Creating Safe and Caring Schools: Improving School Discipline through Equitable and Responsive
Practices
TAC ‐D ’ S 20 1 5 S U M M E R I N S T I T U T E A N N E G R E G O R Y, P H . D.
R U TG E R S U N I VE R S IT Y
Part 1: The urgency
Racial Disparities in Secondary School Suspension Rates*
30
25
Asian/PI
20
American Indian
15
10
White
5
Latino
0
1972‐73
2009‐10
Source: Data from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2009‐10 Civil Rights Data Collection
Figure from Losen, D. & Martinez, T. (2013) Out of School & Off Track: The overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools. * Based on non‐duplicated student counts. Racial Disparities in Secondary School Suspension Rates*
30
24.3%
25
20
Asian/PI
American Indian
15
10
White
11.8%
Latino
Black
5
0
1972‐73
2009‐10
Source: Data from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2009‐10 Civil Rights Data Collection
Figure from Losen, D. & Martinez, T. (2013) Out of School & Off Track: The overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools. * Based on non‐duplicated student counts. Alternative explanations
• Really about lags in achievement? • Disproportionate representation in special education?
• Higher poverty rates? A statewide longitudinal study
• Rigorously examined the link between race and discipline.
• Isolate the effects of race controlling for 83 risk factors.
• (Multivariate methodologies make it possible to isolate the effect of a single factor, while holding the remainder of the factors statistically constant.)
Accounting for 83 different variables and compared to otherwise identical White and Latino students
35%
30%
25%
20%
White
15%
Black
Hispanic
10%
5%
0%
Chance of Discipline Action
.
Breaking School Rules report
7
African American students had a 31 percent higher likelihood of a school discretionary discipline action
35%
30%
25%
20%
White
15%
Black
Hispanic
10%
5%
0%
Chance of Discipline Action
Breaking School Rules report
.
8
Other groups to be concerned about…
GENDER
Male students
Across a K‐12 sample, males received 3 times more referrals for behavior and 22% more referrals for attendance than females (Kaufman et al., 2010). Black females
In 2009, the average national suspension rate for Black females was 13%; 5% higher than the national average for all students and comparable to the suspension rate of Latino males (Losen & Martinez, 2013).
Other groups to be concerned about…
Latino students
Latino 10th graders were twice as likely as White students to be issued an out‐
of‐school suspension. Findings accounted for student‐ and teacher‐reported misbehavior (Finn & Servoss, 2013).
LGBT youth and gender non‐conforming youth
LGB girls experienced about twice as many arrests and convictions as other girls who had engaged in similar transgressions. They also were expelled at higher rates (Himmelstein & Bruckner, 2011). The urgency
Suspension and college coursework
Percentage any college
0.7
0.6
0.66
0.5
0.55
0.53
0.4
Never Suspended
0.3
0.2
Suspended 10+ days
0.23
0.1
0.2
0.24
0
White boys
Black boys
Latino boys
Shollenberger, T. L (2015). Racial disparities in school suspension and subsequent outcomes: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. In D. J. Losen (Ed.) Closing the Discipline Gap. Statewide sample of 9th graders followed over time: Each additional suspension further decreased a student’s odds of graduating high school by 20% (
High School Graduation
Accounting for poverty, special ed status, course failures, and attendance
High School Drop Out
(Balfanz, Byrnes, & Fox, 2015).
School to prison pipeline
• To what extent is school discipline an indicator of risk for juvenile justice involvement, particularly for students who cycle through the disciplinary system?
Accounting for 83 different risk variables…
35.0%
30.0%
No prior discipline
25.0%
Frequent discipline
(11+ times)
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Justice Contact
.
Breaking School Rules, Texas report
15
Frequently disciplined students and juvenile justice contact
35.0%
30.0%
No prior discipline
25.0%
Frequent discipline
(11+ times)
20.0%
17.5%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
5.5%
0.0%
Justice contact
Breaking School Rules, Texas report
“A student who had been disciplined
more than 11 times faced a nearly one in five chance (17.3 %) of a juvenile justice contact” p. 71.
.
16
Suspension and confinement in correctional facilities
Percent confined by
mid to late 20’s
0.4
0.35
0.38
0.35
0.3
0.32
0.25
Never Suspended
0.2
Suspended 10+ days
0.15
0.1
0.09
0.05
0
0.07
0.04
White males
Black males
Latino males
Shollenberger, T. L (2015). Racial disparities in school suspension and subsequent outcomes: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. In D. J. Losen (Ed.) Closing the Discipline Gap. Part 2: Hearing from African American students
African American young men commenting on their experience of school and race
• http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/05/life_cycles_of_inequity_a_colorlines_series_
on_black_men.html
• Produced by ColorLines
• End at 5.45 minutes
Harrison (00:23‐1:11)
• There are things in my school where there will be three black kids in a class and after the first little quarter you’ll be getting your work done and have pretty good grades but teacher be like…she’ll pull those three black kids aside and be like, “you guys need to separate from each other, you’re distracting the class”. There might be three white girls in the back laughing the entire class and the only thing she’ll say is “be quiet”. Being black comes with the stereotype of being loud and disruptive and always angry when you don’t get your way. I just think I’ve been…I just wanted to be heard I should say. Especially being one of the few black kids in your class, just being heard is one of the big things for me. So I don’t think teachers try to do it, but they do. (differential treatment)
Chris (01:27‐2:05)
• I remember back in first grade, this situation really got on my nerves. So, I forgot why, but for some reason a girl was crying, a white girl, she was crying and the teacher called me over. And the girl told her that I made her cry; that I pushed her down. I was like, “I didn’t” because I actually hadn’t. And I kept on saying, “I hadn’t. It wasn’t me” and I guess the girl didn’t know exactly who it was or she thought it was me, but then the teacher took her word for it and I got sent to the office. And that was one of the things at such a young age where I was just like, “Wow. Why exactly?” (seen as culpable or threatening)
Vaughn (2:37‐3:26)
• One of the things that bothered me was that my teachers would grade me differently based on the, well, this was at first they would maybe grade me a little bit easier based on the color of my skin than they did my white counterparts. And I felt like…um…that as teachers they had internalized the belief that because I’m Black my expectations of the type of work I can do is less than maybe some other students. So when I walked in the room, they automatically thought that the work that I was going to do maybe wouldn’t have been as articulate or as progressed as some of the other kids just based off the way I look and that’s (shrugs). How are Black kids coming in after me supposed to feel if their History, English, Math, Science teachers when they first walk in believe that they are not as smart as other kids? (low expectations)
Reducing racial disparities
•Reduce:
• Implicit bias
•Microaggressions
• Low expectations
•Cultural mismatch
•Minimal access to high quality instruction
More “distal” factors
More Proximal Factors
• Increase access to: High quality instruction and positive interactions between teachers and African American students
• Reduce Punitive disciplinary responses to African American student behavior
• Lower their rates of exclusion from instruction
• Increase their academic engagement and trust in the teacher
Outcomes
Part 3: The promise of coaching for teachers
The My Teaching Partner‐Secondary (MTP‐S) professional development program • Sustained over the whole school year
• Focused on teachers’ interactions with students as viewed through regular video‐recorded instruction
• Rigorous – based on research/theory and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
• Developed at the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) University of Virginia (Pianta, R., Allen, J., Hafen, C., Mikami, A., Gregory, A.)
Classroom Assessment & Scoring System‐ Secondary (CLASS‐S)
Emotional Support
Classroom Organization
Positive Climate
Teacher Sensitivity Regard for Adolescent Perspectives
Behavior Management
Productivity
Negative Climate Student Outcomes
Student Engagement
Instructional Support
Instructional Learning Format
Content Understanding
Analysis & Problem Solving
Quality of Feedback
Classroom Assessment & Scoring System‐ Secondary (CLASS‐S)
Emotional Support
Classroom Organization
Positive Climate
Teacher Sensitivity Regard for Adolescent Perspectives
Behavior Management
Productivity
Negative Climate Student Outcomes
Student Engagement
Instructional Support
Instructional Learning Format
Content Understanding
Analysis & Problem Solving
Quality of Feedback
Overview of MTP™ Cycle
Prior positive findings of MTP‐S
Prior evidence for the positive impact of MTP‐S
• Increased student performance on standardized tests (held across racial groups). • Increased student engagement and positive peer interactions in MTP‐S classrooms (Allen, Pianta, Gregory, Mikami, Lun, 2011; Gregory, Allen, Mikami, Hafen & Pianta, 2012; Mikami, Gregory, Allen, Pianta, & Lun, 2011)
Recent study: Randomized controlled trial
‐ 5 middle and high schools; 82 teachers (one focal classroom each
‐ 979 participating students (59% African American, 30% White, 8% Hispanic, and 3% Asian)
‐ Rigorous controls in analyses (e.g., student SES, prior achievement)
% students receiving one or more office discipline referrals
16.0%
14.0%
13.7%
African
American
12.0%
10.0%
All Others
8.0%
6.0%
5.1%
6.0%
5.8%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
Control Teachers
Intervention Teachers
Gregory, A., Allen, J., Mikami, A., Hafen, C., & Pianta, R. (2015). The promise of a teacher professional development program in reducing racial disparity in classroom exclusionary discipline. In D. J. Losen (Ed.).
Closing the discipline gap: Equitable remedies for excessive exclusion (pp. 166‐179). New York: Teachers College Press.
From “deporting and disciplining” to “resolving and educating”
• Preventing discipline disparities:
• Offer supportive relationships, • Academic rigor, • Culturally relevant and responsive teaching, • Bias‐free classrooms and respectful school environments • Intervening when conflict occurs: • Problem‐solve, • Engage youth and families, • Reintegrate students after conflict.
Gregory, Bell, Pollock, (2014) Intervention Brief at http://rtpcollaborative.indiana.edu/briefing‐papers/
Part 4: The promise of restorative approaches to discipline
From “deporting and disciplining” to “resolving and educating”
• Preventing discipline disparities:
• Offer supportive relationships, • Academic rigor, • Culturally relevant and responsive teaching, • Bias‐free classrooms and respectful school environments • Intervening when conflict occurs: • Problem‐solve, • Engage youth and families, • Reintegrate students after conflict.
Gregory, Bell, Pollock, (2014) Intervention Brief at http://rtpcollaborative.indiana.edu/briefing‐papers/
RESTORATIVE APPROACHES to discipline
Summary:
• Focuses on relationships • Gives voice to the person harmed and the person who caused the harm
• Engages collaborative problem‐
solving
• Dialogue‐based decision‐making process • An agreed upon plan leads to actions aimed at repairing the harm done.
Schiff, M. (2013). Dignity, disparity and desistance: Effective restorative justice strategies to plug the “school‐to‐prison pipeline.” In Center for Civil Rights Remedies National Conference. Closing the School to Research Gap: Research to Remedies Conference. Washington, DC. RESTORATIVE APPROACHES‐ DEFINITIONS
Restorative Justice – A theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm.
Restorative practices – A framework for a broad range of restorative justice approaches that proactively build a school community based on cooperation, mutual understanding, trust and respect. From: DIGNITY IN SCHOOLS CAMPAIGN
MODEL CODEWEBINAR V: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, http://www.dignityinschools.org/files/ModelCode_Webinar_RestorativeJustice.pdf
Fairfax County Public Schoolsr
SFUSD Restorative Practices Multiple Tiered System of Supports
Restorative Practices Continuum from the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP)
Formal Conference
Small Impromptu
Conference
Affective statements
Brief comments about how others were impacted by the person’s behavior.
Affective
Questions
Affective Questions; ask who was affected, how they were affected, etc. Occur when a few people meet briefly to address and resolve a problem.
Circles
More formal RP that allows everyone to have some say in what should happen as a result of the wrongdoing.
Brings together offenders, victims and communities of support to repair harm and promote healing. Adapted from Costello, B. , Wachtel, J. & Wachtel, T. (2010). Restorative circles in schools building community and enhancing learning.
Restorative Practices Continuum from the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP)
Formal Conference
Responsive Circles
Small Impromptu
Conference
Affective statements
Brief comments about how others were impacted by the person’s behavior.
Affective
Questions
Affective Questions; ask who was affected, how they were affected, etc. Occur when a few people meet briefly to address and resolve a problem.
More formal RP that allows everyone to have some say in what should happen as a result of the wrongdoing.
Brings together offenders, victims and communities of support to repair harm and promote healing. Adapted from Costello, B. , Wachtel, J. & Wachtel, T. (2010). Restorative circles in schools building community and enhancing learning.
Restorative Practices Continuum from the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP)
Formal Conference
Responsive Circles
Small Impromptu
Conference
Affective statements
Brief comments about how others were impacted by the person’s behavior.
Affective
Questions
Affective Questions; ask who was affected, how they were affected, etc. Occur when a few people meet briefly to address and resolve a problem.
More formal RP that allows everyone to have some say in what should happen as a result of the wrongdoing.
Brings together offenders, victims and communities of support to repair harm and promote healing. Adapted from Costello, B. , Wachtel, J. & Wachtel, T. (2010). Restorative circles in schools building community and enhancing learning.
Foster reflection through a series of “restorative questions”
• Questions to ask the disputant:
• What happened? What were you thinking about at the time? What have your thoughts been since?
• Who has been affected by what you did? In what way have they been affected?
• What do you think you need to do to make things right? • Questions to ask those harmed or affected by the incident:
• What did you think when you realized what had happened? • How has this affected you and others? What has been the hardest thing for you? • What do you think needs to happen to make things right?
From Costello, B., Wachtel, J. & Wachtel, T. (2010). Restorative circles in schools building community and enhancing learning. Experiencing Restorative Practices in the classroom
My teacher is respectful when talking about feelings. (Affective Statements)
When someone misbehaves, my teacher responds to negative behaviors by asking students questions about what happened, who has been harmed and how the harm can be repaired. (Restorative Questions)
My teacher uses circles to provide opportunities for students to share feelings, ideas and experiences. (Proactive Circles)
(IIRP, 2009)
42
What the students might experience through the RP Elements
My teacher asks students for their thoughts and ideas when decisions need to be made that affect the class (Fair Process)
My teacher uses circles to respond to behavior problems and repair harm caused by misbehavior (Responsive Circles)
My teacher acknowledges the feelings of students when they have misbehaved (Management of Shame)
(IIRP, 2009)
43
Teachers above (n = 16) and below (n = 13) the mean on student‐perceived RP implementation and their misconduct/defiance referrals
10
9.13
9
8
7
African American/Latino
6
5
2.92
4
White/Asian
3
2
0.77
1
1.69
0
High RP Classrooms
Low RP Classrooms
Gregory A., Clawson, K., Davis, A., & Gerewitz, J. (2014). The promise of restorative practices to transform teacher‐student relationships and achieve equity in school discipline. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation. 44
Part 5: From anecdote to evidence
International Research
• Scotland
• England
• Wales
• Canada
• Hong Kong
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Brazil
For more details see: Schiff, M. (2013). Dignity, disparity, and desistance: Effective restorative justice strategies to plug the “school to prison pipeline.”
Single case studies reducing discipline incidents
Example: West Philadelphia High School (pre‐RP 2006‐2007; post‐RP 2007‐2008)
From Lewis, S. (2009). Improving School Climate: Schools Implementing Restorative Practices.
Oakland Unified School District
% suspended one or more times
Suspension rates by student race/ethnicity
30
25
20
Black
15
Latino
10
White
5
0
2011‐12
2012‐2013
Jain, S., Bassey, H, Brown, M. A., & Kalra, P. (2014). Restorative Justice in Oakland Schools. Implementation and Impacts.
Recent findings from the Denver Public Schools
Restorative Conference,
Circle, or
Mediation
Lower chance of future discipline referral
Rigorous statistical analyses accounted for: race, gender, income, ELL status,
disability status, severity and frequency of referral.
Conference students had a significantly lower odds of receiving office discipline referrals (OR = .22, p <.001) and suspensions (OR = .57, p <.001) in the second semester.
From: Gregory, A., Anyon, Y., Farrar, J., Jenson, J. M., McQueen, J., Downing, B., Greer, E. & Simmons, J. (manuscript under review). Implementing restorative interventions and reducing future discipline sanctions in a large urban school district.
49
Denver Public Schools
% suspended one or more times
Suspension rates by student race/ethnicity
14
12
10
8
Black
6
Latino
White
4
2
0
2011‐12
2012‐2013
Anyon, Y. Jenson, J. M., et al., (2014). The persistent effect of race and the promise of alternatives to suspension in school discipline outcomes, Children and Youth Services Review.
On‐going federally‐supported randomized controlled trials • North Carolina:
• A Group Randomized Trial of Restorative Justice Programming to Address the School to Prison Pipeline, Columbus County Schools, NC
• Pennsylvania: • Pursuing Equitable Restorative Communities, Pittsburgh, PA • Maine: • Randomized Controlled Trial of Restorative Practices in Maine
Research needs to go beyond discipline records… • Attendance
• Achievement
• Engagement
• Sense of community
• Positive interactions amongst students and staff
Part 6: Fidelity of implementation matters!
A teacher recently explained: “…So many initiatives came our way. So it’s hard to know what to prioritize…once you leave a training you get in your classroom and there’s so much that they expect from you. …We have a training and maybe that next week teachers will go in and use those circles. Then it gets lost...”
(Korth, 2015)
Post training excitement!
100%
92%
92%
90%
90%
84%
86%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Disagree
40%
Agree
30%
16%
20%
10%
8%
8%
10%
14%
0%
Admin. Support Org. Resources
for RP
for RP
(N = 50)
RP Fit with
Schools
RP Usefulness Likely to Use RP
w/Students
Elements
Most feeling prepared…
90%
80%
The training really helped me learn RP
79%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
21%
20%
10%
0%
(N = 77)
Strongly/Somewhat disagree Strongly/Somewhat agree
BUT….a year later close to half of respondents reported that they had not facilitated any circles throughout the school year
8% 2%
none
one
44%
two to ten
31%
eleven to thirty
one hundred
15%
How restorative practices are implemented matters!
Restorative
Approaches
Fidelity of Implementation
Outcomes
A multi‐faceted model of fidelity
Three domains: • DELIVERY‐ How well is the program delivered? • RECEIPT‐ How well is the program received? • ENACTMENT‐ To what extent do participants enact what was learned? See: Schulte, A. C. Easton, J. E. & Parker. J. (2009). Advances in treatment integrity research: Multidisciplinary perspectives on
the conceptualization, measurement, and enhancement of treatment integrity. School Psychology Review, 38, pp. 460‐475. • Draws from Dane & Schneider (2008)
First domain of fidelity
DELIVERY
Dosage/
exposure: How many teachers facilitating circles and how often?
How many conferences offered?
Quality: To what degree are the restorative practices implemented in a high quality manner? Second domain of fidelity
RECEIPT
Participant responsiveness: To what extent are participants authentically engaged during implementation ?
The Queensland Education Department (1996) followed 300 participants through 31 formal restorative conferences.
90% had a chance to “have their say” (voice)
Restorative
Conference
80% 0f “wrongdoers” “were affected by the emotions of those who had been hurt and this made them feel bad.”
(perspective‐taking)
Reports of behavioral improvement. Low re‐referral.
Third domain of fidelity: Enactment ENACTMENT
Participant generalization: To what extent are participants able to apply skills to new contexts? Participant generalization:
• Through the Minneapolis Public Schools, students at risk for expulsion participated in family group conferences (N = 83). • Because of their participation in conferences: • 75% of students reported that they understand the impact of their behavior on people around them.
• 61% said they learned how to solve problems non‐violently.
(McMorris, B.J., Beckman, K.J., Shea, G., Baumgartner, J., & Eggert, R.C. (2013).Applying Restorative Justice Practices to Minneapolis Public Schools Students Recommended for Possible Expulsion: A Pilot Program Evaluation of the Family and Youth Restorative Conference Program)
Participant generalization
• Describing his use of the restorative questions outside of school, a Latino male student said, • “…even outside of here ‐ you have it in your head, I’ve done that like 5 times already. I got into trouble and I did the questions right there in my head. They look at me like ‘What?’ but I’m like ‘Aw nothing, I’m just doing the (restorative) questions.’” (Clawson, K., 2015). Participant generalization
• A White male high school student explained,
“(I learned) like how to handle a situation if it comes up next time, like taking action steps for how to fix a problem… Like cause and effect… Now I generally handle them in a more respectful way, just talking to the person…” (Clawson, K., 2015)
Participant generalization
• An African American female high school student noted:
“I actually learned how to listen and after having a few one‐on‐ones with the same person it just clicks in my head…I learned how to express myself and tell how I really feel before I get mad…” (Clawson, K., 2015) Online Resources for Restorative Practices
Introducing Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtdoWo1D3sY
Restorative Justice Student Facilitators: Tier One. Community Building Circle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdKhcQrLD1w
Restorative Justice Helps At Risk Kids in West Oakland NBC Bay Area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSObF8hW5DY
Restorative Welcome and Re‐entry Circle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJ2GPiptvc
Restorative Justice Circle: http://vimeo.com/37746907
From Hostility to Harmony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQWNyS4QSao
International Institute of Restorative Practices http://www.safersanerschools.org/