Restorative Systems & Student Leadership

Vergennes Union Middle / High School (VUMHS) is a welcoming place that values kindness; this does not exempt us from the tensions, polarization, and stresses present within our cultural milieu. The pandemic has made us face challenges and become innovative in ways we never anticipated. We have also witnessed long-standing local and national issues crystalize: declining enrollment, school mergers, the polarization of our society, racial violence, inconsistent justice, the opioid epidemic, and the increasing ease with which young people can be exposed to hate groups. My proposal seeks to catalyze the established and emerging work of restorative practices at Vergennes Union Middle and High School to create a resilient system based on restorative practices, centered around true belonging as we face these challenges. VUMHS envisions restorative practices as ways to strengthen and build relationships, support a sense of belonging and agency, increase empathy, and provide accountability and responsibility for our actions.

VUMHS youth and adults want to improve our ability and skills to face challenging issues such as racism, homophobia, ableism, and bias, and to examine their presence in our social interactions, curriculum, and formal and informal structures. This proposal focuses on two areas for inquiry: our student leadership structures and broadening our restorative practices across professional conversations. These areas must be developed and broadened concurrently, as both are necessary for sustainable cultural change. A holistically restorative system means that the well-being of all members, youth and adults, is prioritized and integrated into the school culture. VUMHS seeks a shift that empowers students to have a clear and sustainable system for leadership and contribution to the climate, culture, and curriculum.

A restorative approach facilitates a proactive culture built on trust and understanding as well as a responsive system that lets us productively and safely identify, understand, and address harms and needs. The critical work of this project will help us create systems that work for us daily and as deep and permanent cultural change. I will spend my time working with student and adult members of the Youth-Adult Restorative Practices and Leadership Teams and colleagues using the design framework of Universal Design for Learning to examine barriers to student and adult belonging, engagement, and learning.