This artifact was created out of a need to make a change in the school I work in. As seen in a prior artifact on systems change and leadership, I had written about the feedback loop of behavior: increasing write ups leads to increasing suspensions. I discovered the problem and came up with a solution for my own classroom. In this artifact I came up with a plan to educate other teachers in the methods of Restorative Justice through practicing what I have implemented in my own classroom; restorative circles. 

The artifact is framed around equity, ethics, and social justice to mitigate the problem of the school- to –prison pipeline and reduce the behaviorist approach in dealing with off task classroom behavior and other behaviors not suitable for an academic environment. This fulfills CPED principle one. It also provides field-based opportunities in that it is a plan of action for learning, practice, and implementation of restorative practices in teachers’ classrooms, thus developing a meaningful and tangible solution that teachers can use to manage classroom behavior and intervene before behavior becomes problematic and intervention is needed by administration. This field-based approach fulfils CPED principle four in that it develops meaningful solutions and uses multiples frames: learning, practicing, and implementation for each teacher to develop their own take on restorative practices in their classroom. 

This artifact was developed during the Multicultural Education class taken as part of the core requirements for the program in Fall 2024. At this point in my educational journey and journey to academic practitioner, I identified a problem and how I might be the change in my own classroom because that is what I realized I had most control over. Then I began to explore in my thinking passing along these practices to others.  

Reflecting on my career as a teacher, I have always been committed to academic excellence, and I have come to the realization that this commitment cannot exist without dealing with the social and emotional needs of my students. Many feelings came up for me when going through the readings and reflections of this Multicultural Education class. These were feelings that delved deep into my own identity as an individual and the intersectionality of all my socially assigned labels. It is with this, my own experience delving into issues of equity, that I realized I need to not only have a warm demander as a teacher but also be a compassionate teacher. I began to acknowledge the need to be compassionate to my students’ own struggles and feelings. Learning is about behavior change and there is an emotional connection to that. 

In this Restorative Justice Action Plan, I would like to invite other teachers in my school to begin reflecting on and practicing their own circles in their classrooms but also in their teacher-based teams (TBTs) We are all humans- feeling beings- on this journey to self-improvement. We need to acknowledge and center our experience in our minds and in our hearts as we engage in learning. 

This Restorative Justice Action Plan is a work in progress at my current school and I am making progress to being able to participate in a TBT. Currently, because of my scheduled time to be on duty at school, I do not get to participate in a TBT, collaborate with my other colleagues, or go to staff meetings. I have administrative tasks that require differing hours- I come in two hours later and leave two hours after the last person has left. I am advocating changing this schedule. The most impactful and important thing I do at school is teach. I have found that I miss the comradery of my colleagues and have missed out on learning opportunities as well as opportunities to be of greater impact to a TBT as a teacher leader.