Steadfast Implementation of Restorative Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Consultancy and Leadership in an Elementary School

ABSTRACT

Prior to 2020, schools across the nation undertook school discipline reform. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Unknown is whether schools remained steadfast in their commitment to restorative practice (RP). The current case study examined student (n = 53–86) and staff surveys (n = 49–62) before and during the pandemic. It also examined the nature of the RP consultancy and leadership values and strategies, based on principal and staff interviews (n = 15). Survey results showed that despite disruption in the trainings and consultation, the school remained steadfast in offering activities to foster community, social emotional learning, and repairing harm. Training data showed that the RP consultancy had an upfront focus on developing leadership capacity. The qualitative analyses found that the principal drew on restorative values focused on relationships, equity, and restoration. Implications are that RP committed leaders combined with a capacity-building RP consultancy may support steadfast implementation of RP.

Acknowledgments

We would to thank the East Elementary students, family members, and staff who shared their perspectives. We would also like to thank Morningside Center Staff Developers for their participation in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments and has been granted the approval of the Institutional Review Boards of the (University name and District name removed for review)

Human and animal studies

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research occurred in a single school, which was part of a related and larger experimental trial in 18 schools funded by the United States Federal Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3 Grant), through Grant Award[[#U411C160035] to the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility.

Notes on contributors

Anne Gregory

Anne Gregory, Ph.D., is a professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Her research aims to strengthen characteristics of teachers, classrooms, and schools associated with the successful schooling of minoritized and marginalized students

Gabrielle Moya

Gabrielle Moya, is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Her research interests are in systems and community-based research along with culturally informed practices.

Stephanie Jimenez

Stephanie Jimenez, is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Her research is focused on strengthening school-based advisory programs through systemic social-emotional learning initiatives.

Jacqueline Zenou

Jacqueline Zenou, is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Her research is focused on reducing anxiety in schools and improving equitable practices through systemic interventions.

Allison Rae Ward-Seidel

Allison Rae Ward-Seidel, is a doctoral student at the University of Virginia. She is a former teacher and currently studying restorative practices in education as a mechanism to improve school climate and address inequity in school discipline.

Francis Huang

Francis L. Huang, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Statistics, Measurement, and Evaluation in Education Program in the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri. He is an applied quantitative methodologist with current substantive interests in school climate and the disproportional use of exclusionary disciplinary sanctions.