Restorative Disciplines at City Year San Antonio

What are the two important dates to remember?

The first one is the day you were born and the second, is the day you understood why.

This is one of the inspiring questions that Dr. Philip Carney asked City Year San Antonio staff at the Restorative Discipline Training that was held in July. The purpose of this training was to deepen the restorative justice practices we use at City Year San Antonio.

Last year we began implementing restorative justice into our programming with the help of Dr. Carney, who is a Restorative Justice expert.  This year, we will continue to implement restorative practices into our programming to ensure the long-term integration of restorative practices and principles into our work with students.

What are Restorative Disciplines?

Restorative Disciplines (RD) is a fresh and innovative alternative to the traditional discipline management practices that have become ineffective at building school communities, strengthening interpersonal connectedness, and addressing student misbehavior. These disciplines are focused on:

• • Building relationships
  • Improving campus climate
  • Instilling a strong sense of belonging
  • Student engagement
  • Meaningful accountability
  • Restorative Justice training at City Year San Antonio

The goal of this training was for City Year staff to lead and support the long-term integration of restorative practices and principles into City Year San Antonio’s culture. City Year’s goal is to have AmeriCorps members develop the capacity to lead circles and other restorative practices on the campuses they serve and that our site uses these practices at our office as well.

Krystal Harris serves as the Executive Business Partner with City Year San Antonio. She works closely with our Executive Director to oversee projects to help our site achieve maximum capacity. Krystal is a former City Year AmeriCorps member. She served at the Team Leader at David Middle School right here in San Antonio. Krystal is passionate, smart, and an advocate for all!