It’s Time to Challenge Misconceptions and Embrace the Power of Restorative Conferences in Schools

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Lovinggood Middle School

First Presenter’s Email Address

derrick.bailey@cobbk12.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Derrick Bailey has served in education for 20 years. He has been a teacher and an assistant principal, and currently, he is entering his 7th year as a middle school principal. The Atlanta native has been a restorative practice practitioner for 8 years and presently Mr. Bailey is a trainer of restorative conferences. He enjoys presenting on restorative conferencing in schools. Mr. Bailey feels by sharing his knowledge and experiences, more schools will be equipped to try and find real resolutions to school conflicts. Mr. Bailey has been married for 17 years and has 2 young boys. Mr. Bailey’s goal is to complete his doctoral program in educational leadership and have the option to teach on a collegiate level.

Location

Session Three

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Hands: Safety & Violence Prevention

Relevance

There are growing misconceptions about restorative conferences being a process that allows student misbehavior to go unpunished. Restorative conferences are specifically designed to repair the harm caused by a conflict. Restorative conferences can be used as strategies to address discipline, but it is not a discipline strategy. In a restorative conference, the victim and offender are able to speak their truth and confront their issues. In isolation, traditional school consequences do not include the needs of the victim and often, do not allow the offender to accept accountability without being ostracized from their community. During the conference, students are provided the opportunity to speak freely, take accountability for their actions, and have their needs fulfilled. This experience improves the social skills of the offender and victim and can improve the overall emotional well-being of the students involved.

Many major conflicts in schools begin as minor disputes that are never addressed. Traditional school consequences are typically provided after an incident has occurred. Restorative conferences can be used proactively before a conflict escalates. It can also be used as a strategy to prevent a conflict from reoccurring. When the restorative conference facilitator receives proper training, restorative conferences can increase a school's safety and prevent violence.

Brief Program Description

This program challenges misconceptions about restorative conferences and highlights their power in addressing and preventing school conflicts. Participants will learn about the principles, evidence, and practical implementation strategies needed to conduct effective restorative conferences. By the end, participants will be equipped to use data to communicate the effectiveness of restorative conferences and customize conferences to meet the needs of their school.

Summary

The proposal aims to provide a presentation that will keep participants engaged with teacher testimonials, a video of an actual restorative conference facilitated by the presenter, and a template provided for data collection. An explanation of what a restorative conference is and where it falls on the restorative practices continuum will be followed by identifying common and participant misconceptions, with evidence-based counters to address those perceptions. Strategies will be provided to assist restorative conference facilitators in avoiding common mistakes that occur before, during, and after a restorative conference. An open discussion will reflect participants’ brainstorming ways restorative conferences could be best used in their current organization.

The presenter is a principal who facilitates restorative conferences, and he will present video testimonials from teachers and support staff who have observed and facilitated a restorative conference. Participants will be able to view restorative conferences from the lens of administrators, teachers, and support staff. Participants will be able to view and critique an actual recorded restorative conference facilitated by the presenter. There will be an error analysis activity based on real scenarios of restorative conferences that did not end productively. A comprehensive template will be provided that allows facilitators to understand how to collect data to assess their conferences and combat misconceptions about restorative conferences.

By the end of this presentation, participants will not only be equipped to challenge misconceptions but also to confidently embrace and implement restorative conferences in their schools, fostering a more empathetic, accountable, and inclusive learning environment. Participants will be provided with resources to become restorative conference facilitators and deepen their understanding of ways to implement restorative practices in their organization.

Evidence

Restorative conferences allow the offender in a conflict to communicate their side of the story and establish what can be done for the needs of the victim to be met (Boulden, 2021). Conferencing has a high rate of success when the offender demonstrates genuine contrition and the participants of the conference collaboratively develop an agreement to contribute to healing and moving forward (Scheuerman et al., 2021). When schools rely heavily on exclusionary discipline to address student conflicts leading to negative behaviors, victims of the conflict are not given a voice in their healing process (Mayes, 2020). Restorative conferences can help develop students’ problem-solving skills, ability to communicate, advocate for themselves, and generate cultural empathy (Boulden, 2021). Perceptions about restorative conferences reflect the nature of the offense and how the individual who created harm is viewed by the community (Scheuerman et al., 2021). Restorative conferences should not be used as a replacement for school consequences, but they should be a part of the consequence while providing a voice for the victim and an opportunity for redemption for the offender (Al-Alosi & Hamilton, 2021). For a conference to be seen as achieving restoration, the victim of the conflict must have their needs fulfilled (Batchelor, 2023). The victim-centeredness component of a restorative conference serves as motivation for students to participate in the conference because the attention is on the needs of the victim and less attention on arbitrary punishment for the offender (Al-Alosi & Hamilton, 2021).

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to develop a systemic way of conducting effective restorative conferences

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to analyze restorative conference data to make decisions

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to explain restorative conference models to dispel misconceptions

Keyword Descriptors

Community, discipline, restorative conferences, empathy, conflict resolution, accountability, misconceptions, emotional skills, social skills, communication, restorative practices

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 2:15 PM

End Date

3-4-2024 2:45 PM

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Mar 4th, 2:15 PM Mar 4th, 2:45 PM

It’s Time to Challenge Misconceptions and Embrace the Power of Restorative Conferences in Schools

Session Three

This program challenges misconceptions about restorative conferences and highlights their power in addressing and preventing school conflicts. Participants will learn about the principles, evidence, and practical implementation strategies needed to conduct effective restorative conferences. By the end, participants will be equipped to use data to communicate the effectiveness of restorative conferences and customize conferences to meet the needs of their school.