Restorative Practices

Students outside on the playground

We are learners of the WORLD and we CARE!

Our learning habits are: Wonder, Responsibility, Leadership, Determination, Compassion, Advocacy, Respect & Empathy

Restorative Practices at Centennial Elementary

At Centennial Elementary, we are improving the way we teach students about problem-solving. The process we use is called “Restorative Practices (RP)”. The RP process collaboratively identifies the harm done by one’s actions and establishes a way to repair the harm. Schools using RP see shifts towards a more positive school culture, improved student-teacher relationships, and reduction in suspensions. When a conflict happens between students, we use RA to teach children the Five R’s: Respect, Responsibility, Repair, Relationship, and Reintegration.

Centennial staff have been trained on using RP to help students think about how their actions affect themselves and others, identify what part he/she is responsible for, and come up with ways to repair the harm or find solutions to the program. Teachers use RP in the classroom during Crew, using Restorative Dialogue, and helping students learn how to use RP to repair harm with each other on their own. When the conflict is more complex, or students aren’t able to repair harm on their own, trained adults are here to meet with students individually, and then together to guide them through the process.

RP can be used at home, too!

Four Restorative Questions

  1. What happened?
    • What’s the story?
    • If we could watch the event on video, what would we see?
  2. Who was affected and how?
    • How did this affect you, other students, your teacher, or the activity?
    • What were you thinking and feeling at the time?
    • How do you think it made others feel?
  3. What part/s are YOU responsible for?
    • If we were to talk to another person involved, what part might they say you are responsible for?
  4. How can you fix the situation, make it better, and/or repair the harm?
    • What do the people involved need to feel better?
    • If you could have done this differently, what would you have done?

Please feel free to contact Nicole Tembrock, Dean of Culture, for additional information or if you have questions about Restorative Approaches. Nicole_Tembrock@dpsk12.org or 720-424-8941