All participants add their ideas, inspired by virtual events held around the world by local organizers in each city. The city with the most ideas will receive the award for the most creative city.
Westport Pride believes LGBTQ+ adults and students in a school community would benefit from this idea. The statistics are staggering when you dive into how many members of the LGBTQ+ community feel unsafe or face discrimination. The following stats are just a few that show trends of the last 5 years faced by youths and adults of the LGBTQ+ community. GLSEN:
One statistic that is incredibly promising is that LGBTQ+ inclusive programs are on the rise in schools. Because of more inclusive schools and education, LGBTQ students reported a decrease in homophobic remarks compared to all prior years. The incidence of harassment and assault related to sexual orientation was also lower than in all prior years. Changes in harassment and assault based on gender expression were similar to those for sexual orientation. This Restorative Justice Program specifically addressing instances of harassment, assault, bullying and other negative experiences by LGBTQ+ students and staff by their peers, is another unique chance to replace the old and tired form of punishment that only consists of detention and well, punishment, and offers a chance to combat ignorance with conversation and education.
In addition to our LGBTQ students and staff members benefiting from the program, our non-LGBTQ members who are in need of participating in the restorative justice program will benefit because they will be required to sit in some discomfort, practice taking on different points of view, and in turn we anticipate an increase in empathy and reduce future negative interactions with those in the LGBTQ community.
Justice Network, restorative justice “prioritizes repairing harm and recognizes that maintaining positive relationships with others is a core human need. It seeks to address the root causes of crime, even to the point of transforming unjust systems and structures.” Restorative justice looks to reconcile the issue between the offender and the victim/community they hurt. “Restorative practices invite young people to share what's really happening and get support if they need it. In contrast, punitive discipline focuses on punishing the harm-doer, often adding to the problem that led to the hurtful behavior.” (The Hechinger Report). As a school district, it is our job to educate, therefore, punitive discipline doesn’t cut it when addressing and resolving an entire situation because there is no real resolution, accountability, or growth as an outcome.
The LGBTQ+ restorative justice team (RJT) at the school would consist of 2-3 LGBTQ+ educators or allies that partake in annual training on LGBTQ+ relevant topics and restorative justice practices as PD for the program. These individuals would be teachers that already exist within the building, not an outsourced team, so they are members of the community that they are performing this service in.
When an incident is reported about harassment, bullying, or mistreatment of an LGBTQ+ student or staff member, the LGBTQ+ RJT is notified of the incident. The victim is then consulted about the incident and asked to share their story and how it made them feel. The victim is then given the option to sit in on the meeting with the individual that caused the harm. During the restorative meeting, the incident is recapitulated and the focus is not on punishing the individual that caused harm. The meeting is focused on explaining why the incident caused harm, the history of any words (as needed) that were used to cause harm, the history of the LGBTQ+ community or civil rights movement (as needed)to combat ignorance or mis-information, and any other resource necessary to help educate the individual.
Resources for RJT meetings compiled and housed in a drive and organized based on topic. Resources will be gathered from attended PDs, courses taken, community based resources, and created by the RJT team from reliable sources.
Students who do not take head to the initial meetings will take part in community service with Westport Pride in place of the standard Saturday 3 hour detention.
As previously shown statistics, LGBTQ+ students and staff do not feel safe in schools, work, and many other settings. The restorative justice program would help not only LGBTQ+ students and staff feel safe to report incidents and feel like their community is more welcoming, but it would help educate non-LGBTQ+ individuals on appropriate treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals. This would unify the school community and reduce isolation of an at risk population.
We need additional professional development and to accumulate resources to use in restorative sessions. We have a budget in our district for PD that we can use and the resources will come from classes we take, books we accumulate, and outside resources we accumulate.
Yes. We have a two person two, both members of the LGBTQ+ community. Kayla is the chair of the Westport Public Schools Pride Coalition and sits on the board of a local non-profit, Westport Pride as the Education Committee Chair. Nicole is the co-advisor for the high school branch of the WPS Pride Coalition. Both individuals have experience creating resources, hosting restorative meetings, and experience in LGBTQ+ activism.
We do not have specific dates. We hope to role out this program next year. We have the support of administration. We need a common prep period to serve as a meeting time and a time to gather and create resources as well as complete trainings.
Most schools implement traditional punishments that don't address the actual issue. This program would look to educate students where they are lacking understanding which is exactly what is needed to combat ignorance and create a more tolerant world.
Geographical region? United States
Yes. We have the means to have reoccuring training and PD to train the team. Our school also has the necessary technological resources for this program such as computers, printers, internets, projectors, etc.
This plan doesn't have much of a cost. We would need occasional classes as PD and for resources but there is no major expense, since we are already employees of the district.
