News & Announcements
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
Students from diverse backgrounds are learning to get along by participating in circles at the Blue Valley School in San José, Costa Rica, a small, private preparatory school for children from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.
“We want students to be responsible not only for their own behavior, but to deal with social issues without parental intervention,” says Irene Ortega, head guidance counselor. “Parents often try and solve problems for their children,” she notes. “We want students to be empowered to solve their own conflicts,” and restorative practices has been a great tool for that.
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
Listen to the third episode of Restorative Conversations, the podcast of the Community of Restorative Researchers (CoRR).
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
This video demonstrates the four quadrants of the Social Discipline Window in a humorous way. It was made by our friends at LCCS (Lutheran Community Care Services) in Singapore to teach a basic restorative practices concept and presented at the IIRP's 19th World Conference in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
From right to left: Magistrate Doris Arias Madrigal, IIRP President John Bailie, Lourdes Espinach, coordinator of the Costa Rica National Restorative Justice Program, and IIRP Representative Miguel Tello. Costa Rica’s National Restorative Justice Program is providing a humane, satisfying and democratic process for participants, and is proving to be more cost-effective than traditional criminal justice. NGOs and schools are also applying restorative practices, with IIRP Latinoamérica showing the way.
Magistrate Doris Arias Madrigal, a justice of the Costa Rica Supreme Court in San José, is spearheading the Restorative Justice Program. She believes that restorative justice can ultimately lead to a more peaceful and secure society. This is especially important in Central America, where conflict and violence are rampant, she maintains.
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- Written by IIRP Staff
Acompañe a Fundación Strachan y a la Fundación para las Prácticas Restaurativas, en sus esfuerzos de cooperación para construir comunidad a través de Centroamérica. La Fundación está a poyando a líderes innovadores para fortalecer las relaciones entre mujeres en uno de los barrios bajos de Costa Rica y entre la juventud Salvadoreña, así como con estrategias para abordar conflictos, de modo que una comunidad pueda trabajar unida y construir clínicas de Salud en zonas rurales de Nicaragua.
Junto con otros beneficiarios de Fundación Strachan, estos líderes han descubierto que las conversaciones restaurativas tienen el poder para transformar el conflicto, reparar y construir relaciones y mejorar la sociedad. Y gracias al apoyo de Fundación Strachan y de la Fundación para las Prácticas Restaurativas, tendrán la posibilidad de compartir su labor pionera en la primera Conferencia Internacional de IIRP Latinoamérica.
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
Watch a video of Peter Block’s presentation, “Change the Conversation, Change the Culture,” at the IIRP 19th World Conference, October 26, 2015, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
With irreverent humor and unmistakable love for humanity, Peter provides the basis and protocols for the Small Group methodology of community engagement, along with inspiration for the restorative movement.
“Get over this notion that there’s something wrong with me, or that those people need to change. How are we going to create an alternative to the world that we’ve inherited? To me, that’s restorative.” —Peter Block, Citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
The Restorative Practices Foundation raised more than $11,000 to match the $10,000 donated by the Strachan Foundation in support of the IIRP Latinoamérica Conference, which hosted 261 participants from 23 countries.
Join the Strachan Foundation and the Restorative Practices Foundation in helping build community across Central America. The foundations are supporting innovative leaders in enhancing relationships among women in one of Costa Rica's slums and between urban youth in El Salvador, and in addressing conflict so a community can work together to build a health clinic in rural Nicaragua.
Along with other Strachan Foundation grantees, these leaders have discovered that restorative conversations have the power to transform conflict, repair and build relationships and improve society. And thanks to the support of the Strachan Foundation and the Restorative Practices Foundation, they will be able to share their pioneering work at the first IIRP Latinoamérica Conference.
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
We hear about tragic incidents daily and wonder what we can do. IIRP Associate Professor Dr. Frida Rundell talks about how restorative practices can facilitate healing for people impacted by trauma and suffering.
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- Written by Laura Mirsky
“They used to call me ‘Send ’Em Home Jones,’” admits Texas principal Marcus Jones, Ed.D.
Last year, one boy was suspended four or five times. “He always had an issue and never took responsibility for what he did,” Jones explains.
Student misbehavior interfered with learning, and staff dreaded coming to work, at Manor Independent School District’s DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Program) public school, near Austin, Texas, USA.
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- Written by Joshua Wachtel
Children are transforming conflict with circle processes in nonprofit Glasswing International's after-school clubs. Trained by IIRP Latinoamérica, Glasswing is also averting suspensions and involving wider communities in El Salvador's schools. Teaching ways to build relationships and community, they hope to prevent the kind of violence and conflict that has plagued Central America for generations.
Glasswing will present their work at the IIRP Latinoamérica Conference this June. They’re receiving support for their presentation through a scholarship from Strachan Foundation in Costa Rica and the IIRP’s Restorative Practices Foundation.
Restorative Works Year in Review 2023 (PDF)
All our donors are acknowledged annually in Restorative Works.