Last Monday, middle schoolers from the Rumney Marsh Academy and Susan B. Anthony Middle School took part in our annual Restorative Justice Certificate Ceremony. Two dozen students were honored at the ceremony for their efforts throughout the school year to build a more inclusive Revere school system by promoting better social and emotional learning.
As one student said, “After taking this Restorative Justice course, I understand perspective, and now my relationship with my parents is so much better! We don't fight as much. I even help with my little sister and explain things to her from a different perspective.“
Restorative Practices is a way of thinking about relationships, harm, and restoration—not a program or a policy. It is a collection of practices that incorporate relationship-building, mediation, and individual or group meetings to work toward creating a better environment for all students and the school community.
These practices are integral to the philosophy of Revere Public Schools and inform our implementation of intervention, discipline, and consequences. We develop and restore a community by building relationships, managing conflict and tensions, and repairing harm.
Restorative justice is a flexible set of practices that are adaptable to many purposes, enabling youth and adults to bring forward their “best self.” It is optimal to integrate restorative approaches into the daily practices of organizations serving youth to establish a positive climate and build social and emotional skills before introducing restorative justice into situations of conflict and harm.
See more photos from the Restorative Justice Certificate Ceremony here.
Read more about RPS's Restorative Justice program here.