Rapid City Area Schools are implementing a new disciplinary tactic called restorative justice. Whitnee Pearce is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Outreach. She says restorative justice is a way to move away from punitive justice--where every crime has a strict punishment. It keeps students in the classrooms instead of losing class time for suspensions. Pearce says students perform better when their basic, physical and social needs are met and this initiative helps achieve that.
“It allows for victims to be able to have a voice in what they were hoping the justice would be and also being able to share their experiences. But it also helps the person who maybe did the different activities that we’re not happy about. It helps them be able to grow those social and emotional skills and really be able to problem solve like ‘I should not be doing this. When I do this, this is what happens and it has a much greater effect than just on myself, I’m also affecting my classmates. I’m affecting my school environment. I’m having a greater effect.”
Pearce says it’s a way for students to learn critical thinking skills. Principals across the district are being assigned lessons on trauma-informed practices and restorative justice that Pearce says are easy to implement.