1. Restorative Practices and Students Affected by Trauma
Restore Relationships
Build Community
Repair Harm
Restorative Practices and Students Affected by Trauma
Today we will review:
---Restorative Practices that are used in our classrooms to prevent conflicts and build relationships and
---Restorative Practices that we use as interventions when conflicts arise.
---How trauma and self-regulation connects with Restorative Practices
---Also, we will address four of the most asked questions when using Restorative Practices and watch a short Healing Circle demonstration video.
At the end I will ask for feedback on how it’s going and how we can continue to improve our practices.

2. Connecting the Dots PBIS Social -Emotional Learning
Trauma Sensitive Learning Environments
Understanding Impact of ACEs
Restorative Practices
Culturally Responsive Classrooms
(Optional Slide)
There are many training opportunities offered in our district.
PBIS, SEL, RP, ACE’s, and Culture are all very connected and overlap in philosophy, knowledge, and skills. They are more the same than different.
We will continue to connect the dots as we get smarter together.

3. District-wide Graduation and Drop Rate Trends

4. SPS Exclusionary Discipline Three-year trend
-25%
-31%

5. Suspensions – Three year trend
-34%

6. Elementary Suspensions Unique Students vs. Incidents

7. School Year 2016-17 Suspensions

8. Why Restorative Practices?
It defines our learning community with a sense of belonging and the importance of relationships.
Conflicts happen and are opportunities to strengthen relationships when the harm is repaired.
It teaches problem solving, cooperation and accountability when all voices are heard and valued.
We always need to keep the “Why” of Restorative Practices front and center.
Why use Restorative Practices?
1.) Builds community…gives all students a sense of belonging. Belonging is a basic need and important for learning to happen.
Belonging is built on supportive relationships.
2.) Conflicts happen each and every day. The question is how are we going to respond to the conflict? They can be seen as opportunities for understanding and ways to find agreement to improve relationships and repair the harm.
3.) Restorative Practices are applied life skills: problem solving, working together, and taking responsibility. In this process all voices are heard and Points of View (POV) are understood.

9. Two Different Views Traditional Discipline Restorative Discipline
Violations are of school rules
Discipline process establishes guilt
Accountability assigns consequence or punishment
Violations are of relationships and sense of community
Identifies needs and obligations of all
Accountability means understanding impact and repairing the harm

10. A Relational Approach to Behaviors
A trusting and safe relationship is the preferred approach when addressing challenging behaviors.
When harm is created, making things right is the task at hand.
Finding “resolution” is a relationship and community building process. Reflect, learn, forgive, move on….
Your best chance of positive behaviors with students is positive relationships with students.
Discuss: “How do you build safe and trusting relationships with students”. Make a list – share out
Restorative Communication is the foundation of relationship building.

11. More about Teaching than Punishment
Asking questions, Making agreements, Sharing thoughts and feelings, Surrounding those with greatest needs.
Punishment isolates and excludes, breaks relationships, does not address behaviors, and pay back happens.
Telling is not teaching; it takes practice
Restorative Practices is about teaching expectations and pro social behaviors. This approach is done by restorative communications, problem solving, making agreements and resolving conflicts, “with” students ( not to them of for them).
Punishment often does not change behaviors, it can make the situation worse. The student isolated, excluded, relationship is made insecure, and saving face can result in pay back. Overall more tension and more stress added to the situation.
Telling the rules is different than making agreements. (discuss + and – of rules vs agrements)

14. Three Tiers Conflict Resolution Responding to Conflict
Formal Conferencing
Repairing Harm Circles
Responding to Conflict
Making Agreements
Mediations
Conflict Resolution Circles
This is how three tiers of Restorative Practices relate to three tiers of PBIS. You can see by taking this approach, we can reduce conflicts, respond to conflicts and use restorative practices after corrective action has been taken.
Let’s first review the practices that take place at each level.
Classroom Practices for Reducing Conflict and Building Relationships
Affective statements
Restorative Questions
Classroom Circles

15. Who are these students with Challenging Behaviors?
“It’s not a behavior problem, It’s a regulation problem”

16. Students lose control and conflicts escalate. Regulation
Adverse Childhood Experiences often effect students’ ability to handle stress. Schools are socially demanding places.
Students who experience trauma live in a chronic state of fear, they can become rude and disrespectful when asked restorative questions. They need time to regulate.
It is important to consider our response to conflict …. Did it escalate or de-escalate the situation?
Staying regulated is the key for everyone involved. When students or staff feel fearful, unsafe, disrespected, or challenged, their brain goes off-line and its impossible to be restorative.
In the heat of the moment, mirror neurons are firing...escalating conflict. Take time to breath, make space to reflect, and offer support to communicate the importance of the relationship and the resolution of the conflict.

17. Acute Trauma vs. Complex Trauma Chronic Stress – PTSD – ACE’s –Toxic Stress
A single exceptional experience, where danger overwhelms a child’s capacity to cope.
Complex Trauma:
Multiple and chronic adverse events, most often of a personal nature, that usually occurs within the child’s care giving system.
Overwhelming and prolonged experiences, that puts a child in the place of feeling out of control, threatened, terrified, worthless, insecure, ridiculed, or endangered.
Read the definition. Share that there is acute trauma which is a one time event vs. complex trauma which happens over and over is various ways through Adverse Childhood experiences.
Think of how many of your students, this might have happened to.
Trauma can change how the brain processes social interactions and situations.

18. ACE’s Adverse Childhood Experiences or Complex Trauma
External
Internal
Domestic violence
Substance abuse in the family
Mental illness in the family
Incarcerated household member
Homelessness
Emotional abuse
Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Emotional neglect
Physical neglect
These events are commonly identified at Adverse Childhood Experiences. The list on the left are environmental situations that may affect those living together (external to the child). The list on the right are experiences that happen directly to the child that has a different impact.
The more adverse experiences, the more risk to secure attachments.
The brain is wired with greater hyper-vigilance, fear, and insecurity and can often become dysregulated (off line to thinking and problem solving), and go to the survival fight or flight mode. Some call this the upstairs brain (thinking) and down stairs brain (for survival).

19. Daniel J Siegel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm9CIJ74Oxw
Mindsight 2009
The Whole-Brain Child 2011
No Drama Discipline 2014

20. Dysregulation: Hyper- or Hypo- arousal
Students Response to Stress or Fear
Dysregulation: Hyper- or Hypo- arousal
Fight
Unable to focus or sit still
Aggressive
Resistant to directives
Argumentative
Anxious before tests
Risk taking
Flight & Freeze
Defiant
Withdraws from peers
Tardy/ Absent
Shuts down
Avoids tasks
Numbs out – “I don’t care”
Students behavior often is a result of their stress response. Some students Hyper-arousal goes into a fight mode. Resulting behaviors…….
Or a Hypo-arousal response results in flight or freeze behaviors such as:
Both take attention. To change the behaviors, students need a safe and secure environment.
From Help For Billy by Heather T. Forbes, LCSW

21. Window of stress tolerance
Impact
Window of stress tolerance
Breaking Point
For a securely attached student
For a student who is insecurely attached
Schools and classrooms are a socially demanding place for students to be. Students coming from a secure home have a larger window of stress tolerance.
Students coming from homes with greater chaos and more ACE’s, will have a smaller window of stress tolerance and become dysregulated quicker. A shorter fuse, so to speak.
If students have safe and secure relationships and classrooms, the stress window can enlarge., but it takes time.
From Help For Billy by Heather T. Forbes, LCSW

22. Hope The human brain changes throughout life
A person can grow their resilience and “earn security” through positive-secure environments and relationships
When home and family are challenging situation then schools, church, and youth programs can play important roles in building resilience
There is hope. The brain can change… neuroplasticity. With greater security comes greater regulation.
Resiliency is built through safe and trusting relationships and environments.

23. Response What can we do? Be Reflective: “What’s driving the behavior?”
Understand Triggers: “Name it to Tame It”
Create a classroom designed for regulation
Rupture - Repair conversations in response to conflict
Build safe and trusting relationships
Be Strong – Kind – Committed vs. (Mean – Weak – Gone)
These are a few tools that can help students stay regulated.
It’s a good idea for designated space within a classroom where students can go to self regulate and process behaviors, thoughts and feelings. A place to process conflict.
To be kind and strong at the same time is also an important concept.
Handout: Restorative Tools for Regulation

24. Empathy: understanding of another’s situation, feelings and motivations
Ability of perspective taking
Staying away from judgement
Recognizing emotions
Communicating those emotions

26. Building Relationships
Share ways that you build safe and trusting relationships with your students. or
Ways you lower the stress and up the emotional safety in your classroom.
Have people find a partner to share a one minute speech.
1. Give the prompt,
2. One person talks and the other person listens.
3. Ring a bell. Switch.
4. Find a new partner
5. Go to the next prompt…..start… stop…. Switch
6. Find a new partner
7. Go to the next prompt
What was the most fun topic? Why?
What was the most provocative topic? Why?

27. Repairing student-teacher conflicts How to reconnect with students after a conflict?
Take a consistent and systems approach to “repair” after a conflict has happened.
Be open, interested, and supportive of students who re-enter after a conflict. Try to suspend judgement.
Adults model the process - teach conflict resolution skills
Find the time --- it takes practice --- saves time over time
Affirm the commitment to the relationship and to learning

28. Rupture – Repair Let’s work together to make things right
Reflect on the conflict
“I noticed….” “I was feeling…..” “my concern is….”
- Thoughts and feelings? “how were you feeling?....”
- What was the impact? Who was hurt?
Identify needs
“what I need….” “what do you need?”
- What do you need from the other person?
- How do you want things to change?
Make an agreement or plan
“what do we do different?” “What’s our plan for the future?”

29. Re-entry Conference To rebuild relationships and trust
For everyone to be responsible for the resolution
Identify additional support for all stakeholders
Make an agreement and plan for the future

30. Take-aways from today……
Think of one thing that you will take into your classroom this year from what you just heard.
What are you interested in learning or knowing more about?