Restorative Practices at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School
Background. In many ways, YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School (YBP) has utilized restorative practices since its inception in 1997. From the outset, the school’s focus on re-engaging out-of-school youth into an intensive, one-year high school diploma and skills training program valued close relationships and honest communication, which are hallmarks of restorative approaches.
However, it wasn’t until 2010 that restorative practices were formally introduced at YBP in an effort to reduce suspensions and expulsions resulting from traditional disciplinary approaches. As a result, more students stayed in school and graduated, but at this point the practices were only reactive, addressing issues and repairing harm after-the-fact.
“In part, it was about naming the strategies we were already using.”
In the mid-2010s YBP began considering how to integrate restorative practices more fully into the overall climate and culture of the school. “The culture was already here,” says Zuri Stone, Director of Student Life. “Student engagement and voice, and close relationships among students, teachers, and mentors are key to our values and practice. So, we were prepared to take the next step.”
Strengthening Staff Capacity to Utilize Restorative Practices. YBP worked extensively with the International Institute on Restorative Practices (IIRP), a graduate school based in Bethlehem, PA, on specific approaches to strengthen the school’s climate and culture. In particular, this work produced Staff Community Agreements, a set of principles drafted and eventually adopted by faculty and administrators creating shared values amongst staff and throughout the life of the school. These Agreements are considered living documents and are opened annually for review and amendment, including recommendations offered by new staff.
“We’re asking students to deal with very hard issues, so how can we not ask ourselves these tough questions, and to learn how to engage honestly and transparently?”
Asking Hard Questions. This work included challenging discussions, soul-searching, and a commitment to developing and acting on descriptive and quantitative data. “We had to ask ourselves lots of hard questions,” Stone explains. “All of us were doing some things really well for our students, but could we learn from one another and address our weaknesses and blind spots? Where are we seeing positive relationships leading to lower levels of disruption? And when we see these things, can we create a model that can be adopted across the school?”
Over time, restorative practices have significantly influenced how staff interact with one another and have helped to develop consistent, positive approaches to learning for their students.
“Our staff meetings begin with temperature checks,” Stone explains. “We remind ourselves to be present – to do the small things and to take care of one another.”
Dealing with Uncomfortable Truths. Social identity work is also critically important, since most teachers are white while students are overwhelmingly black or brown. “We have to learn how to have honest communications among ourselves,” Stone says. “Where are our unconscious biases? How do we allow our cultural attitudes to influence how we view students who don’t look like us? The sooner we can get comfortable with these conversations, the sooner we’ll be able to build trusting relationships with our students.”
Structured Professional Development. Needless to say, building and maintaining such a level of commitment to restorative practices takes lots of hard work and training. In this regard YBP provides significant learning opportunities and support to staff, including:
Two weeks of training before the start of the school year, often differentiated based on position, experience, and tenure at the organization
At least one full-day, all-staff training in restorative practices annually
Individual training based on specific roles within the school, i.e. “how can I be a restorative teacher”, administrator?”
Regular work on restorative competencies within academic departments
Ongoing participation in proactive and reactive circles and conferences, based on specific circumstances
“The key,” explains Stone, “is to have everyone viewing their roles in the school through the same lens. Everyone needs to have the same understanding of what restorative approaches are, how we use them at YBP, and how they can benefit our students.”
Restorative Strategies for Students. Of course, all of this hard work by teachers and administrators is focused on creating learning environments and cultures that work for students. At YBP the essential first step in this process is to help young people begin to trust the school and its staff.
“Change happens at the speed of trust.”
“Sometimes, we’re the face of an authority that hasn’t been trustworthy,” says Stone, “so we have to fight harder to build those relationships.” In particular, Stone explains, “students don’t trust that they will have any influence over how the school will function and what their experiences will be like there.”
YBP attacks this issue from the earliest contact with students. At orientation, before they receive their Student Handbook or learn about the climate and culture of the school, students are asked: what do you want your school experience to feel like and look like? They then have an opportunity to create together their own Community Agreements for the year as a class.
“We’ve constructed the Handbook over the years based on student input,” says Stone, “so we’re confident that it reflects their voices and beliefs. But it’s still critical that we ask them first, and then be prepared to make amendments based on their perspectives.”
These early interactions demonstrate to students that decisions will be made collaboratively and as positively as possible going forward, which begins to build the trust that is foundational to YBP’s approach to learning. Furthermore, the Handbook also becomes a valuable tool for faculty and administrators, who then must ask themselves: Are we getting this right? Is what WE think they need actually what THEY think they need?
“In essence, classroom restorative practices are smaller, fine-tuned versions of the full-school model.”
At the classroom level, individual teachers utilize circles and open classroom layouts to focus students and diffuse issues that could impede learning. Circle topics can range from a simple temperature check on feelings, to a structured examination of a particular topic, to a values-based exploration of contemporary issues. But in all cases the goal is to prepare students to be successful in every class, every day.
Most worksites, too, start their day with a circle. “This is particularly important since students are expected to perform and behave as professionals,” says Stone. “So, using these social-emotional awareness techniques is critical. If someone isn’t feeling their best, we can identify the issue and assist with addressing before we have any issues on-the-job.”
To support students on an ongoing basis, YBP builds a network of trained professionals around students designed to help them feel valued and supported. Specifically, each young person has at least three adults in their corner: a mentor, a success (case) manager, and a vocational track instructor, each of whom uses restorative techniques to ensure that students feel heard and valued.
Outcomes and Ongoing Research. YBP tracks a variety of student data regarding attendance, academic progress, graduation, and postsecondary education and employment. YBP’s graduation rate is approximately 72%, which is substantially higher than the average for dropout recovery/re-engagement programs and above the overall rate for the school district. Further, 69% of all enrollees enter the workforce or postsecondary education after leaving YBP, as do 89% of all graduates. Importantly, 72% of those who enter employment or training persist for at least one year.
Beyond these traditional measures of performance, continues to work with other restorative and education professionals and organizations continues to work with other restorative and education professionals and organizations.
YPB is working to collect and analyze more effective data that can shed light on the impact positive relationships can have on students. Questions of interest include: how many staff do students identify that they feel close to; who are they more likely to engage with and how are those relationships being built? How do those relationships influence students’ perseverance and trust? By answering these and other related questions, YBP hopes to do an even better job of building supportive learning environments that maximize student success.
Recommendations for Implementing Restorative Practices in Schools. Given YBP’s extensive experience with restorative practices, Stone and her colleagues have unique perspectives on how schools might build restorative practices into their culture and climate. Here are some of their thoughts about conditions for successful implementation:
Ideally, school administrators embrace the model and take the lead. Committed leadership at all levels can maximize the likelihood of success by allowing the training, support, and time necessary for staff and students to utilize the process.
If not, then model restorative practices on a smaller scale. If school leaders are not yet fully on board, then individual staff members can take the practices to their own spaces and use them for the benefit of as many students as possible. And once other staff and administrators notice the successes broader replication becomes more likely.
When feasible, amend policies to drive change. As conditions and circumstances allow, imbed restorative language into formal school policies where they can continue to impact school climate, culture and practices.
Use culture rather than discipline as a rationale. Framing restorative practices as strategies to pre-empt disruptions and strengthen school climate is much more effective than viewing them as discipline alternatives. That is, focusing proactively on school climate and relationship-building, in and of itself, will reduce the likelihood and severity of disruptions and therefore will take care of many disciplinary issues.
Start with the hiring process. Be intentional about selecting staff who demonstrate a willingness to engage in restorative practices. And don’t be afraid to value a commitment to relationships before. Teachers are unlikely to be able to reach and teach students who don’t trust them.
Looking Forward. “We’re in interesting times,” says Robin Walker, Director of YBP’s Learning Exchange. The current coronavirus crisis “has revealed many of the problems with our country’s approach to public education, from underfunding, to unequal access, to the digital divide.” The shutdown presents particular challenges for YBP staff and students, since “restorative practices are grounded in community, but now we’re in a time of social distancing. It’s a strange place for us to be.”
Even so, life goes on. “We can’t go back to the way things were before COVID-19. This is an opportunity for us to think strategically about the work we do with young people from the moment they are introduced to YouthBuild,” says Walker. “I believe we have made some solid adjustments that will hopefully continue in some form when we return to our physical building. I believe our efforts during this time will make us stronger in the long run.”