Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice is more than a word at RHS; it is a set of restorative practices that embody our school’s commitment to community involvement in our pursuit of social justice and holistic education for every student.

The central obligation is to put right the wrongs, i.e., to repair the harms caused by wrongdoing.

 

Underlying this understanding of wrongdoing is an assumption about society: we are all interconnected. In the Hebrew scriptures, this is embedded in the concept of shalom, the vision of living in a sense of “all-rightness’ with each other, with the creator, and with the environment. Many cultures have a word that represents this notion of the centrality of relationships. For the Maori, it is communicated by whakapapa; for the Navaj, hozho; for Africans, the Bantu word umbuntu; for Tibetan Buddhists, tendrel. Although the specific meanings of these words vary, they communicate a similar message: all things are connected to each other in a web of relationships.

 

The Little Book of Restorative Justice *revised (2015)

 

Howard Zehr (p.31)

 

“Restorative Justice promotes values and principles that are inclusive, collaborative approaches for being in community. These approaches validate the experiences and needs of everyone within the community, particularly those who have been marginalized, oppressed, or harmed. The approaches allow us to act and respond in ways that are healing rather than alienating or coercive”

 

Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz and Judy H. Mullet, 2005

 

The Little Book of Restorative Discipline, pg 15

 

In our first year of restorative justice at Roosevelt High School, two of our very own Visionary Leaders participated in the Los Fotos Project. Check out the video!