Schools
The Detroit News reports overall crime dropping in schools with restorative practices being implemented district-wide.
Chicago Public Schools, with the mayor's support, open Parent Peace Centers. Watch a video about how a Parent Peace Room has been established in one school.
The Wall Street Journal publishes numerous letters and comments countering Eva Moskowitz's op-ed criticizing the use of restorative justice, and one advocate notes elsewhere that "restorative schools manage to achieve communities of joy, safety and learning."
Further, as the New York City Council proposes "Bills Aimed at Clarity, Improvement Around School Discipline and Support," a writer for the New York Times Parenting Blog looks at the implications of police involvement in school discipline. Also, WNYC radio looks at the positive impact of restorative practices in a Brooklyn School.
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) town hall meeting looks at how restorative practices can help end the school-to-prison pipeline. (Article and video.)
In Missouri, Columbia Public School District, Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff's Department and the 13th Circuit Court - Juvenile Division agree to a memorandum that promotes alternative consequences, including restorative practices, for students who commit minor offenses at school.
Also, a "South LA High School Takes New Approach to Curbing Suspension Rates."
A school safety advocate Jonathan J. Doll, Ph.D., argues for "A Revolution in Education," with an important role to be played by restorative practices. And Hechinger Report author Meredith Kolodner looks at "How schools can lower suspension rates and raise graduation rates."
Crowd-sourcing school reform? (EdWeek): The DoSomething "Suspended for What?" Campaign gives teens the opportunity to tweet egregious school suspension stories.
Civic Research Institute's "Bullying, Teen Aggression and Social Media," a newsletter that examines developments in our understanding of bullying and aggression, welcomes article proposals by restorative practitioners. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
"Oh God, Teacher Arranged Desks In Giant Circle": The satirical newspaper, The Onion, takes a potshot at restorative circles; restorative practices has arrived!
Justice
A new study, commissioned by the Cook County [with Chicago, Illinois, the county seat] Justice for Children and conducted by Roosevelt University’s Mansfield Institute for Social Justice, finds that juveniles should be kept out of prison system: "We need a shift in how we think about punishment," said Nancy Michaels, the associate director of the Mansfield Institute.
The new restorative justice program run by police in Harrisonburg, Virginia, holds its first restorative meeting in which a young man talks with his employer to figure out how to make amends for stealing.
During National Crime Victims Rights Week, April 19-25, the President of Prison Fellowship International shared his perspective in U.S. News and World Report on the letter written by Rebekah Gregory, a Boston Marathon bombing victim, to one of the bombers.
Canada’s correctional investigator questions the federal decision to cut support for Circles of Support & Accountability for high-risk offenders as reported in Ottawa Citizen. Also, a Canadian Mountie touts the benefits of restorative justice and representatives of RJ Victoria discuss restorative justice (audio) on CBC Canada.
The UK Restorative Justice Council shares its story of the month about a young couple who meet the man who burgled their apartment and a new short film, Moving On, which shows how restorative justice can help a victim.
A feature in the Orange County Register (California) looks at how restorative justice is "redefining what it means to be a man for Santa Ana's troubled Latino youth."
A "restorative justice chaplain" decries the "tough-on-crime" agenda as not working. She says restorative justice is not "hugs for thugs," and she discusses the successful program she ran in a Canadian prison in Our Windsor.
A restorative justice advocate critiques the prime time tv portrayal of restorative justice on Tom Selleck's Blue Bloods.
Community
The Belonging Revolution: Mike Butler, a Longmont, Colorado, police and public safety chief who has advanced restorative justice for 20 years, is walking the city with partner Dan Benavidez to try and understand "the depth of belonging that residents feel for the community."
Leadership
An opinion piece in the New York Times reminds that the leadership of principals is essential for successful school reform.
Workplaces
After a union backlash, Apple rescinds its policy of blocking construction workers with criminal history records.
Families
Judge Mick Brown, the first Maori to be appointed as a District Court judge in New Zealand who helped establish the use of Family Group Conferencing, died on April 2. From our archives, read Judge Michael Brown's Background Paper on New Zealand's Youth Conferencing Process.
