About Our Work

What are Restorative Practices?

Restorative Practices (RP) are a set of structured approaches developed from the principles of Restorative Justice (RJ). Fundamentally, Restorative Practices tap into the humanity of all people to build, maintain, and repair relationships among community members.

The main approaches are:

  • Community-Building Circles

  • Restorative Conversations (Chats)

  • Restorative Circle

  • Restorative Conferencing

Restorative Practices aren’t just alternatives to jail time or school suspension.

Some people think RJ or RP must be used as a total replacement for punitive discipline, which is not accurate. Instead, these approaches:

  • are sometimes used in conjunction with traditional harm responses, including criminal proceedings and school discipline;

  • work best when they’re interwoven into our daily lives; and

  • can be simpler to implement than many think. 

The outcomes of Restorative Practices are pretty impressive.

RPs have been proven to foster healthy dialogue and increase mutual understanding and empathy among participants, leading to an overall sense of connection. Restorative Practices increase people’s capacity to handle conflict in a way that promotes growth and repairs relationships. 

A community that views healthy relationships as a central value will ultimately see fewer high-level disruptions

Who are Restorative Practices for?

RPs can be used in any setting where people work, live, and play together, including:

Schools

Families

Businesses

Communities

Spotlight on Restorative Practices in Schools

RPs are ideal for school settings, where adults and young people can work together to find supportive ways to deal with the normal, and sometimes difficult, aspects of being part of a community. Community Building Circles are the foundational practice of this work in schools. 

RPs are ideal for school settings, where adults and young people can work together to find supportive ways to deal with the normal, and sometimes difficult, aspects of being part of a community. Community Building Circles are the foundational practice of this work in schools. 

RPs help both students and adults learn how to build meaningful relationships with one another through explicit and implicit learning opportunities.

RPs address the inevitable conflicts that happen among young people in a way that provides accountability and support.

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