Introduction
“What's fundamental about restorative justice (practices) is a shift away from thinking about laws being broken, who broke the law, and how we punish the people who broke the laws. There's a shift to: there was harm caused, or there's a disagreement, and how do we repair the harm, address the conflict so that relationships and community can be repaired and restored, It's a different orientation. It is a shift.” Cheryl Graves- Community Justice for Youth Institute
As a teacher who has taught in some of Chicago’s most marginalized communities, such as Englewood, Cabrini Green, Henry Horner and Robert Taylor Housing Developments, I’ve learned first-hand the magnitude of the School to Prison Pipeline. In the mid 1990’s as I pursued National Board Certification, I was placed in a cohort with teachers who taught at schools just north of where the Cabrini Green Housing Developments once stood. The cohort meetings rotated as each of us were asked to host meetings at our respective school.
I will never forget the feeling of defeat and dejection as I entered the schools of my colleagues. Firstly, the walls were pristine and vibrant with creative bulletin board displays. I observed students moving unsupervised to their after-school chess or sports programs to laughter sprinkled with giddy conversations in the halls. I peered over into a small gym where a group of teachers were participating in Yoga classes. Once we settled into the host classroom I began looking around this enormous classroom with technology and instructional resources with envy. Out of admiration I pulled out a notepad and began jotting down some of the ideas from the instructional charts and student projects that were posted. The classroom library surely blew me away. The independent book titles organized in cute little baskets. The novel sets included classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Native Son and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
In fact, I immediately flashed back to my mother’s constant admonishment to my eight siblings. She would state that we were just as worthy of a quality education equated to the affluent kids on the Northside. My mother became a single parent on the south side of Chicago, however she instilled in us that going to college was our only option. So when my eldest brother went off to Princeton, it didn’t surprise us when my second eldest brother followed in his footsteps. We all continued to earn admittance into top educational institutions like the University of Chicago, DePaul University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois and Northwestern.
So naturally I thought, “Aren’t my students worthy of attending these same institutions?” Yes they are indeed! So where did this practice of school to prison pipeline come from? Why did my schools look like a prison with metal detectors and no doors on bathroom stalls? Why the random security searches in the middle of class instruction? Why are students being harassed about wearing braids when cultivating the brain should be our main focus? Why were only 25% of my students expected to go to high school and 75% expected to be in prison, shot or killed by the time they turn 18? But on the other hand, why are 100% of the eighth graders attending more affluent schools in the city were all expected to graduate from college?
These are questions that I will invite you to ponder as you consider the premise of this unit. This unit is suggesting that we evaluate our roles in the school to prison pipeline. I will offer valid reasons why we should consider restorative justice peace circles as alternatives to referring students for in-and out-of-school suspensions. First, there is compelling evidence that the zero tolerance approach, suspensions and expulsions has proven less effective and more harmful to the student and school climate. Second, disproportionately the imposition of school suspension on African-American students and those with disabilities is unfair and unlawful. Third, more than half of the referrals to the juvenile system come from urban public and charter schools.
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