Discipline & Restorative Justice
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Phone: 831.425.0519 © 2010 Santa Cruz |
Discipline Policy
The school has a clearly developed and published discipline and guidance policy for students in the elementary school grades. This policy works on the principle of a whole school, no-blame, anti-bullying approach to behavior and discipline both inside and outside the classroom at school. The understanding is that the bully as much as the bullied needs the community’s support to outgrow this stage of development and to learn other ways of communicating in times of disagreement.
Click here to download a copy of the Santa Cruz Waldorf School Discipline Policy (PDF, 112 KB).
A sense of community among students is one focal point of attention for both faculty and parents. Respect and love for other beings are core elements of Waldorf education. Teachers at SCWS are deeply committed to this principle and try not to miss one opportunity to bring an understanding of this to their students. Teachers observe the social fabric in their classrooms closely, they try to make use of as many community building opportunities as possible and spend significant amounts of time helping students resolve conflicts.
Restorative Justice Circles
The school engaged Santa Cruz Restorative Circles (SCRC) for the 2009-2010 school year to provide training and support to develop Restorative Circles as a method of reestablishing trust, connection and safety when there is a misunderstanding between two or more individuals. SCRC will be training on three levels: Teacher, Parent, and Student. Training and support will continue for the school year 2010-2011.
Restorative Justice Circles restore harmony, trust, safety, and connection within organizations. Restorative Circles can be thought of as a way of making Non-Violent Communication (NVC) concrete for those who are experiencing conflict. There is no study involved. Participants work with their own, live issues, with each other. Facilitators and participants can come from anywhere in the school community and can be of any age. The process is built on inclusion. Set up can take as a little as a few hours, and from then on the process runs itself. Restorative Circles can integrate into the normal running of school/family/community life, while powerfully influencing relationships and behavioral choices. It's not magic, but it has been found to work consistently when those caring for it stick to the basic principles.
This model is based on the work of Dominic Barter who works in the juvenile justice and educational systems in Brazil. However, circles have been used in indigenous cultures for centuries to restore balance and wholeness. They are a part of our cultural heritage.
Restorative Circles work on 3 distinct levels:
- Everyone involved is given explicit decision-making power over using, initiating and participating in a Circle
- It is designed to promote horizontal power relationships between those who decide to use it
- It uses communication dynamics which guide those present through understanding and connection, to self-responsibility (needs awareness), and then do-able action.
Many who have used this approach have been reassured by their experiences with it and have gained new respect and understanding for administrators and others who crave such clarity when dealing with something as important as growing human beings.