The Practices of a Restorative School are formal and informal practices that transfer the restorative mindset into the daily lived experiences of school. Specifically, the practices include but are not limited to:

•  Practices that develop the restorative mindset:

  • Build community among adults

  • Examine your own relationship to harm

  • Explore implicit bias, historical trauma and resilience

• Practices that build community:

  • Empathetic communication, which includes listening with care and curiosity, and speaking using the language of feeling, of empathy

  • Circles to build and maintain relationships, to teach, to meet, to problem-solve, to provide ongoing support

• Practices that respond to harm:

  • Restorative questions used in a chat or conversations with one or two people

  • Circle or conferencing with a group of people affected by harm, using the restorative questions.

These practices are used to build healthy relationships and to create community in school, develop a positive school climate, prevent bullying and harm, and help repair harm. Restorative practices apply equally to everyone in the school community: students, adults, families and community members.