Research has revealed that suspension for non-violent offenses, particularly repeated suspension, has a limited effect on improving behavior and adversely affects achievement.  In addressing these findings, school leaders in Massachusetts and across the U.S. found that improving school climate through positive behavioral interventions, including restorative practices, resulted in much better outcomes for students.

How do we respond to injustice and wrongdoing--as individuals, as a group, as a community or society?  For many, the response is that there are punishments for breaking rules. That has become our norm in the courts, in schools, and often in families.  For several decades now, there has been an increasing awareness of other approaches to wrongdoing based on the ideas of Indigenous Peoples around the globe.