new things in the district

Thoughts from the Vice-Chair of your School Board
As always- my mantra is necessary: These ideas/thoughts are mine and mine alone… I cannot and do not speak for the board. Now, let’s move on to my topic- Appreciation
As always the Holiday Time is packed with events both personal and school wide. This Holiday certainly follows that pattern. As most of you know, our Superintendent, Dr. Storm, had open heart surgery on the 13th of November. She is recovering well but this will be a lengthy process. Our hearts go out to her and her family as this vigorous woman deals with the trials of ‘lying around’ letting her heart heal. The results are good, and as long as she follows doctor’s orders [a bit of a challenge for her], she will be as good as new- likely even better.
That being said, many people are shouldering a heavy load helping the district through this time. Everyone is pitching in and helping where they can. Kudos go out to Acting Superintendent, who just also happens to be our wonderful high school principal, Gary Carpenter, who is doing a great job running the show. My personal thanks go to him and the others on the administrative team who have been working so hard. In addition, Veneta Elementary staff is dealing with “severe anticipation” as the construction job ‘should’ be finished over the holiday break, and things will be more regular soon. The construction crew at VES is working diligently and thoughtfully to get the job done. They are a fine group of people, and we thank them for their work.
One of our beloved principals has decided to do an early retirement which was effective on December 1. We are fortunate that she is more than willing to finish out the year as our principal of Elmira Elementary. Jackie Turle joined the Fern Ridge District in the summer of 2007 as the Assistant Principal at Elmira High School. She became the Elmira Elementary Principal in November 2010. She has taken on many extra assignments while she worked with our students such as: Crisis/Leadership Team Facilitator at the high school; Title Coordinator; Strategic Planning Committee; Cultural Diversity Committee and Tutor Oversight to mention a few of her duties in addition to her principal duties. Currently, she is the Talented and Gifted Coordinator and the Safety Officer Co-Chair. When I heard of Jackie’s retirement, I asked Sally Storm about losing Jackie on our staff. She said “Not only do I really like Jackie but I respect her as well. She has done a fabulous job working with staff, students, and parents. I hope to continue a very special friendship with her after she leaves.”
So on one level, I am sorry to think of not enjoying Jackie’s wit and spirit in everything she does for the district- not to mention her million dollar smile and the way that the children in her school literally and figuratively ‘look up to her’. But I am thrilled for her to realize a dream of travel, living and loving in her home here in the Veneta area, and generally being the free spirit we know and love, but now we have to share her more with the other parts of her world. We will miss her, BUT we still have her around until the end of the school year to brighten our days.
So on that note, I wish you all a wonderful time with those you love, each and every day. Carry the love for each other throughout the year and be well.
I leave you with this thought from a Nigerian Peace Activist Hafsat Abiola. “Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.”

        New Programs in the Fern Ridge School District:
Restorative Practices & the Amazing Results So Far

Restorative Justice in schools “is defined not in terms of those who are to blame ‘getting their just desserts’ but as ‘all those affected by an “offence” or incident being involved in finding a mutually acceptable way forward.” [Hopkins, 144]
Here are a few of the principles of the Restorative Justice process….
There must be voluntary participation, and everyone must show respect for those involved. Anyone impacted by the event must be included. The focus will be on the harms, needs, and or causes that have come about by this action, and the consensus-based process for making decisions is focused on how to repair that harm and prevent future harm in the process. There is an opportunity for conversation within the group which truly expands the ability of the community involved to create a just and fair response to the event.
The intention is to move away from ‘punishment’ and move toward restoring a feeling of well-being for the folks involved. It allows for accountability yet breaks the cycle of retribution or violence. Severed relationships can be mended, and individuals who are involved can be empowered. When a small group or an individual does something to one person, it affects that person, the community and the people in the group as well.
An example might be helpful. Let’s say that a small group of middle school students pick on a new student on the playground. It is not only the single child that is hurt- their parents and the middle school community is also hurt. As a result of feelings that develop surrounding that treatment, other parents may be afraid to let their child go to that school or go outside during free time. This then affects the entire community. But the question remains- how does all this actually hurt the students doing the bullying? When the groups have sat down and communicated with facilitation from school leaders, issues have surfaced that were not seen or even thought of. Let’s say the bullied child is quiet and shy. Perhaps one of the group extended a comment or a gesture that was seemingly ignored thus hurting that person who shared it with his/her group and started the aggression. This is certainly possible with adults so am sure it is possible with our children as well. Within the circles of discussion, this would come out- The bullied child would understand better how his or her behavior can be misinterpreted; the action group learns the truth about that reaction and the community, both school and area, breathe easier.
So the new program at the middle school is building School-Wide Prevention Practices which include: identifying common values and making guidelines; developing ‘social-emotional’ skills; developing healthy relationships which promote a sense of belonging and ownership. If something occurs, those involved will learn how to manage these issues while preventing harm and solving any differences that occur. Then there is the accountability piece. No one is getting away with anything, and there will still be consequences, but not so much in the form of suspensions as in the past. The majority of students and community members will be served by this process. Of course, there may be a few, in any population, who require a more intense intervention but the focus will still be on rebuilding relationships and focusing on accountability. Dr. Storm pointed out one of the major reasons for this approach is that “we are trying to reduce our “’exclusionary practices’ and find more creative ways of holding students accountable so they don’t miss instruction.” [emphasis is mine]
Finally, the results are pretty amazing. Dr. Storm also says that “The results speak for themselves so far, and we have only just begun. The referrals from the year 2012-2013, compared to 2014-2015, are clear. We are having half the referrals that we had just last year, and the program is new and just beginning to firm up. To be more precise, in 2012-2013, out-of-school suspensions occurred for 74.5 days for 59 events with 36 students involved while in 2014-2015, there were only 31 days of suspension for 16 events and only 14 students involved. Now that is pretty overwhelming statistics.” [See following graph- thank you Principal Barsotti]
For more information and ideas of questions that would be asked in a situation such as I suggested as an example check out my major sources listed below. Personally, I think there is a great deal to be learned as an adult or as countries in these actions so that we might learn to play well with others as well.
Works used:
Hopkins, Belinda. “Restorative Justice in Schools.” Support for Learning, 17:3, [2002]
Kidde, Jon & Alfred, Rita. Restorative Justice: A working guide for our schools. 2011. San Leandro, CA: Alameda County School Health Services Coalition.
Morton, Twinkle. “Restorative Justice.” Fern Ridge Review. Early June 2015. Now on school district’s website: http://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/tmorton/ , last article on page 1.

Restorative Information in graph form… Average referrals per month [months across the bottom with number of referrals on the left axis…. colors represent different years beginning with 2010-11 and ending with 2014-15.  Sorry tried to make it larger for easier reading-  Click on it to make it larger!

Restorative Practice at Fern Ridge Middle School Bar Graph