SCHOOL TRAINING
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Our trainings are designed to be engaging, interactive learning experiences with opportunities to understand and explore a restorative approach combined with acquiring the specific skills to create a restorative school community. Participants gain direct experience with the core practices, an internal sense of what a restorative culture feels like, and what that could mean for transforming the quality of their school community.
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Core TrainingsOur trainings are offered to individuals at our offices in Santa Rosa, California or may also be scheduled at your school site where group rates may be arranged.
RESTORATIVE PRACTICES INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION
This 45-minute on-site presentation is ideal for briefly introducing restorative practices to school and district administration, school boards, and teachers and staff. This is an opportunity to get a first glimpse at what restorative practices are and how they can benefit your specific community. Priority is given to allowing sufficient time for questions and answers. No cost, except travel expenses when applicable INTRODUCTION TO RESTORATIVE PRACTICES IN SCHOOLS
This one-day training will explore what restorative practices are all about and what it can bring to your school. Participants gain an understanding of how restorative approaches can transform relationships throughout the entire school community. We will experience the power of the circle process and examine how different types of restorative practices including restorative questions and dialogue, restorative conferencing, community and classroom circles, and accountability circles can be used to build and maintain relationships at all levels of the school community. This training is appropriate for members of the community including administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members. Provided on-site, the training can be customized to fit your audience and time frame. This training is often provided as part of a school district's professional development plan. $175 per person COMMUNITY CIRCLES
This two-day training focuses on community circles as a foundational practice to cultivate meaningful connections within a school or other community settings. Through direct experience and reflective dialogue, participants are introduced to the skills practiced by a circle keeper to create and hold an intentional space for deep listening, honest sharing, and an exploration of shared values and the stories that define us. Available at no cost to all staff and administrators who serve Somos Circles 5th & 6th grade students,Others may attend with a $300 per person training fee. . Upcoming trainings, 8:30am - 3:30pm:
$300 per person RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN SCHOOLS TRAINING
This training provides an overview of restorative justice practices in a school community. We introduce the central principles of a restorative approach to working with students, school staff, and student families. The training also explores the foundational practices that support honest communication and accountability among all individuals at school. Utilizing a combination of discussion, role-plays, and direct personal experience to develop the skills needed to effectively apply restorative principles in school relationships, participants will be able to immediately apply their learning in whatever role they hold in the school. Available at no cost to all staff and administrators who serve 7th and 8th grade students in Sonoma County. Others may attend with a $300 per person training fee. Upcoming trainings, 8:30am - 3:30pm:
RESTORATIVE CONFERENCE FACILITATOR
This two-day training covers how to prepare for, facilitate, and follow up after a restorative conference in response to harmful incidents in the community. It emphasizes identifying the needs of all individuals present at a restorative conference, and it provides the foundational tools necessary for a successful restorative conference. We use role-plays to give direct experience of the skills needed to lead restorative conferences. Finally, the training explores how the tools of the restorative conference can be abbreviated or expanded to respond effectively to different levels of impact. $300 per person Upcoming trainings, 8:30am - 3:30pm:
All trainings are held at the Restorative Resources offices at 2934 McBride Lane in Santa Rosa from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Sign-ups may be made via email to Lilian Sanchez at liliana@restorativeresources.org. Please include name, school and staff role in the email. Sign-ups are requested a minimum of one week in advance of the training. *Contact our office at todd@restorativeresources.org for information on on-site group trainings and costs or other questions concerning restorative practices training for schools.
Whole-School ImplementationRestorative practice training is most effective in the context of a commitment to whole-school culture-building. Restorative practice is not just about inserting a new practice into the existing context of the education institution. It is about transforming the context itself into a new relationship to teaching and learning.
As a result, the formal training in restorative practice is always paired with an ongoing partnership that allows for multi-year mentoring and implementation support. This can take many forms and is always responsive to the felt needs of the school community. Before the initial formal trainings described above are offered, the partnership begins with dialogue between Restorative Resources and the school regarding aspects of the school’s current structure and culture, perceived needs, available resources, and general readiness to begin integrating restorative practice, among other considerations. This can also include site visits to the school to observe classrooms and have conversations with staff, students, and families. As follow-up to the formal training, some other common examples of mentoring and implementation support include the following:
Finally, in order to assure that the implementation process includes systems-level transformation and that the practice is embedded in the school’s culture, Restorative Resources also conducts on-going reflection and evaluation in partnership with the school. It is of critical importance that a school does not prematurely conclude its effort and attention given to integrating restorative practice before this level of change has taken place. Time for mentoring and implementation support is generally billed at $100 per hour. |
Additional programs from Restorative Resources that can potentially supplement or be integrated with whole-school restorative practice training and support are the Accountability Circles, Restorative Middle School Program, and Somos Circles.