Las Lomitas Elementary School District

Building Community and Strong Relationships with Restorative Practices

At LLESD, we want every student to feel included, engaged, and inspired. It is important that every member of our LLESD school community feels part of a caring school community. Relationships are central to building community, and based on data on referrals and student feedback, we decided to implement Restorative Practices to help build stronger relationships so everyone in the school community feels seen, heard, and valued. 
Restorative Practices are not used in place of discipline or consequences. Discipline and consequences are still utilized as we must abide by the Education Code. Still, restorative practices assist in repairing any relationship that a behavior issue may have impacted. Restorative Practices are about changing behaviors and setting students up for long-term success. 
Benefits of Restorative Practices:

• It builds systems that address misbehavior and harm in a way that strengthens relationships. 
• It focused on the harm done rather than the rule-breaking. 
• It gives voice to the person harmed. 
• It engages in collaborative problem-solving.
• It empowers change and growth. 
• It enhances responsibility. 

Here is a link to a 15-minute informational video on Restorative Practices. 
Our school teams continue to receive monthly professional development and coaching focused upon Restorative Practices from Chad Slife, Coordinator for the Center for Access & Engagement at the San Mateo County Office of Education. The past month all staff have been engrossed in learning about and practicing affective statements and small impromptu conversations. Affective statements set boundaries, provide feedback and teach empathy. Small impromptu conversations encourage people to communicate with each other empathetically while actively listening to each other. These conversations are responsively used to resolve low-level incidents through modeling a healthy approach to conflict resolution.
Remember that Restorative Practices are 80% proactive and 20% reactive. Restorative Practices are not used in place of discipline or consequences. Discipline and consequences are still utilized as we must abide by the Education Code. Restorative Practices assist in repairing any relationship that a behavior issue may have impacted. Restorative Practices are about changing behaviors, creating lasting relationships, and setting students up for long-term success.