Utilizing Restorative Practice and Community Circles to Build School Communities and Reshape School Discipline

This workshop will explore how Restorative Practice is a fundamental change in how to respond to misbehavior and rule violations and is viewed as an alternative to traditional school discipline. Participants will review the principles of Restorative Practice and how they are designed to gain a better understanding as to what happened, why it happened, and how the damage can be fixed. The restorative approach, within a school setting, attempts to shift the emphasis from managing behavior to focusing on building relationships.

Also, Restorative Circles are a strategy used for building the school’s or classroom’s community through authentic dialogue coming to an understanding and making things right.

Participants will:

• Explore the fundamental principles of Restorative Practice
• Understand that Restorative Practice is an alternative to traditional disciplinary approaches
• Understand that Restorative Practice is non-punitive, is relationship focused, addresses conflict, and promotes collaborative problem solving, among students and staff
• Explore how the use of a Community Building Circle is used for intentional communication to establish values, shared experiences, build relationships, and allows for targeted inquiry

Presenter: Dr. Curtis A. Bates, Seaside Educational Consultants

PD Hours: 6 in Content Area Leadership and Administration

Fees: Member $225 / Non-Member $300

MSAA Contact: Ethel Kawesa, ekawesa@msaa.net

About the Presenter

Dr. Curtis A. Bates | Seaside Educational Consultants

Dr. Bates comes to Seaside Educational Consultants with vast experience in administration at both the Principal and Superintendent level.  Equipped with degrees from Fitchburg State University, University of Massachusetts–Lowell, and Boston College, he has mentored Principals and other administrative leaders in more than 30+ districts. Curtis has facilitated numerous workshops on elementary literacy for the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association and the Rhode Island Principals’ Association as well as in many school districts including, but not limited to, Essex/Manchester, Foxborough, Whitman-Hanson, and Waltham. Curtis is a consultant on Restorative Justice and Restorative Practices for School Discipline, as well as Educator Evaluation, MTSS, Strategic Planning, and Teacher Mentor Training.