From Discipline to Dialogue: Engaging Student Voice

December 16, 2014

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Erin Russ, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum

Dr. Anne Gregory, Associate Professor, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

Vickie Shoap, Restorative Justice Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools

Today’s Agenda

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From Discipline to Dialogue: Changing the Conversation about Classroom Discipline

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Adding to the Conversation

• The problems associated with school discipline have been well-documented.

• So, what’s next?• Synthesis of information in four areas:

• The problems associated with school discipline• Research Connections• Role of state policy• District, school and community solutions

Key Takeaways

• Better opportunities to engage student voice are needed.• positive, two-way communication between students and adults is key.

• Schools, districts and communities are building programs that allow for and support these conversations.

• States are utilizing a range of policy options to support this work locally.

The Problems Associated with Discipline

• AYPF asked: What are the problems associated with school discipline?

• Key takeaways: overuse and disproportionate impact• Millions suspended (in-school and out-of-school) each year.• 130,000 expelled.• Disproportionate impact on African-American students, students with

disabilities, and English language learners.• Resources

• United States Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection

Research

• AYPF asked: What does research tell us about discipline disparities and alternatives?

• Key takeaways: Interactions and perceptions between students and teachers are important.

• Resources:• UCLA Civil Rights Project• The Equity Project at Indiana University• The Kirwan Institute

State Policy Opportunities

• AYPF asked: What role should state policy play in addressing the problems associated with discipline?

• Key takeaways: States are utilizing a range of policy options.• Resources/Examples:

• Maryland: Multi-pronged Approach• Oregon: Restorative Justice Framework• Georgia: Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS)

Local Innovations

• AYPF asked: How are districts, schools, and communities addressing the issue of discipline?

• Key takeaway: Customizable community solutions.• Resources

• Fairfax County Public Schools Restorative Justice Program• Denver Public Schools MOU with police department • Connecticut Youth Service Bureaus

From Discipline to Dialogue:

Engaging Student Voice

Anne Gregory, Ph.D.Rutgers University

Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

annegreg@rutgers.edu

Exclusion from school is not an effective intervention

• Little evidence supports the benefits of punitive and exclusionary approaches.

• In fact, punitive discipline can have negative consequences:

o After accounting for demographics, attendance, and course performance, each additional suspension further decreases a student’s odds of graduating high school by 20% (Balfanz, Byrnes, and Fox, 2013).

o Segregation of students who break rules with students who also break rules can increase negative behavior

(Dishion & Dodge, 2005; Hemphill, Toumbourou, Herrenkohl, McMorris, & Catalano, 2006; Mayer, Butterworth, Nafpaktitis, & Suzer-Azaroff, 1983).

Racial Disparities in School Discipline

Secondary School Suspension Rates*

1972-73 2009-100

5

10

15

20

25

30

Asian/PIAmerican IndianWhiteLatinoBlack

24.3%, AA students

11.8%

Source: Data from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2009-10 Civil Rights Data CollectionFigure from Losen, D. & Martinez, T. (2013) Out of School & Off Track: The overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools.

* Based on non-duplicated student counts.

Race remains a predictor of the discipline gap…

Breaking schools’ rules (Texas longitudinal study)

Researchers accounted for 83 different risk variables to isolate the effect of race alone on disciplinary actions. They found: • …“African-American students had a 31

percent higher likelihood of a school discretionary action, compared to otherwise identical white and Hispanic students” (Fabelo et al., 2011).

.

Concerning trends in school discipline

Male studentsAcross a K-12 sample, males received 3 times more referrals for behavior and 22% more referrals for attendance than females (Kaufman et al., 2010).

Latino studentsLatino 10th graders were twice as likely as White students to be issued an out-of-school suspension. Findings accounted for student- and teacher-reported misbehavior (Finn & Servoss, 2013).

Black femalesIn 2009, the average national suspension rate for Black females was 13%; 5% higher than the national average for all students and comparable to the suspension rate of Latino males (Losen & Martinez, 2013).

Gender non-conforming and LGBT youth LGB girls experienced about twice as many arrests and convictions as

other girls who had engaged in similar transgressions. They also were expelled at higher rates (Himmelstein & Bruckner, 2011).

•

What can educators do?

Actions to:- Transform punitive discipline

climates, - Keep students in the

classroom, - Narrow the racial discipline gap

http://rtpcollaborative.indiana.edu/briefing-papers/

• Effective schools offer equity-oriented prevention and intervention to “resolve and educate” not “deport and discipline.”

• Preventing discipline disparities:• Offer supportive relationships, • Academic rigor, • Culturally relevant and responsive teaching, • Bias-free classrooms and respectful school environments

• Intervening when conflict occurs: • Problem-solve, • Engage youth and families, • Reintegrate students after conflict.

School-Based Interventions for Reducing Disparities

Offer supportive relationships

• With stronger relationships and more engaging instruction, negative interactions might be prevented in the first place.

• When a student breaks the rules, stronger relationships can help diffuse conflict and disrupt any preconceived notions or unconsciously held stereotypes.

• With trust and good will, cooperation can be elicited.

(Aronson, 2008, Devine, Forscher, Austin, & Cox, 2012; Gregory & Ripski, 2008)

20

Relationship building in classrooms

Relational Approach

Student Cooperation

Trust in Teacher

Gregory, A. & Ripski, M. (2008). Adolescent trust in teachers: Implications for behavior in the high school classroom. School Psychology Review, 37, 337-353.

What students said about relationship-oriented teachers:

• “He doesn't just give students work, he asks about how they are and how was their weekend.”

• “He personally walks around to every table and personally shakes everybody's hands and asks them how their doin’…”

• "She understand how it is for Black kids, so she don't do us wrong.”

• “He never addresses any race out of, like, disrespectfully or anything like that.”

• “She likes us to bring all the diversity (in) our class”

They communicate high expectations:

• “(He’s) one of those teachers who actually cares if you succeed or not, if you're actually gonna grow up and be somethin’”

• “(She) is one of those teachers who will help you even if you need extra time to get work in, we have open discussions...She's concerned for my right to learn.”

• “She'll pull me off to the side…she, like, I am not gonna let you sit up there and fail this again.”

High Academic Press and

High Teacher Support

Lower Suspension Rates for Black and

White Students

• Effective schools offer equity-oriented prevention and intervention to “resolve and educate” not “deport and discipline.”

• Preventing discipline disparities:• Offer supportive relationships, • Academic rigor, • Culturally relevant and responsive teaching, • Bias-free classrooms and respectful school environments

• Intervening when conflict occurs: • Problem-solve, • Engage youth and families, • Reintegrate students after conflict.

School-Based Interventions for Reducing Disparities

Integrating student voice

Systematic integration of student voice through RESTORATIVE APPROACHES

to disciplineMara Schiff’s (2013) summary of a Restorative Approach to Discipline

• Focuses on relationships

• Gives voice to the person harmed and the person who caused the harm

• Engages collaborative problem-solving

• Dialogue-based decision-making process

• An agreed upon plan leads to actions aimed at repairing the harm done.Schiff, M. (2013). Dignity, disparity and desistance: Effective restorative justice strategies to plug the “school-to-prison pipeline.” In Center for Civil Rights Remedies National Conference. Closing the School to Research Gap: Research to Remedies Conference. Washington, DC.

RESTORATIVE APPROACHES- DEFINITIONS

Restorative Justice – A theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm.

Restorative practices – A framework for a broad range of restorative justice approaches that proactively build a school community based on cooperation, mutual understanding, trust and respect.

From: DIGNITY IN SCHOOLS CAMPAIGNMODEL CODEWEBINAR V: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, http://www.dignityinschools.org/files/ModelCode_Webinar_RestorativeJustice.pdf

Brief comments about how others were impacted by the person’s behavior.

Affective Questions are one step further; asks questions such as, who was affected, how they were affected, etc. Occur when a few people meet briefly to

address and resolve a problem.

More formal RP that allows everyone to have some say in what should happen as a result of the wrongdoingBrings together offenders, victims and

communities of support to repair harm and promote healing.

Adapted from Costello, B. , Wachtel, J. & Wachtel, T. (2010)., Restorative circles in schools building community and enhancing learning.

Affective statements

AffectiveQuestions

Small ImpromptuConference

Circles

Formal Conference

Restorative Practices Continuum from the International Institute of Restorative Practices

(IIRP)

Experiencing Restorative Practices in the classroom

My teacher is respectful when talking about feelings. (Affective Statements)

When someone misbehaves, my teacher responds to negative behaviors by asking students questions about what happened, who has been harmed and how the harm can be repaired. (Restorative Questions)

My teacher uses circles to provide opportunities for students to share feelings, ideas and experiences. (Proactive Circles) (IIRP, 2009)

What the students might experience through the RP Elements

My teacher asks students for their thoughts and ideas when decisions need to be made that affect the class (Fair Process)

My teacher uses circles to respond to behavior problems and repair harm caused by misbehavior (Responsive Circles)

My teacher acknowledges the feelings of students when they have misbehaved (Management of Shame)

(IIRP, 2009)

Teachers above (n = 16) and below (n = 13) the mean on student-perceived RP implementation and their

misconduct/defiance referrals

High RP Low RP0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2.92

9.13

0.77000000000

00011.69

African American/Latino

White/Asian

Gregory A., Clawson, K., Davis, A., & Gerewitz, J. (2014). The promise of restorative practices to transform teacher-student relationships and achieve equity in school discipline. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation.

Recent findings in a large urban district using restorative

conferences

Restorative Conference

Circle

Lower chance of

future discipline referral

Rigorous statistical analyses accounted for race, gender, income, ELL status, disability status, reason for referral.

(Gregory et al., manuscript in preparation)

Resources for Restorative Practices

Introducing Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtdoWo1D3sY

Restorative Justice Student Facilitators: Tier One. Community Building Circle:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdKhcQrLD1w

Restorative Justice Helps At Risk Kids in West Oakland NBC Bay Area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSObF8hW5DY

Restorative Welcome and Re-entry Circle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJ2GPiptvc

Restorative Justice Circle: http://vimeo.com/37746907

From Hostility to Harmony:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQWNyS4QSao

International Institute of Restorative Practiceshttp://www.safersanerschools.org/

From Discipline to Dialogue: Engaging Student Voice

QUESTIONS?

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RESTORATIVE JUSTICE Fairfax County Public Schools

Vickie Shoap Restorative Justice Specialist ll vrshoap@fcps.edu 571-423-4278

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Fairfax County Public SchoolsFairfax County, Virginia

Borders Washington DCPopulation: 1,111,620

190,000 studentsfrom 150+ countries

196 schools49 alternative programs

and centers

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Principles of Restorative Justice on which all RJ applications in FCPS are based:

(adapted with permission from Zehr/Mica 1997:Concepts of RJ)

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Principles of Restorative Justice (cont.)

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Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice in FCPS

PreventionRestorative practices are skills often utilized informal restorative justiceprocesses that may alsobe used in classrooms tobuild relationships, createconnections and preventharm and violence before they occur.

Intervention

Restorative justice is aformal victim-centeredprocess for responding toharm and wrongdoing.

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Policy: Students Rights and Responsibilities

FCPS Standards of Conduct: Levels of Intervention Regulation 2601.28PFor violations involving disruptive or inappropriate behavior or destruction of property violations, a restorative justice conference may be used in lieu of, or in addition to, disciplinary action, at the discretion of the principal.

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Restorative Practices In The Classroom (all)RJ philosophy for classroom management, RP questions, classroom circles, academic circles and community buildingTraining: RP In The Classroom-2 days for teachers

Circles, Preventative (all)Attendance, minor disputes, escalating conflicts, bullying education, teach conflict resolution skills, team building Training: Level 1 & Level 2 + mentoring open to all staff

Restorative Behavior Intervention (MS focus):RP deeper reflection activities and engagement, circles and RJ discipline conferencesProvided by FCPS RJ staff only

Restorative Justice Conference (all):SR&R violations, student/staffconflicts, parent/staffTraining: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 open to all staff

Continuum of restorative practices (RP) and restorative justice (RJ) applications and training in FCPS:(all) available to all FCPS schools(MS focus) focus for 2014/15 is middle schools, available to other schools when staff is available

RP Prevention

RJ Intervention

Seriousness

of Harm

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Prevention Intervention

Staff education-

use of restorative language

Classroom relationship

building circles

Attendance circle

programs

Preventative conflict

circles

Conflict Circles

Restorative Justice

discipline conference

Re-entry conferences

Restorative Behavior

Intervention

Restorative Approaches in FCPS

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Student Led Restorative Justice

Thomas Jefferson High School Student Honor Council2014-15: second year of project. 14 students trained in restorative justice conference

facilitation. Used for academic integrity violations. Students are working to change attitudes about

cheating and punishment.

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FCPS/Police/Court/Community RJ Diversion Project

Launched: October 1, 2014 Partners: Fairfax Co. Public Schools, Police, Juvenile Court,

Neighborhood and Community Services and Northern Virginia Mediation Services

Goal: To reduce the number of juveniles in Fairfax County entering the juvenile justice system from schools and the community, focus on minority an special needs students, open to all juveniles

Unique in the nation: 5 agencies collaborating to reduce juvenile arrests by using restorative justice to address crime and wrongdoing

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Challenges:

Administration buy-in

Teacher buy-in

Cultural proficiency (staff and parents)

Overscheduled school staff and families

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Successes(3 years of full implementation)

Increase from 1 to 6 full time staff (central) Reaching critical mass in education (800+ admin staff

trained in RJ 101), restorative justice is now part of the language in FCPS

Most middle and high schools actively using some application of RJ

60% increase in use of RJ for discipline response in 3 years Students requesting RJ circles to resolve disputes!

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Results of RJ Implementation

Builds relationships. Creates connections between students and staff,

parents and administrators and students and their peers.

Teaches empathy, resilience and life long conflict resolution skills.

Encourages personal responsibility. Encourages collaboration and reintegration, rather than

punishment and isolation. Reduces out of school suspensions. Reduces recidivism.

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Resources:Fairfax County Public Schools

Special Services, Intervention and Prevention Services

FCPS Restorative Justice Videos:

http://www.ebmcdn.net/fcps/fcps_video_viewer.php?viewnode=630fd9123aeaa

http://dl.ebmcdn.net/fcps/mp4/insight/2012/is11_restorativejustice.mp4

FCPS Restorative Justice General Information:

http://www.fcps.edu/dss/ips/ssaw/violenceprevention/rj/documents/RJpacket.pdf

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Erin Russ, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum

Dr. Anne Gregory, Associate Professor, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

Vickie Shoap, Restorative Justice Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools

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