Del Hayes Press

Taking Restorative Justice to Schools

In the wake of more than a decade of disturbing headlines ranging from bullying to school massacres, author Jeannette Holtham now dedicates her time to teaching schools how to improve their school culture and reach our youth before their behaviors get out of control or turn to violence.

Her timely book Taking Restorative Justice to Schools: A Doorway to Discipline is the first comprehensive practical guide for schools that are ready to reduce discipline problems by as much as 60 to 85 percent. It provides an answer to zero tolerance policies that have unintentionally encouraged the overuse of suspension and expulsion which has led to widespread dropout rates—sending hundreds of thousands of our youth into their communities with insufficient education and job skills to complete in the workforce—a perfect storm for the school-to-prison pipeline. By contrast, the global explosion of restorative justice keeps kids in school, gets them to take responsibility for their behaviors, helps them to gain empathy for others, and provides them with a mutually respectful school environment where they can make better choices in the future.

As Ms. Holtham puts it, “Students don’t suddenly bring a knife or gun to school with an intention to harm their fellow students or the school staff. Educators can take advantage of early warning signs to get to core issues before they lead to violence. Her book provides powerful prevention and intervention tools in a simple, step-by-step model that complements a school’s discipline system to make schools safer, reduce teacher burnout, and recover vital teaching and learning time in classrooms.

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