MICHELLE RAPPAPORT, LCSW CYD LASH ACADEMY (SEDOL) Building Bridges an Alternative to Suspension

Administrative Costs and School Revenue services/calculator services/calculator From: Community Matters. Suspension Loss and Cost Calculator

Today’s Practice Example: Building Bridges Building Bridges (Rappaport, 2014) Alternative to Suspension Program Building Bridges is based on “restorative justice” and “cognitive behavior” principles Students are provided with an “alternative” to traditional out of school suspension They work on “making things right” with those they have emotionally or physically hurt

Building Bridges Building Bridges has been implemented for two years ( ) and evaluated for one year (based on data) in a therapeutic day school for high school students with serious emotional and behavioral disorders. The evaluation is on-going and is being conducted by Loyola University Chicago, headed by Dr. Pam Fenning.

Building Bridges (Rappaport, 2014) When referred to Building Bridges, the option of this program is explained to student by social worker/implementation agent, principal/assistant principal Students are required to take responsibility for their behavior and choices Students begin their day in Building Bridges, which should be implemented in a quiet location with minimal distractions and people (students and staff)

Building Bridges Process Students are taught skills and strategies they can use to make better decisions in the future Staff who were involved in the incident describe their perspective on the situation by completing a “staff perspective thinking sheet” prior to the start of Building Bridges. The facilitator reviews the staff thinking sheet within the course of processing with the student Students are given a “thinking sheet”, which involves them processing the incident. They describe what happened, how others felt and were effected, how they felt and what would make things better in the future

Thinking Sheets (Rappaport, 2014) Students use the thinking sheets to process the incident that occurred and to consider more positive choices to make in the future Modifications to thinking sheets include a multiple choice format if necessary Students are allowed to dictate to the Building Bridges facilitator if writing is an inhibiting issue Following are examples of thinking sheets for staff and students

Copyright Bridges (2014) Rappaport

Copyright Bridges (2014) Rappaport

Copyright Bridges (2014) Rappaport

Copyright Bridges (2014) Rappaport

Building Bridges Process Students almost always complete “empathy worksheets” to help them process the impact they are making on others around them since most incidents impact someone else (e.g., teacher other student) Other thinking sheets are completed only if the incident does not involve another party

Building Bridges Process After students complete the relevant “thinking sheets” and process with a staff, then the student will be asked to “mediate” if warranted

Mediation Students are given some control in what time during Building Bridges the mediation will occur Also during their time in Building Bridges, students may complete scenarios and worksheets that are specific to their situation After all of the worksheets have been completed and reviewed, the student can use the remaining time to do school work so they do not fall behind in classes

Examples of Scenarios

Example of Scenarios

Who is capable of running Building Bridges? Bridges facilitator should have some counseling experience. These skills can also be taught. School personnel could be:  School social workers  School psychologists  School counselors  Some teachers, such as special educators  Discipline deans

Is Building Bridges Effective? Research team at Loyola University Chicago conducting longitudinal evaluation School collects office discipline referrals data through SWIS Research team analyzed the SWIS data for the academic year

Is Building Bridges Effective? What is the effect of the program on students’ major referrals?  Fighting  Physical aggression  Drug offenses  Weapons

Is Building Bridges Effective? Does participation in Bridges after the 1 st major referral significantly reduce the likelihood of a 2 nd major referral? 31 students had at least one major referral  16 participated in Bridges after 1 st referral  15 did not participate in Bridges after 1 st referral

Is Building Bridges Effective? Evaluation led by Claudia Hernandez Does Bridges increase the amount of time between the 1 st and 2 nd major referral? 21 students had two major referrals  9 of these students participated in Bridges after 1 st referral  12 of these students did not participate after 1 st referral

Is Building Bridges Effective? Does participation in Bridges after the 1 st and 2 nd major referrals significantly reduce the likelihood of a 3 rd major referral? Participation in two Bridges sessions (after two major referrals) significantly decreases the likelihood of a 3 rd offense compared to participation in one or zero sessions

Preliminary Conclusions After the first major referral, implementation of Building Bridges did not reduce the likelihood of a second referral, but it did significantly increase the amount of time it took for students to reoffend. For students with multiple referrals, implementing Building Bridges consistently after referrals seems to reduce the likelihood of subsequent referrals

For More Information com Michelle Rappaport, LCSW Bridges Developer and Facilitator