Joseph Luciani Archives - EMU News

Restorative justice programs in schools need to build slowly and address campus climate issues, says professor Kathy Evans in The Atlantic

Lauren Jefferson — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:21:07 +0000

Restorative justice within schools can’t exist in a vacuum, says , an assistant professor of education at ��ݮ�� (EMU), in a Dec. 29, 2015 article in The Atlantic. Schools also have to address the campus climate issues that contribute to student behavior, she says.

The article, titled “,” profiles restorative justice as an alternative school-discipline program which is gaining popularity in public schools across the United States. [EMU graduates involved in restorative justice in education were profiled in this Summer 2015 issue of Crossroads.]

At Pittsfield Middle High School in New Hampshire, “justice committees” staffed by peer mediators and advised by teachers and administrators hear cases of low-level infractions (the example used in the article involves a student who used another student’s cell phone to send hateful messages).

But Pittsfield’s restorative justice (RJ) initiative is part of a larger focus on “student-centered learning,” which has transformed the educational environment.

Evans, who heads EMU’s graduate education program that focuses on restorative justice in school settings (known as restorative justice in education, or RJE), says in the article that the implementation of an RJE program needs to be holistic, focused on transforming the school climate and culture, and also sustainable. It isn’t a quick and easy process that can be implemented after a one-day training, she says. Building healthy relationships between all members of the learning community – students, teachers, administrators, caregivers – takes time.

RJE programs have shown considerable improvement in keeping students in schools, but even the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the country, has dealt with related to teacher training and support after a district-wide adoption of the program.

Pilot programs, such as the one at Augustus F. Hawkins High School led by Center for Justice and Peacebuilding graduate and restorative justice counselor Joseph Luciani that made national news last year, are often successful because they are slowly implemented, generally one school at a time, with sufficient training so that teachers feel comfortable applying what they’re learning and then getting continual support as they continue to learn.

Individual teachers, too, can be successful in implementing restorative justice in their classroom (read about three teachers, all graduates of EMU, .) However, a growing number of districts are moving towards the adoption of restorative justice practices after the January 2014 endorsement of the U.S. Department of Education with a 27-page report, .

That’s one reason why Evans and others in the RJE met last summer to begin outlining plans for a national association. The goal is to support grassroots efforts and to ensure that there’s both consistency and accountability for restorative justice programs in schools.

In addition to a offered at EMU and EMU Lancaster, both campuses also offer a within the masters of education degree. This summer, both sites will also host a June 27-28 in Harrisonburg, and June 30-July 1 in Lancaster. The academy, which is sponsored by the MA in Education program, is for anyone interested in working toward developing restorative justice practices in schools.

For more information, contact the education department at rje@emu.edu.

Restorative justice alum Joseph Luciani garners national attention by dramatically reducing suspensions in LA schools

EMU Communications Staff — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 13:10:35 +0000

One Los Angeles school has experienced a “tectonic” decrease in suspensions, with more L.A. schools preparing to follow suit, as a result of the restorative disciplinary efforts of Joseph Luciani, a 2013 master’s graduate of the at ��ݮ��.

Luciani’s work received wide recognition in early 2015 as a result of a Jan. 10 published by more than 50 media outlets nationwide, from Hawaii to Florida – including the San Francisco Chronicle, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Houston Chronicle, Miami Sun Times, and the New York Times. It even appeared in the United Kingdom, published by the Daily Mail, and in the Philippines, published by Yahoo News (Luciani is visible at right in the fourth picture in .)

“At Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, the shift has been tectonic,” wrote Associated Press reporter Christine Armario. “Five years ago, students were scolded with 74,765 days of suspension; last year, they received 8,351, an 89 percent decrease.” Luciani, a Belgian whose native language is French, pioneered the shift in disciplinary climate at Augustus Hawkins High School located in “one of LA’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods,” according to AP. At Augustus Hawkins, suspensions dropped 44 percent from one year to the next.

With schools struggling to keep kids learning in their classroom rather than in detention hall, it’s no surprise that restorative justice is a serious and worthy option to replace the old-school, “you’re-outta-here” disciplinary model. Restorative justice techniques, with an emphasis on intervention, communication, and the emotional needs of the student and school community, are receiving growing attention within educational systems, primarily because they work. (EMU profiled Luciani in a June 2014 news article, “CJP grad helps pilot restorative justice program in nation’s second largest school system.”)

That widespread media interest comes hard on the heels of a groundbreaking endorsement. In January 2014, the U.S. Department of Education published a 27-page report, , along with a “Dear Colleague” letter, which referred to “the development of alternative disciplinary approaches such as restorative justice.”

EMU is home to the nation’s , specifically focusing on restorative justice in school settings. Since 2012, the , co-directed by restorative justice experts and , has provided education and training through web-based and onsite training.

CJP grad helps pilot restorative justice program in nation’s second-largest school system

Andrew Jenner — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:56:19 +0000

Joseph Luciani, MA ’13, has spent the last year leading a restorative justice pilot program in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school system in the United States.

Strong interest in such a program, and in its results, lends support to a decision by ��ݮ�� to launch the first graduate-level in the United States in the fall of 2014.

Luciani coaches all the teachers at one Los Angeles school, , enabling them to run community-building circles with their students at least once per week. He also facilitates circle processes to address disciplinary matters at the school, providing an alternative to traditional methods like suspension. In a low-income neighborhood in South Los Angeles, AHHS students – about 70 percent Latino and 30 percent African American – are often dealing with the effects of domestic violence, gangs and poverty in their lives. (Luciani is employed by the , which runs the pilot program at AHHS.)

One goal for the restorative justice program at the school is to interrupt the “school-to-prison” pipeline. Luciani points to data showing that students who are suspended are more likely to drop out of school and become involved with crime. By using restorative justice principles as an alternative method to deal with disciplinary problems, Luciani and his colleagues aim to keep students in school as much as possible, heading off the long-term negative consequences that suspension can set in motion.

According to a preliminary analysis of the program, 124 circle processes involving 1,144 participants were held at the school between September 2013 and March 2014. That total includes 48 community-building circles and 76 conflict and healing circles. Anecdotal evidence from teachers, Luciani says, shows that the community-building circle processes have helped create better learning environments for students.

“Everybody really bought into the process because they saw the transformation that restorative justice was bringing,” said Luciani.

Circles are also becoming a part of the school’s culture, and have even been initiated by students who become aware of conflict.

“The great thing is that it becomes natural,” says Luciani. “If something is happening, it becomes the response: ‘Let’s have a circle.’”

The restorative justice pilot program at AHHS is an early step toward an ambitious goal set by the Los Angeles Unified School District: to implement restorative justice programs across the district by 2020.

Deborah Brandy, school operations coordinator for the district, said that implementation will begin with restorative justice training at all the division’s hundreds of schools. Central office staff will then provide ongoing to support to teachers using circle processes and other restorative practices now being put to use by Luciani and his colleagues at AHHS. Several other schools have also begun similar pilot programs.

“The schools that have begun implementing the restorative practices … have seen a difference in the behavior of the students, in terms of feeling more comfortable communicating with peers and with adults,” Brandy said. “If there is a need or an issue, they feel comfortable coming to an adult to discuss it prior to taking action on their own.

“Those skills are critical for helping students become more successful in schools, as well as in society,” she added.

Luciani applauds the district’s commitment to restorative justice, but cautions that it will need significant investment to succeed. Suspending a student is an easy, five-minute process, he says. Facilitating a circle process can take hours, and requires having qualified facilitators already in place.

Originally from Belgium, Luciani entered the master’s program at primarily interested in international relations and macro-level . After learning about restorative justice at CJP, however, and completing his practicum with , which offers mediation, facilitation and other services to EMU, he developed a deeper appreciation for the interpersonal, human aspects of peacebuilding.

“The whole restorative justice approach really makes sense,” says Luciani. “It just connects people together as human beings. I really believe in it.”