While what Pa'lante does fits the Restorative Justice model in many ways, the heart of Pa'lante's mission is transformativejustice. Peer Leaders and staff aren't trying to "restore" conditions at Holyoke High School, they are working to transform them! Transformative justice seeks to transform the roots causes of injustice. Pa'lante members engage in circle practice, but also in Youth Participatory Action Research and community organizing. Each piece supports a shift towards socially just school discipline and educational policies and practices.
Restorative Justice is a philosophy that guides a repair-oriented response to conflict and harm. Rather than focus on rules broken, those who practice Restorative Justice look at how the conflict has harmed people, relationships, and community. A response to conflict must address those harms. Typically, this happens through circle practice-- a bringing-together of all those impacted where each person may speak and listen in turn. In this way, those involved are active participants in resolution-making and are held more deeply accountable for their actions.
It's a different way of thinking about conflict.
Restorative justice works to repair the harm.
Sayra Pinto, who Pa'lante holds dear as a teacher and guide, writes that, "there are many iterations of circle practice here in the United States and across the world. Our model is rooted in indigenous governance practices ... Circle process is the enactment of the principles of the indigenous Medicine Wheel, which is an ontological map that explains the order of the universe, the world, human relationships, and humanity itself." (sayrapinto.com) Restorative Justice isn't new, it has been practiced by folks for generations.
Furthermore, Sayra Pinto notes that "the use of circles in restorative justice efforts has become dominated by White professionals employed by criminal justice institutions that have little to no exposure to indigenous ways of thinking and of being in community. There has been little to no attention paid to issues of oppression, race, power, and privilege in the application of circles. This is highly problematic given the fact that communities of color are disproportionately at risk of engagement with the criminal justice system." Pa'lante honors the history of this practice and attempts to act in fidelity by engaging in meaningful conversations about racism and the ways structural oppression affects the landscape of their school and broader lives.
Quotes from Holyoke High School students and staff "It supports me because I actually get to learn now, and have a good relationship with my teacher. And with everyone in the talking circle. I feel safer - I had people that supported me." -11th grade student
"The honesty that (the Restorative Justice circle) allows when all participants have a sense of trust with each other; the chance to be honest with the students on a level that I may not have been able to give them previously, a chance to meet the parents and a chance to further build relationships." - A teacher "It's like a group of people talking to one another, having trust in one another. And it's like if someone talks you just gotta listen to what they are saying. If you talk they have to listen to what you're saying." -12th grade student (sayrapinto.com)
In short, the Restorative/Transformative Justice model means: -identifying and taking steps to repair the harm -involving all those involved in an incident, including teachers, students and parents -allowing all those involved to speak and share while others listen -asking, "Why was this harm done?" and "What repair must happen in order to heal relationships and promote community stability?" -thinking critically about the root causes of injustice applying that lens to current work