Fond du Lac has been training and implementing Restorative Practices for the last couple of years. We asked Katie Moder who was principal at Chegwin Elementary in Fond du Lac to give us a witness of Restorative Practice success.
"In a time when bullying is on the rise, and blame and punishment have not made a difference in ending physical and emotional pain, it is time we try a new approach. The Fond du Lac School District has implemented a systems approach to building and mending relationships through Restorative Practices. With our training through the Wisconsin Safe and Healthy Schools Center and an outcome based action plan, we are seeing positive results. In one year of implementation at Chegwin Elementary School, 89% of students that were a part of a Formal Conference did not commit a similar offense. Our school community uses Restorative Practices to encourage responsibility, develop empathy, and create a caring environment." Submitted by Katie Moder, Pupil Services Director, Fond du Lac School District.

The first day of training is titled Introduction to Restorative Practices (1 day). This training covers the theory, framework and fundamental hypotheses behind Restorative Practices. This includes the Social Discipline Window, Fair Process, Psychology of Affect and the Compass of Shame. Backing up the framework and theory is the Fundamental Hypotheses that human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them (Ted Wachtel IIRP Founder). The training ends with the 5 Restorative Practices; giving definition and a chance to experience a couple of the practices.

We encourage schools to come to this training with a team. This training meets the criteria of the Exploration Stage from Science Implementation. After this training teams will have the background needed to decide if Restorative Practices is the right fit for their school and if they have the capacity to start the Installation Stage.

Using Circles Effectively (1 day) starts with a review of the Social Discipline Window and offers more experiences in Affective Statements, Affective Questions and Small Impromptu Conversations. The focus for the majority of the day is on what it takes to facilitate circles, when, where and what. Participants will experience developing their own circles to use back in their school and to experience facilitating them. We encourage teams to attend this training. Time is given at the end of the training to plan how participants will implement the practices back at their own schools.

Facilitating Restorative Conferences (2 days) Restorative conferences allow those who have been most affected by an incident to share their feelings, describe how they have been affected and develop a plan to repair the harm done and prevent recurrence. The process is useful for K-12 schools, criminal justice, higher education and workplaces. True stories that illustrate the emotional dynamics and healing potential of restorative conferences as compared to more punitive approaches. Interactive exercises that help to identify who should be invited to a conference and how to prepare them for the conference. Reintegrating people who have caused harm back into their community. Those who will be facilitating formal conferences should attend this training. (This training will be available in the spring of 2019).