Amherst-Pelham board reviews expanding discipline equality program in schools

  • Amherst-Pelham Regional High School

Staff Writer
Published: 2/3/2020 12:02:01 AM

AMHERST — Bolstering the continuing efforts to reduce discipline disparities between students of different races through a restorative justice curriculum could cost close to $200,000, based on a report received by the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee last week.

The five-page report from the School Equity Task Force provides a series of recommendations for how to improve restorative justice, which began at the high school in 2017 and expanded to the middle school last year. The report describes the program as “a revolutionary way of transforming traditional discipline that has been proven to marginalize and discriminate against students of color, poor white students and students with Individual Education Programs.”

The plan to build the restorative justice program includes hiring a restorative justice co-director, hiring a youth organizer co-director, establishing a resource center with interpreters and translators, and holding more family and community events.

Caridad Martinez, a member of the task force, said the idea is to have a more organized and cohesive approach, bringing the program to all six elementary schools in the district, including the three in Amherst and the others in Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett.

“The reason we think that restorative justice should be across the district is because we do want to see a fundamental shift in some of the disciplinary programs you already have, that we still feel are punitive and they still come from a place that is different than where restorative justice comes from,” Martinez said.

The program aims to overcome obstacles such as cultural and language barriers, and develop leadership and academic and social-emotional well-being for students in coordination with adults, Martinez said.

The youth organizer, for example, would connect with parents and students outside the school, while paid internships would be available to youths.

Martinez said the district could look to Holyoke for a model for the program, pointing to Pa’Lante at Holyoke High School.

Evelin Aquino, the climate and culture coordinator who started the restorative justice leadership class at the middle school a year ago, said the process often involves sitting down in restorative justice circles. During those, there are conversations that go deep and allow everyone to speak from the heart, she said.

Previously, the high school taught student leaders about restorative justice, using a $10,000 grant from the Amherst Education Foundation to support that training. The regional school budget this year added $60,000 for restorative justice.

While no action has yet been taken by the committee or school officials, they are beginning to look at how much could be put into the school budget for restorative justice in the coming year.

Kim Campbell, a parent who describes her son as biracial, said he was targeted all the time for discipline when he was at the high school. She told the committee she sees restorative justice transforming discipline that would typically discriminate against students of color and poor white students.

“I just want to say how important it is that this school keeps the restorative justice circle, because it helps those kids who need that help,” Campbell said, saying that her son was once accused of stealing a backpack because of his skin color.

Lauren Mills, a new member of the School Equity Task Force, made an emotional appeal to promote equity for students.

She said the restorative justice program should be able to continue community building and social justice work, and that stipends should be offered to students doing this work.

“Those in charge of resources and services in schools have a huge part in making sure that individual students and groups get treated fairly,” Mills said. “And because things have not been fair for so long, sometimes it’s hard to imagine how a fair educational system would work.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.


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