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Key Findings

1. Restorative practices — inclusive and non-punitive ways to respond to conflict and build community — were successful in reducing student suspensions in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district.
2. Restorative practices reduced suspension rates of elementary grade students, African American students, students from low-income families, and female students more than for students not in these groups.
3. Restorative practices did not improve academic outcomes, nor did they reduce suspensions for middle school students or suspensions for violent offenses.
4. Other school districts can learn important lessons on training, practice, support, and data collection from Pittsburgh when adopting a restorative practices program.

Schools and school districts across the country are looking for evidence-based strategies to improve their learning and social environments. Restorative practices, developed in the justice system as a way to mediate and repair relationships between offenders and their victims, are offering a way forward. In schools, restorative practices have been adopted to offer a means to respond to conflict and build relationships in an inclusive, nonpunitive way. The practices range from informal actions, such as using "I" (affective) statements to express personal feelings to build community, to formal practices, such as responding to a student's disruptive actions in a "responsive circle." In this circle, students and staff discuss the incident with the offender, being careful to emphasize the harm that was done rather than the person who did it. In this way, the offender is given time to reflect, apologize, make amends if necessary, and reintegrate into the community.