Sheridan School District’s Restorative Justice Approach that Includes Families

In Sheridan, both Fort Logan Northgate 3-8 School (FLN) and Sheridan High School (SHS) have expanded restorative justice practices used with students and staff to also include families. Katie Biester, a teacher at SHS, and Gretchen Milner, assistant principal at FLN, began including families in restorative conversations after several serious disciplinary incidents. These interactions build families’ understanding of the power of restorative justice and help to create a common awareness around the vocabulary and practices used within schools.  

As Milner noted, “It is important to include the families so they can understand what the school is doing. You have to have the partnership, otherwise [students and families are] going to go through the motions and not really reflect. We know if students do not take responsibility, then they will just repeat behavior.”  

With their intentional, multi-faceted, and frequent outreach efforts, the district hopes families and community members will build an understanding that positive behavior change takes place when students are supported to reflect, accept responsibility, and take actions to repair harm. As described by Biester, “[Restorative circles with families and students] give voice to all kids. For parents to sit and listen to how it impacted the other kid [and] their family, it gives more perspective to different situations where families might typically be more protective of their kids.”  

Lea Bernstein-Holmes, the district’s mental health coordinator, hopes this work will continue to expand: “We are working with community groups to brainstorm different ways to engage our community around restorative justice and mental health.”