CREATING A CULTURE OF CARE IN SCHOOLS

RJEd

Restorative Justice Education is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2014.

Vision – Creating a Culture of Care in Schools.
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Mission – To use Restorative Justice Principles and Practices to foster culturally appropriate relationships and interactions in schools, higher education, service related organizations, and community organizations.
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Strategies – To support the mission by:

• Facilitating the following research and evidenced base trainings In-Person, Live-Virtual, and Online (Self-Paced & Blending):
  • Introduction to Culture of Care 
  • Implementing a Culture of Care:  Advanced Training
• Teaching the principles and practices of restorative justice to educators so they, in turn, can train other members of the school and learning community.​  The process known as Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths-based approach, is used as the foundation for our trainings.  
• Observing teachers and training these teachers to observe other teachers in the principles and practices of culturally responsive relationships and interactions in classrooms.
• Gathering information through interviews of ethnically diverse students, their parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff about the experiences of these students in school.​

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COMMUNITY BUILDING CIRCLES

Community Building Circles are the primary process for using Restorative Practices in schools to create a sense of connectedness and belonging, thus creating a Culture of Care. This process involves the use of a Talking Piece, where the person holding the Talking Piece does the talking, while the other people present listen. The Talking Piece  is passed around the circle, allowing everyone a chance to talk, but without the requirement to talk.

The drawing to the left is shown to honor the origins of the Talking Circle with Native Americans.

HOW IS A CULTURE OF CARE IMPLEMENTED IN SCHOOLS?

​During our Introduction to Culture of Care 16 module training, we teach participants a systematic approach (over 3 tiers) to implementing Restorative Justice principles and practices in the school, organization, and/or program setting.  Please see our Restorative Practices Flow Chart to discover the specific practices that participants will learn and gain practical experience in, in order to create a Culture of Care in their school/community setting.