OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CHAMPIONS RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN EDUCATION

Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) has transformed over the years, with a deep history of activism attached to it. While OUSD has been around since the mid to late 19th century, recently, it has made an effort to transform its curriculum and school culture all around. With high suspension and expulsion rates, something needed to be done. From the early 2000s initiatives to implement restorative justice programs in schools were occurring throughout the district in hopes of addressing the school-to-prison pipeline, but it wasn't until recent years, that we saw a district-wide effort to combat these issues. 

In 2017, the district allocated 2.5 million dollars to expand restorative justice programs from just a few schools to a district-wide approach, adopting restorative justice into its curriculum and school culture. 

To understand how this program came about, we must know that OUSD had a lawsuit pending against them and from that emerged this agreement with the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit was linked to data that showed African American students disproportionately being affected by suspensions, making up 33% of the district's population but accounting for about 63%of the overall suspensions. 

Of the many schools in the district, there is one school in particular that has seen shifts in their suspension, expulsion, graduation, and college attendance rates. Fremont High School in East Oakland recently underwent major changes, from structural renovations to adopting more restorative justice practices; some of which include mediated circles, conflict resolution, and community building. They adapted tiers to their program, the first being centered around building a community that is a safe space where empathy is a part of the foundation. The next tier focuses on understanding conflict and resolution and finding a middle ground. Lastly, allowing students to practice leading circles and peer mediation. 

While Fremont High School and OUSD are not perfect, they are good examples of how impactful RJ and its practices are. There is data that shows that since the adoption of these programs, there has been an increase in the overall graduation rate of students in OUSD and there has been a decline in suspensions by 2%, expulsions by 0.02%, and the graduation rate has increased to 78% with students meeting colleges/universities requirements rising to 63%% from 53% in previous years. 

Within the first few years of this program, OUSD saw a significant drop in suspensions overall. It dropped by 20% in the first 3 years of implementation and continued to drop. In 2020, the suspension rate had dropped 31%. While it has taken some time, children and schools are coming together to make a difference. Like anything these programs require more time and adjustment to fully understand the scope in which they operate. It is important to note that during the pandemic, the rates of suspension and expulsion dropped to zero seeing as kids' behavior and physical presence was not in a school setting. 

To establish these core ideals into the culture of the school, Fremont High School offers a restorative justice course, in freshman year of high school, that most students take. Allowing students to take this course during their freshman year allows their young malleable minds to absorb and better make sense of the key tenets of Restorative Justice and gives them time to grow into understanding it as a philosophy. Fremont High School established a new understanding and relationship between educators and students through the use of restorative justice. Students are put at the forefront of the conversations with many of them leading the conversations. It has established a community of people opposed to a hierarchical structure that deems one person superior to another. In this environment, students feel heard and seen. 

Initiating a district-wide effort is a big step for restorative justice programs in other places as well. I think it is important to note that overall, it is through financial resources that programs like this are initiated. Ensuring these programs are properly implemented and the proper education is being taught requires an economic aspect that is often neglected. It takes a certain level of accessibility and mobility to be exposed to resources 

as such. Oakland students were fortunate enough to have people fighting for more ways to involve the students in their education and teach leadership skills, as well as, how accountability manifests. Fremont High can be seen as a model for other schools in the district to follow. It is through the collaboration of efforts of staff and students that change is made. As the students learn about restorative justice, so do many of the staff and parents accompanying them in their journey through school. The aspect of the restorative justice program at Fremont High that sticks out is the peers for Restorative justice. The students of this given school are given opportunities to get involved in conflict resolution, learning to empathize and communicate with not only their peers but adults as well. 

Although the program is in place, there are still some instances in which kids are suspended or expelled from the school. For kids who have been suspended, when they can return to school, they often return to these fundamental ideals as a means of reconciliation and reflection on their behavior or misconduct. In this instance, RJ is used as a second chance for these students. The program seems to be productive in giving students more opportunities which I believe to be a good thing. It allows students to express themselves, however they may feel comfortable. 

Seemingly, the program has been successful. I do not think that all things can be measured by data, but seeing as their graduation rates have gone up and slightly fewer students are getting suspended and expelled, I would say that the program has made some impact. Changing the school’s culture could be what helped make these rates change at Fremont High School. Another interesting aspect of Fremont High School was a class about restorative justice that is not all about a grade. It is a class where children are challenging the way they view society and their actions, learning to actively listen, and effectively communicate. In the photos down below are some of the students’ testaments to their study of RJ and its lasting impression and 

the life skills they acquired. 

Overall, Restorative Justice in education seems to be the curriculum that has for too long been overlooked. Its effective strategies have allowed students, staff, and parents to create an environment that is welcoming and accepting of everyone. All are given a chance to voice their opinion and be heard, without having to fight for a chance to speak. It goes beyond simply teaching students to empathize with others but to initiate conversations, resolve conflict, reflect, and express their own emotions. They are learning to be more emotionally intelligent, which is an amazing added feature of this curriculum. 

In the coming years, I hope that other schools in the district are able to further expand their RJ programs and mirror the standards set by Fremont High. OUSD is not by any means perfect, but restorative justice has been implemented as a way of combatting a systematic and damaging school-to-prison pipeline. Hopefully, more districts around the country consider similar approaches and alternatives to the classic punitive punishment that we have all become so accustomed to. I think this is a great start to changing our understanding of community and helps to move society in a direction of positive and effective community. It is when I hear of moments like this, that I become more hopeful for the younger generation and hope that they are truly taking advantage of all of these programs. I cannot help to think that it was solely the implementation of the program itself, but must be accredited to the teachers and other faculty who are taking their time to teach and engage with these students, especially seeing as most of the children attending these school are children of color and children that come from low-income backgrounds. These kids are typically the most at risk of prison, expulsion, and dropping out, but with the help of this shift in culture, there has been an overall drop in these rates. I hope these kids take the knowledge they have learned and further apply it as they grow into college students, corporate workers, owners, parents, etc.