[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-590523-105":59,"doc-detail-590523-en":129},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":122,"head_meta":124,"extra_data":126,"updated_unix":128},105,"en","learning-to-switch-gears-in-new-haven-a-restorative-approach-to-school-discipline","Learning to Switch Gears - In New Haven, a Restorative Approach to School Discipline","","Profiles how Brennan-Rogers School of Communications and Media in New Haven uses restorative practices to address student misconduct and build empathy rather than rely on suspension. After an eighth-grader created and shared a sexually explicit image, the teacher escalated the response through reflection, parent engagement, and restorative circles. The approach includes peer mediation, supports social-emotional learning across New Haven public schools, and is funded by an AFT Innovation Fund grant.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/learning-to-switch-gears-in-new-haven-a-restorative-approach-to-school-discipline/590523/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/learning-to-switch-gears-in-new-haven-a-restorative-approach-to-school-discipline/590523.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Stanley","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"What incident prompted the restorative discipline approach at Brennan-Rogers?","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"An eighth-grader new to the school drew and shared a sexually explicit picture of himself and a teacher in math class, leading to harm and offense among students.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"How does the school handle the student’s actions instead of immediate suspension?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"Staff meet with the student and parent, assign reflection, and then guide the student through restorative conversations with the teacher and peers to discuss harm and rebuild accountability.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"What broader strategies support restorative discipline beyond individual classrooms?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"Teachers also use peer mediation and the district emphasizes social and emotional learning, supported by an AFT Innovation Fund grant to train educators in restorative practices.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},590523,1792069822,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":138,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":128,"read_time":142},2336477405376,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Learning to Switch Gears  \nIn New Haven, a Restorative Approach to School Discipline  \nBy Jennifer Dubin  \nJust a couple of weeks into this school year, an eighth-grader  \nnew to Brennan-Rogers School of Communications and  \nMedia was trying to fit in. To impress a group of boys who  \nhad known eachother for many years and whom he wanted to befriend, the student tried to win them over with humor. In math class, he drew a sexually explicit picture of himself and their teacher, then passed it to them. The image garnered a couple of laughs but also a rebuke from one offended student who threw the drawing back at him.  \nHearing the commotion, the teacher walked over and picked up the picture. She was horrified but held onto it and resumed teaching; she did not ask anyone to leave class. After the bell rang, she pulled aside the boy who had drawn the picture to tell him she was hurt and to send him to the principal’s office.  \nJennifer Dubin is the managing editor of American Educator. Previously, she was a journalist with the Chronicle of Higher Education. To read more of her work, visit American Educator’s authors [index at www.aft.org/ae/](index at www.aft.org/ae/)[ ](index at www.aft.org/ae/)[author-index.](author-index.)  \nGail DeBlasio, the principal of the preK–8 school in New Haven, Connecticut, asked the student to wait in her office while she called his mother and asked her to come to the school. When she arrived 10 minutes later, DeBlasio says,“I showed his mom what he had drawn. It did not go well.” The student protested that it was only a joke, but his mother was furious. Since it was already late in the day, DeBlasio sent the student home. She told him to write a reflection about his action and to hand it to her when he returned to school the next day.  \n“Because he was a new student, he thought it was all done,”DeBlasio says. He didn’t know that his essay was just the beginning of how Brennan-Rogers helps students learn from what they did wrong. Upon the student’s return to school, DeBlasio asked him to sitin a circle with his teacher and the other students he had shared the picture with.“They each had to talk about what harm was done by the note, but also what harm they did by laughing at what they saw,” DeBlasio says.“And then the one child who threw the note back talked about how hurt he was andhow embarrassed he was for his teacher.”  \nThe students who laughed took responsibility for their behavior. Then the student who drew the picture burst into tears.“He  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY SERGE BLOCH  \nAMERICAN EDUCATOR | WINTER 2015–2016 17  \nnever really considered how [his teacher] would feel,” DeBlasio says. The conversation enabled him to empathize with her and to feel the remorse and guilt that would prompt him to learn from his mistake.  \nHad the student attended another public school, DeBlasio sayshe would almost certainly have received a suspension. In fact, this student had been expelled for behavior issues from his previous school in New Haven, operated by a high-profile charter school chain.  \nThe student came to Brennan-Rogers at a serendipitous time. In recent years, administrators and teachers have shifted from traditional school punishments, such as suspension, to strategies that help students acquire the skills to engage in positive behaviors. To that end, educators in the building have embraced restorative practices, in which students participate in conversations with their teachers and peers to discuss problems at school and  \nat home. These conversations, also known as restorative circles, take place to prevent conflicts between students and to repair relationships after a student has harmed an individual and/orthe school community.  \nTeachers atthe school also rely on peer mediation, where students learn to help others resolve arguments. Nearly 25 students from grades 5 through 8 have volunteered to be trained as peer mediators this year. Since Brennan-Rogers’ efforts around restorative practices are sti","cbCaisUu0AzdY9JW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisUu0AzdY9JW","pdf",253734,"English","# Learning to Switch Gears\n## Restorative response to misconduct\n## Restorative circles and accountability\n## Peer mediation and social-emotional learning","[{\"question\":\"What incident prompted the restorative discipline approach at Brennan-Rogers?\",\"answer\":\"An eighth-grader new to the school drew and shared a sexually explicit picture of himself and a teacher in math class, leading to harm and offense among students.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the school handle the student’s actions instead of immediate suspension?\",\"answer\":\"Staff meet with the student and parent, assign reflection, and then guide the student through restorative conversations with the teacher and peers to discuss harm and rebuild accountability.\"},{\"question\":\"What broader strategies support restorative discipline beyond individual classrooms?\",\"answer\":\"Teachers also use peer mediation and the district emphasizes social and emotional learning, supported by an AFT Innovation Fund grant to train educators in restorative practices.\"}]","Learning to Switch Gears - In New Haven, a Restorative Approach to School Discipline | PDF",13]