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From our desk to yours..
This IBARJ newsletter issue is full of resources related to the ever increasingly popular Restorative Practices in schools.
There's info about:
You'll also find resources on the national level including:
Last, but not least, you'll see a guide for schools to provide support for school staff and a report from a psychologist urging the Obama administration to embrace RJ in schools more wholly.
Enjoy! And, as always, please send us any info you think others would benefit from!
~ Sara Balgoyen
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Introduction to Circle Practice
3-Day Training
with Elizabeth Vastine
September 30 - October 2
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
DePaul University, Lincoln Park
Participants will learn about the elements and spirit of the circle process by experiencing the circle process and by exploring where and when circles may be applied and utilized. In an effort to create a spirit of community and safe space for sharing, this training will be capped at 14 participants so please e-mail Elizabeth to ensure your spot: ejvastine@gmail.com
Find full details here or contact Elizabeth at 773-680-0825.
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School discipline data are getting people's attention
Restorative justice advocates in Illinois have known for a long time that serious changes are needed in our schools. Now, with the release of data exposing the state of school discipline in Chicago Public Schools, lawmakers are sitting up and listening.
It's an exciting moment in the history of Illinois BARJ. Read all about the federal government's new guiding principles for improving school climate, the new attention being given to veterans of the Illinois BARJ community, and the data that started it all:
Illinois Issues: Restorative justice
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"If a student happens to have been born black, he’s three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than his white classmates. That statistic comes from the U.S. Department of Education, and it’s often repeated by people who favor changing the way
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students are disciplined. But as with all averages, it obscures the rough edges that become apparent only when looking more closely at the numbers, and Illinois has some of the roughest edges around..."
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Good news, bad news:
New school discipline data on Chicago Public Schools from Project NIA
The release of new CPS data is thanks to the hard work of Project NIA, which has convinced CPS to publish discipline data online for the first time ever. Preliminary suspension and expulsion data from the Chicago Public Schools for the 2013-2014 school year are now available.
Here's the good news.
Compared to the 2010-11 school year,
in the 2013-14 school year, there were:
• Over 27,000 fewer out of school suspensions – a 33% drop in out of school suspension rate
• Nearly 1,300 fewer CPS students referred for expulsion – a 37% drop in referral for expulsion rate
• Over 1,000 fewer in-school arrests of CPS students – a 35% drop in the in-school arrest rate
But there was plenty of bad news, too.
Preliminary 2013-14 data show we have a long way to go:
• CPS charter schools expelled 291 students. District-managed schools expelled 89
• 74% of out of school suspensions were issued to African American CPS students
(who comprise 41% of the student body)
• CPS students in the 8th grade or below received 21,644 suspensions. Those in 9th-12th grade received 28,217
Learn more at the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project.
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This video explains the phenomenon of "school push-out" and features interviews with youth who have experienced it firsthand. It calls for solutions like restorative justice to help students, administrations, and communities work together to build better outcomes for our youth.
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to reform how youth of color are treated in Denver Public Schools, and it offers lessons learned for anyone else attempting social change for youth.
Find it here.
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Close to home: Zero tolerance or restorative justice?
A psychologist and retired teacher from California uses brain science to explain why it's so important that the Obama administration push for restorative justice as an alternative to zero-tolerance policies in schools.
Face-to-face dialogue "stimulates the brain's hippocampus, which in turn stimulates higher centers of the brain, potentially leading to rational thinking."
Read the rest here.
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IBARJ provides Training & Coaching in RJ practices and community engagement approaches.
Want to learn more about what our services?
Check out our website.
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Have something you would like to see in the next newsletter? Please let us know!
Contact Sara to submit your ideas.
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Please add newsletter@ibarj.org to your spam filter so you don't miss our next email!
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The Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice Project (IBARJP) is a 501(c)(3) that provides leadership, education, and training to teens, teachers, youth service providers, and court system personnel throughout Illinois in restorative justice practices.
For more on what we do, click here.
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