CCSD's Taking on "Restorative Justice"

Proponents hope that restorative justice will reduce the number of suspensions among minority students in Charleston County schools. That's why this program receives the support of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry. 

This year "Northwoods Middle along with four other Charleston County schools is addressing student disciplinary problems head-on with a pilot program in restorative practices, an approach to discipline that has students sit face to face with the people they have wronged and make amends."

The reporter draws a direct link between discipline in schools and the homicide rate in North Charleston, an assumption based on no data whatsoever: "Restorative practices could prove particularly relevant at Daniel Jenkins Academy, an alternative school for students with criminal and behavioral problems, and at other North Charleston schools, such as Northwoods, that often rank among the highest suspension rates in the county. The city also recently endured its deadliest two-year stretch of homicides." 

The practices originally dealt with problematic Australian aborigines but have since found both success and disaster in American school systems.

"Can 'restorative practices' in schools get at the root of bad behavior?" Not likely. 

Whether the classroom environment suffers more or fewer disruptions in student learning will tell the tale.