Transcript Community Peacemaking Circle Training

Introduction to School
Peacemaking Circles
Lee Copenhagen, LCSW
BARJ Project Trainer with the support of
the Minnesota Department of Corrections
and National Institute of Corrections
Overview of Circles (Pranis, 2005)
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A Peacemaking circle is a way of bring
people together in which:
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Everyone is respected
Everyone gets a chance to talk w/o interruption
Everyone is equal
Spiritual and emotional aspects of individual
experience are welcomed
Overview (cont.)
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Peacemaking Circles are useful when two or
more people:
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need to make decisions together
have a disagreement
need to address an experience that resulted in
harm to someone
want to work together as a team
wish to celebrate
wish to share difficulties
want to learn from each other
What Are School
Peacemaking Circles?
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A Process for bringing students/teachers/staff
together as equals to talk about the offense
Provides an atmosphere of respect &
concern for everyone
Face-to-face encounter to repair harm
Led by trained Circle Keepers
Participants decide Circle outcome
What are Circles? (cont.)
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Voluntary for victim
Admission of responsibility by offender
Incident-based, behavior-based
Looks at underlying causes
Focuses on empowering participants
Comes to consensus agreement
Circles in Practice (Pranis , 2005)
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Ceremony
Guidelines
Talking Piece
Facilitator or Keeper
Consensus Decision-Making
Old School Approach
to Offenses:
Questions asked:
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What laws/rules were broken?
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Who did it?
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What punishment do they
deserve?
New guiding questions
1.
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3.
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5.
6.
Who has been hurt?
What are their needs?
Whose obligations are they?
What are the causes?
Who has a ‘stake’ in this?
What is the appropriate process to involve
the stakeholders to put things right?
(Zehr, 2002).
Restorative discipline:
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Recognizes the purpose of the misbehavior
Addresses the needs of those harmed
Works to put things right
Aims to improve the future
Seeks to heal
Uses the collaborative process
Stutzman & Mullet, 2005).
Typical Stages of the Peacemaking
Circle Process
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Acceptance –
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Preparation 
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separate circles for various interests are held
Gathering –
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community & affected parties determine if circle is
appropriate
All parties brought together
Follow-up –
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Regular communication and check-ins
VOM Peacemaking Circles
KEEPER
COMMUNITY
MEMBER
SUPPORTER
VICTIM
OFFENDER
FAMILY
MEMBER
SUPPORTER
POLICE
OFFICER
FAMILY
MEMBER
COMMUNITY
MEMBER
HUMAN
SERVICES
KEEPER
PROBATION
OFFICER
Where Circles Fit in Schools
SUSPENSION
CLASSROOM
ROLEPLAYS,
TEACH RJ SKILLS
PRE- RETURN TO
CLASS, PROGRAM
Circle
Opportunity
ISS OR
IMMEDIATELY
EXPULSION
RE-ENTRY TO
DISTRICT
Applications for Schools
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Managing classroom behavior
Handling school discipline
Repair teacher / student relationship
after theft of Ipad
Repairing harms inflicted between students
Providing space to begin talking about long
standing conflicts from middle school
Face to face talking in time of social
networking & texting
New Applications for CA Schools
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AB 1729 Chaptered September 12, 2012
Amends Ed Code 48900 about bullying
Amends Ed Code 48900.5 adding specific
alternatives to suspension, including:
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Conferences
Referrals to counselor, psychologist, social worker
CWA, and school support staff
Participation in a restorative justice program
Program for prosocial behavior or anger mgmt
A positive behavior approach with interventions
Crime is a wound.
Justice should be healing.
Understanding the
Participants
Victim / Offender
Mediation Circle
Umbreit (2000)
Restorative Circles
Addresses Shared Interests
Offender
Interests
Victim/Offender/
School
Victim
Interests
School
Communit
y
Interests
Restorative
Approach Questions (Zehr, 1990)
What is the harm?
 What needs to be done to repair the
harm?
 Who is responsible for this repair?
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Stakeholder
Identification Questions
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Who was harmed?
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Who caused the harm?
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Who else may have a stake in the
process?
Understanding Victims:
Four Major Impact Areas
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Physical
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Emotional
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Psychological
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Financial
Victims’ Physical Responses
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Physical shock, disorientation, numbness
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Physiological reaction to “fight or flight or
freeze” instinct:
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Adrenaline begins to pump
Body relieves itself of excess materials
Heart rate increases
Hyperventilation, sweating, etc
Heightened sensory perception
Exhaustion
Needs
of the
Victim
TREAT WITH
DIGNITY AND RESPECT
FOLLOWUP
EMPOWER
RETURN
PHONE
CALLS
REMAIN NONJUDGMENTAL
PROBLEMS
& PLANS
PREDICT &
PREPARE
VENT & VALIDATE
SAFETY & SECURITY
KEEP
PROMISES
Helpful Responses
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The problem is the problem
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Support the victim
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Reject stereotypes and myths
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Appreciate natural and formal support
systems
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Actively collaborate
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Examine your own attitudes,
understanding and knowledge
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Tolerate ambivalence, anger and roller
coaster feelings
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Allow victim to work through his or her
own problems
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Do offer support and information so
victim can gain a sense of his or her
own power
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Be willing to deal with complicated and
difficult cases
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Be realistic in all aspects
Understanding Offenders:
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What are your attitudes about
adolescents & offenders?
Bazemore and Terry (1998) model
suggests that the juvenile justice system
has been dominated by two primary
methods:
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Rehabilitative
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treatment models and approaches
Punitive
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punish, control and contain
Restorative Goals
To help the offender change:
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What they think (content)
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How they think (process)
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How they behave (behavior)
Applying Restorative Theory
in Peacemaking Circles
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Who are the offenders?
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What might be the excuses they would
use?
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What should you be attentive to when
preparing for the circle?
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How might those who are related to the
offender be affected?
School Community’s
Role in Circles
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Speak to how the community is affected
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Hold the offender accountable
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Support completion of agreements
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Identify resources to contribute to
agreements
School Community’s
Role With Victims
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Support them
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Validate their experience
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Hold offenders directly
accountable
School Community’s
Role With Offenders
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Support them by looking at the behavior, not
the individual
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Help them understand how their behavior
affects their community
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Establish community norms
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Provide a means for reintegration
School Community’s
Role With Itself
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Circle process builds community competency
and problem solving - brings community
together
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School community members share the
responsibility for dealing with school climate
issues
Role of the
Circle Keepers
Minnesota Department of
Corrections
and National Institute of
Corrections
Dynamics of Difference
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White middle class (mainstream) culture
has been imposed upon minorities
Used to judge intelligence, mental health,
beauty, appropriate communication
Mainstream values applied to others draw
mainstream conclusions
Cultural Competence . . .
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Is the ability to work effectively with
people whose culture is different from
your own
Requires understanding your own
biases
Requires understanding the differences
of the people with whom you interact
Taking Care of Yourself
As a Keeper:
Being Centered enables you to focus through
others’ pain, frustration, extreme feelings,
and ability or inability to reach agreement
Roles of the Keepers
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Create an atmosphere of respect and
safety for all
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Create a tone of hope and optimism for
constructive solutions
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Guide the process to remain true to underlying
values
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Articulate the progress and accomplishments of
the circle as it proceeds
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Clarify unresolved issues to focus the circle’s
energy
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Participate as a community member
Basic Keeper
Communication Skills
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Eliminate distractions
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Demonstrate active listening
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Suspend judgement
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Be empathetic
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Try not to assume
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Be aware and tolerant of differences in
communication styles
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Allow speakers to vent
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Model and teach use of "I" statements
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Be aware of your emotions and biases
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Acknowledge the speaker's emotions as
existing and legitimate
Body Language
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Eye contact to all
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Physically centered, sitting with body
balanced, able to see everyone easily
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Alert, but relaxed muscles
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Use body and eye contact to direct speaker
to talk to all
How to Give Feedback:
Communication Checklist
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The problem is the problem
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Separate behavior from the person
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Give suggestions of alternatives
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Acknowledge skills well displayed
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Be honest, but talk with the intention of
helping to improve
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Look to learn for yourself
Allowing Emotional
Expression
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Keep facial expressions neutral or supportive
Pass tissues to teary participants
Check in on all participants
Use silence: count 10 after a strong
emotional expression
If participant expresses anger inappropriately,
remind them of ground rules
Problematic Facilitation
Techniques
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Talking for participants
Interrupting
Low skilled communicators
Dominating participants’ discussion
Allowing participants to look at keeper
and talk only to keeper
Co-Keeping
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More difficult to coordinate scheduling
Increases safety
Allows hearing or seeing things one
person would have missed
Helps facilitate difficult or complex
sessions
Enables shared feedback, viewpoints
More thoughts of the
Roles of the Keepers
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Be compassionate, sincere, respectful
Listen!
Let people vent their emotions
Stay neutral (“equally partial”), while
disapproving of harm done
Be a facilitator, not judge or negotiator
Do not be directive
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Don’t counsel participants
Be aware of community resources
Model and teach communication skills
Be able to work independently
Be willing to keep records
Be able to do a very basic readiness check
Be willing to evaluate yourself and
co-keeper
Stages of the
Circle Process
Circle Processes
(Pranis, 2005)
Stage 1: Determining Suitability
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Are key parties willing to participate?
Are trained facilitators available?
Will the situation allow the time required to
use the Circle Process?
Can physical and emotional safety be
maintained?
Stage 2 Preparation
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Identify who needs to participate. Who
has been impacted? Who has
resources, skills, or knowledge that
might be needed?
Familiarize parties with the process
Begin exploring the context of the issue
Stage 3: Convening all parties
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Indentify shared values and develop guidelines
Engage storytelling to build relationships and
connections
Share concerns and hopes
Express feelings
Probe underlying causes of conflict or harm
Generate ideas for addressing harm or resolving
conflict
Determine areas of consensus for action
Develop agreement and clarify responsibilities
Stage 4: Follow-up
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Assess progress on agreements. Are all
parties fullfilling their obligations?
Probe for causes of any failure to fullfill n
obligation, clarify responsibilites, and identify
next steps if the failure continues
Adjust agreements as needed based on new
information or developments
Celebrate successes
Guidelines for a
restorative conversation
Safe and Peaceful Schools
( Winslade & Williams, 2012)
Establishing the Conversation
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Who is effected by what
happened?
Who has a stake in seeing
things put right?
Identifying the problem
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What happened?
What part did you play?
What can we call it?
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(the problem is the problem)
What drew you into the trouble
Mapping the effects
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How did it get you to feel?
What did it get you to do?
What did it get you thinking?
How did it affect the way you are
with each other?
How have other people been
affected?
Addressing the harm
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What do you think of the way that this
incident has affected people? Are you happy
with that? Was it fair?
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To the victim:
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If this situation were to be put right, what would
you need?
To the aggressor:
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How could we make sure this doesn’t happen
again?
Forming the plan
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Who will do what?
When and where?
How will we know it is done?
Role Play
Next steps
References
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Pranis, K. (2005) Circle processes: A new/old
approach to peacemaking. Intercourse, PA:
Good Books.
Pranis, K., Stuart, B.,& Wedge, M. (2003).
Peacemaking circles: From crime to community.
St Paul, MN: Living Justice Press.
Winslade, J & Williams, M. (2012) Safe and
Peaceful schools: Addressing conflict and
eliminating violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Zehr, H (1990). Changing lenses: A new focus for
crime and justice. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press.
Lee Copenhagen, MSW, LCSW, is a nationally certified
restorative justice trainer and practitioner who has conducted
trainings in victim offender dialog, circle keeping, mediation,
delinquency prevention, and restorative justice. Lee has been
working on high school campuses for over twenty-five years in
many different roles including juvenile investigator, youth
probation officer, social worker, youth gang researcher, teacher,
counselor, family therapist, and parent.
www.cojustice.org