Restorative Practices at Thomas Jefferson High School
Restorative practices is a confidential way to resolve conflict between students, students and teachers, and with other community members. It can be used in arguments, disagreements, fights, and various other conflicts and discipline incidents whether they occur inside or outside of school.
Restorative practices works by having a team member from the Student Excellence Team (SET) assess the individual circumstances of each situation and, if appropriate, schedule a face-to-face meeting between the participants. This process helps everyone understand exactly what happened and during the course of the meeting determines how to make things right. At the beginning of the conversation, the SET will discuss ground rules. During the conversation, the SET will facilitate the conversation using the restorative questions. At the end of the conversation, an agreement is either verbally agreed upon or written and signed, which summarizes the result of the conference and any next steps that need to be taken.
At TJ, we care about our students and we use restorative practices to truly resolve problems, strengthen our community, and contribute to a positive school culture.
The Student Excellence Team (SET):
Andrew Skari, Assistant Principal andrew_skari@dpsk12.org
Emily Lupo, Dean of Culture emily_lupo@dpsk12.org
Bridget Couch, Restorative Practices Coordinator bridget_couch@dpsk12.org
Tahj Dillard-Watkins, Restorative Practices Coordinator tahj_dillard-watkins@dpsk12.org
