Education Dive – Tara García Mathewson
“Robert Van Wyck Middle School in New York City has about 1,650 students, and four years ago it averaged about 150 suspensions per year. By the end of the first semester this year, there had only been a dozen. Longtime Principal Patrick Burns credits plummeting suspensions to a combination of factors and an ability to track progress. Importantly, the school culture has undergone a shift. Teachers and administrators have become more mindful of the social-emotional aspects of child development at the middle school level. They pored over research about preadolescent behavior and took a new approach with their responses. They also implemented restorative justice practices, asking students to reflect on their behaviors, take responsibility for them, and find opportunities for resolution.”(more)