define and provide a bit of history of the various options of managing behavior - but it's not a study suggesting which direction to use:

1. RETRIBUTION
2. INCAPACITATION
3. DETERRENCE
4. REHABILITATION
5. RESTORATION (which is the basis behind restorative practices/circles)

These do seem to be the options education agencies have to manage behavior. (Although it misses one big one: PREVENTION)
But questions tend to be around when, and how, to use each one for optimal outcomes for the students, the school, and the community.

I think this article that I linked to is better read as the various purposes for punishment rather than as options.

I don't see how that would provide schools with any specific guidance on the topic of disciplinary policies and practices?

ETA: For example this seems like a fine purpose, no? So, in reading your article, one might think it was a good idea to use Restorative Justice for everything disciplinary-related.

{From the PDF you linked to:

"Restorative justice literally involves the process of returning to their previous condition all parties involved in or affected by the original misconduct, including victims, offenders, the community, and even possibly the government. Under this punishment philosophy, the offender takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim. The victim and offender are brought together to develop a mutually beneficial program that helps the victim in the recovery process and provides the offender a means of reducing their risks of re-offending."}

sprout said:
I don't see how that would provide schools with any specific guidance on the topic of disciplinary policies and practices?
ETA: For example this seems like a fine purpose, no? So, in reading your article, one might think it was a good idea to use Restorative Justice for everything disciplinary-related.
{From the PDF you linked to:
"Restorative justice literally involves the process of returning to their previous condition all parties involved in or affected by the original misconduct, including victims, offenders, the community, and even possibly the government. Under this punishment philosophy, the offender takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim. The victim and offender are brought together to develop a mutually beneficial program that helps the victim in the recovery process and provides the offender a means of reducing their risks of re-offending."}

Nothing better than inducing tween victims of criminal sexual contact to meet on equal terms with the members of the mob that assaulted them. The healing that takes place and the benefit to the offenders make it all worth it.

Thank goodness these young girls can be a part of a criminal justice diversion program, cobbled on the fly by people whose careers count on it.

Kudos to Vice Principal Brown for, according to the parent, having the courage to not only not involve law enforcement, but by going the extra mile and not involving himself, and instead directing the girl to go talk to a councelor in response to 3 separate assaults, presumably so she could talk out her feelings about being sexually abused and see if she could find a way to make a tough situation better for everyone, hopefully a learning experience.

Kudos too to Principal Adams, for showing leadership by responding to a father's concerns by empowering the father to deal with it himself with the school board.... And also offering him a valuable opportunity to volunteer, again all according to the news article

Jackson_Fusion said:

sprout said:
I don't see how that would provide schools with any specific guidance on the topic of disciplinary policies and practices?
ETA: For example this seems like a fine purpose, no? So, in reading your article, one might think it was a good idea to use Restorative Justice for everything disciplinary-related.
{From the PDF you linked to:
"Restorative justice literally involves the process of returning to their previous condition all parties involved in or affected by the original misconduct, including victims, offenders, the community, and even possibly the government. Under this punishment philosophy, the offender takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim. The victim and offender are brought together to develop a mutually beneficial program that helps the victim in the recovery process and provides the offender a means of reducing their risks of re-offending."}

Nothing better than inducing tween victims of criminal sexual contact to meet on equal terms with the members of the mob that assaulted them. The healing that takes place and the benefit to the offenders make it all worth it.
Thank goodness these young girls can be a part of a criminal justice diversion program, cobbled on the fly by people whose careers count on it.
Kudos to Vice Principal Brown for, according to the parent, having the courage to not only not involve law enforcement, but by going the extra mile and not involving himself, and instead directing the girl to go talk to a councelor in response to 3 separate assaults, presumably so she could talk out her feelings about being sexually abused and see if she could find a way to make a tough situation better for everyone, hopefully a learning experience.
Kudos too to Principal Adams, for showing leadership by responding to a father's concerns by empowering the father to deal with it himself with the school board.... And also offering him a valuable opportunity to volunteer, again all according to the news article

FWIW: The way you are describing the process doesn't sound like Restorative Justice as defined in RealityForAll's article (in italics). The "restorative" part is missing.

So, is your point that MMS is performing Restorative Justice incorrectly; or that you think Restorative Justice is not a good method to use at all?

It is clear to me that 'restorative justice' is inappropriate in this case. It is not the job of the middle school victim to assist the perpetrators in understanding this is wrong----it is the job of the school district (teachers who may have observed and promptly intervened, principal and vice principal) and legal system (police/juvenile justice system) to take immediate and appropriate action. The teacher should say "stop" and report them to the administrators for further action steps that escalate if the actions are repeated. Yes, parents are important here, too.

In a general sense it is important that schools set standards of good, civilized conduct that students are expected to follow. Somewhere, this is NOT happening and needs to be addressed at all levels of the SOMA school district. If I were on the BOE I would be irate and demand improvement.

sprout said:

Jackson_Fusion said:

sprout said:
I don't see how that would provide schools with any specific guidance on the topic of disciplinary policies and practices?
ETA: For example this seems like a fine purpose, no? So, in reading your article, one might think it was a good idea to use Restorative Justice for everything disciplinary-related.
{From the PDF you linked to:
"Restorative justice literally involves the process of returning to their previous condition all parties involved in or affected by the original misconduct, including victims, offenders, the community, and even possibly the government. Under this punishment philosophy, the offender takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim. The victim and offender are brought together to develop a mutually beneficial program that helps the victim in the recovery process and provides the offender a means of reducing their risks of re-offending."}

Nothing better than inducing tween victims of criminal sexual contact to meet on equal terms with the members of the mob that assaulted them. The healing that takes place and the benefit to the offenders make it all worth it.
Thank goodness these young girls can be a part of a criminal justice diversion program, cobbled on the fly by people whose careers count on it.
Kudos to Vice Principal Brown for, according to the parent, having the courage to not only not involve law enforcement, but by going the extra mile and not involving himself, and instead directing the girl to go talk to a councelor in response to 3 separate assaults, presumably so she could talk out her feelings about being sexually abused and see if she could find a way to make a tough situation better for everyone, hopefully a learning experience.
Kudos too to Principal Adams, for showing leadership by responding to a father's concerns by empowering the father to deal with it himself with the school board.... And also offering him a valuable opportunity to volunteer, again all according to the news article

FWIW: The way you are describing the process doesn't sound like Restorative Justice as defined in RealityForAll's article (in italics). The "restorative" part is missing.
So, is your point that MMS is performing Restorative Justice incorrectly; or that you think Restorative Justice is not a good method to use at all?

The key point in the Philosophies of Punishment article linked above regarding Restorative Justice appears to be restoring each person (victim and perp) to their previous position before the misconduct. Returning an individual to their position before the misconduct seems like a possibility for property crimes where thief/perp returns property to victim.

However, I do not believe you (or the perp) can "restore" an individual who has been sexually assaulted. Additionally, the Restorative Justice solution apparently involves "integrative shaming." I am uncertain as to what "integrative shaming" is. However, in the instance of sexual assault, IMHO the proper shaming should be summons to appear in family court on the charge of sexual assault and have that juvenile identified as sexual assailant/predator depending on the proven facts.

RealityForAll said:

The key point in the Philosophies of Punishment article linked above regarding Restorative Justice appears to be restoring each person (victim and perp) to their previous position before the misconduct. Returning an individual to their position before the misconduct seems like a possibility for property crimes where thief/perp returns property to victim.
However, I do not believe you (or the perp) can "restore" an individual who has been sexually assaulted. Additionally, the Restorative Justice solution apparently involves "integrative shaming." I am uncertain as to what "integrative shaming" is. However, in the instance of sexual assault, IMHO the proper shaming should be summons to appear in family court on the charge of sexual assault and have that juvenile identified as sexual assailant/predator depending on the proven facts.

+10

Does anyone know if this kind of problem is ongoing in the schools?

krnl said:
It is clear to me that 'restorative justice' is inappropriate in this case. It is not the job of the middle school victim to assist the perpetrators in understanding this is wrong.

According to the definition of Restorative Justice from RFA's article, what you describe is actually the opposite of RJ. Here, from the definition, is how it should go:

"Under this punishment philosophy, the OFFENDER takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim."

sprout said:

krnl said:
It is clear to me that 'restorative justice' is inappropriate in this case. It is not the job of the middle school victim to assist the perpetrators in understanding this is wrong.

According to the definition of Restorative Justice from RFA's article, what you describe is actually the opposite of RJ. Here, from the definition, is how it should go:
"Under this punishment philosophy, the OFFENDER takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim."

How do you provide restitution for sexual assault?

How much should a sexual assault go for?

Does anyone have kids at the school who might know more about how this and other incidents were/are handled. I don't have a personal stake in this but I'm just hoping I just don't have all the info and hope I'm misunderstanding how this situation was handled. It's really disturbing to me.

TigerLilly said:
Does anyone have kids at the school who might know more about how this and other incidents were/are handled. I don't have a personal stake in this but I'm just hoping I just don't have all the info and hope I'm misunderstanding how this situation was handled. It's really disturbing to me.

We clearly do not have all the information. The description of the initial responses by the school to the first reported incidents is cause for concern. But we also know that there have been subsequent responses, including a response that included police involvement, and we have no information about the police response or what happened next.

While I strongly suspect that the plan for "Restorative Circles" is not the only plan for responding to such incidents going forward, we don't actually know. This would be a really good thing to know before passing judgment on the school's response (or lack thereof) going forward.

I don't even know (but perhaps I've overlooked it) if the plan for "Restorative Circles" is directly related to the previous reported incidents of sexual harrassment & assault.

RealityForAll said:

sprout said:

krnl said:
It is clear to me that 'restorative justice' is inappropriate in this case. It is not the job of the middle school victim to assist the perpetrators in understanding this is wrong.

According to the definition of Restorative Justice from RFA's article, what you describe is actually the opposite of RJ. Here, from the definition, is how it should go:
"Under this punishment philosophy, the OFFENDER takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim."

How do you provide restitution for sexual assault?
How much should a sexual assault go for?

If I may interpret your previous posts suggestions, you think it should "go for" a suspension - which might include two weeks at home with little supervision.

sprout said:

RealityForAll said:

sprout said:

krnl said:
It is clear to me that 'restorative justice' is inappropriate in this case. It is not the job of the middle school victim to assist the perpetrators in understanding this is wrong.

According to the definition of Restorative Justice from RFA's article, what you describe is actually the opposite of RJ. Here, from the definition, is how it should go:
"Under this punishment philosophy, the OFFENDER takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing and initiates restitution to the victim."

How do you provide restitution for sexual assault?
How much should a sexual assault go for?

If I may interpret your previous posts suggestions, you think it should "go for" a suspension - which might include two weeks at home with little supervision.

Where you have a proven case of sexual assault, I believe that school suspension (along with a police report and police investigation) is an appropriate response to sexual assault because the suspension allows for Retribution exacted from the perpetrator, the perpetrator is Incapacitated with respect to the victim on school grounds, and suspensions Deter the reasonable perpetrator (and other reasonable students).

My understanding is that the district sends teachers to instruct students on suspension. Perhaps such teachers can school the suspended on ethics with a few sessions on the i.) Golden Rule, ii.) Ethic of Reciprocity; and iii.) Code of Hammurabi (one of first codes of human conduct in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago).

As previously stated, I do not believe that the perp has the wherewithal to "Restore" a victim. However, if you insist on restoration in sexual assaults, I would be open to hearing what you believe is the appropriate type of shaming that should be used in the restoration process (apparently shaming of the perp is an integral part of the restoration process).

RealityForAll said:

sprout said:

RealityForAll said:

Where you have a proven case of sexual assault, I believe that school suspension (along with a police report and police investigation) is an appropriate response to sexual assault because the suspension allows for Retribution exacted from the perpetrator,

What part of getting a talking-to by the police, and staying home from school for two weeks is 'Retribution'?

the perpetrator is Incapacitated with respect to the victim on school grounds

For a week or two. Then what?

and suspensions Deter the reasonable perpetrator (and other reasonable students).

Again, find me the study that shows this, because the recent studies I've been exposed to critique this premise as false. Findings indicate that as suspensions cause a loss of instructional time, the resulting inability to succeed in their coursework increases the probability of recidivism for many students.

It is likely because of this finding that alternatives for suspension are currently in-vogue.

I would leave sexual assault and threatening teachers out of the restorative justice equation and focus, instead, on other types of problems such as some cases of fighting, disrupting classes, bullying (initial instances) and that sort of thing.

mjh said:

TigerLilly said:
Does anyone have kids at the school who might know more about how this and other incidents were/are handled. I don't have a personal stake in this but I'm just hoping I just don't have all the info and hope I'm misunderstanding how this situation was handled. It's really disturbing to me.

We clearly do not have all the information. The description of the initial responses by the school to the first reported incidents is cause for concern. But we also know that there have been subsequent responses, including a response that included police involvement, and we have no information about the police response or what happened next.
While I strongly suspect that the plan for "Restorative Circles" is not the only plan for responding to such incidents going forward, we don't actually know. This would be a really good thing to know before passing judgment on the school's response (or lack thereof) going forward.
I don't even know (but perhaps I've overlooked it) if the plan for "Restorative Circles" is directly related to the previous reported incidents of sexual harrassment & assault.

+1. For the most part, people here are posting in a vacuum out of context of what actually has or hasn't been going on at the school.

weirdbeard said:

mjh said:

TigerLilly said:
Does anyone have kids at the school who might know more about how this and other incidents were/are handled. I don't have a personal stake in this but I'm just hoping I just don't have all the info and hope I'm misunderstanding how this situation was handled. It's really disturbing to me.

We clearly do not have all the information. The description of the initial responses by the school to the first reported incidents is cause for concern. But we also know that there have been subsequent responses, including a response that included police involvement, and we have no information about the police response or what happened next.
While I strongly suspect that the plan for "Restorative Circles" is not the only plan for responding to such incidents going forward, we don't actually know. This would be a really good thing to know before passing judgment on the school's response (or lack thereof) going forward.
I don't even know (but perhaps I've overlooked it) if the plan for "Restorative Circles" is directly related to the previous reported incidents of sexual harrassment & assault.

+1. For the most part, people here are posting in a vacuum out of context of what actually has or hasn't been going on at the school.

Well, yeah, welcome to MOL. Although this is one instance where it would behoove the school to communicate much more than it seems to be doing. If I were a parent of a daughter in that school, I would be inundating the school with demands for information. I suspect I would be making their lives a living hell.

sprout said:

Again, find me the study that shows this, because the recent studies I've been exposed to critique this premise as false. Findings indicate that as suspensions cause a loss of instructional time, the resulting inability to succeed in their coursework increases the probability of recidivism for many students.

It is likely because of this finding that alternatives for suspension are currently in-vogue.

I would agree that out of school suspensions are often a dreadful answer, because they reward kids who don't like being at school with time out of school, and shift the burden to parents to somehow make time at home into an effective punishment (which is tough for parents who work outside the home, for example).

However, there are many other in-school options that either do exist or could exist. Restorative justice is only one of them, and only appropriate to some situations. Other options include:

- In school suspension (do we have this?)

- Placement in an alternative school setting in-district (not currently an option in SOMSD)

- Creation of an IEP focused on behavioral issues (is this is a pattern of behavior, rather than a one-time problem), followed by placement in a school focusing on behaviorally challenged youth of the appropriate age

I don't know enough about the current situation to know if the offenders have been dealt with appropriately...I recognize that the administration may be constrained in what it can tell us.