In an effort to provide innovative learning opportunities to all students, Benson Public Schools is exceptionally proud to roll-out the Restorative Justice Class. Students in the class utilize the principles and theoretical foundations of Restorative Justice to support their peers who have violated school rules. Students in the class engage their peers in meaningful conversations about the incident, and focus on three main questions: “What happened? Who was harmed? What are you going to do in order to repair the harm that was caused?”. The program is designed to teach students about empathy, perspective taking, problem solving, conflict resolution, and leadership, while also reducing the use of punitive and exclusionary consequences. Students and staff are excited to embrace a different way of thinking about discipline that aims to build skills, repair student-staff relationships and improve overall school climate.
RJ Coordinators:
Jacqualyn Hickey, School Psychologist
Lisa Kurtzbein, Special Education Teacher
Shannon Schmidt, Regular Education Teacher