Restorative
Practices in
Elementary
School
By Lainie Oshlag
Highgate Elementary School
I
n rural Vermont where I teach fourth grade, our public school is home to 270 students,
30% of whom have experienced parent reported early childhood trauma. Consequently,
these students’ brains have developed differently than the brains of children who have not
endured adverse experiences. When I was told that I would have two of the highest behaviors
in my class, I went looking for tools I could use to help them. Everything I read about being a
trauma-informed educator said that, above all else, connection helps the brain to heal.
Restorative Justice in Education “is a vision of education that acknowledges that our individual
and collective well-being is enhanced... through collective engagement and support” (Evans,
2016, p. 8). A school that has implemented restorative practices is one where everyone feels a
sense of community, safety, belonging, and voice. Restorative practices in education embody
the idea that connection must be in place in order for learning to take place. Connection de-
creases undesired behaviors and increases neuroplasticity, as well as trust, among members
of a group. That trust then increases the students’ ability to take the risks involved in learning,
in addition to the motivation to work through conflict and repair harm. The component of
restorative practices that involves repairing harm is present in the second tier of interven-
tions, which take place after someone in the community does harm to an individual or the
community as a whole. The person who has done harm goes through a series of reflection
questions which include, What happened? What were you thinking at the time? What have you
Continues on page 28
CSEE Connections
Winter 2019
Page 27