Exploring the racial inequities of discipline practices in urban schools and the application of restorative justice as a systems tool.

1. Jacqueline
Roebuck
Sakho
May
21,
2013
Urban
Education
&
RJ
Speaking
contextually
from
urban
centers
inclusive
of
schools
and
community,
it
seems
to
me
that
at
best
we
are
witnessing
the
potentiality
of
a
tipping
point
and
at
least,
a
ripe
opportunity
for
Restorative
Justice.
Some
argue
that
the
organization
of
education
is
in
the
throws
of
processes
that
could
dismantle
how
we
have
come
to
know
and
understand
the
system
of
public
education,
specifically
urban
schools
(Alexander,
2012;
Darling-­‐Hammond,
2010;
Giroux,
1984;
Giroux,
1999;
Ladson-­‐
Billings,
2012).
Losen
&
Gillispie
(2012)
report
through
the
Center
for
Civil
Rights
Remedies
at
UCLA
that
from
the
2006-­‐2007
to
the
2009-­‐2010
school
year
African
American
students
rate
of
suspension
increased
from
15%
to
17%.
The
newest
data
stirred
a
fiery
mobilization
of
nationally
recognized
community-­‐based
organizations,
Children’s
Defense
Fund,
Dignity
in
Schools
Campaign,
PowerU
Center
for
Social
Change
and
many
others
organizing
communities
to
push
for
change
in
exclusionary
discipline
practices
(Shah,
2012;
Shah,
2012).
However
the
mobilization
of
federal
civil
rights
attorneys
to
file
a
lawsuit
against
both
the
school
district
in
Meridian,
MS,
and
the
state
of
Mississippi
for
violating
the
civil
rights
of
its
students
through
racially
disparate
exclusionary
discipline
practices
is
the
action
that
makes
for
a
ripe
opportunity,
opening
a
space
where
interests
can
converge.
What
could
these
interests
mean
for
the
practice
of
Restorative
Justice?
How
might
RJ
participate
in
convergence?
The
legal
disruption
to
the
system
of
education
is
also
triggering
variations
of
leadership
decentralization
on
a
continuum
of
leaders
taking
action
out
of
necessity
toward
leaders
engaging
in
emancipated
leadership
(Solorzano
&
Yosso,
2002;
Giroux,
1992).
I’m
currently
a
participant
observer
in
a
grassroots
community
pilot
designed
as
a
mentorship
process
for
athletes
in
urban
public
schools.
The
Executive
Director
an
African
American
young
man
and
former
college
athlete
participates
in
the
activities
and
is
also
a
product
of
the
school
district,
which
situates
him
with
strong
roots
in
the
school
and
in
the
school
community.
This
school
district
like
many
other
districts
nationally
is
challenged
with
racial
disparities
in
the
ways
in
which
discipline
practices
are
enacted
in
schools.
The
pilot
is
expanding
to
include
more
schools
and
education
leaders
are
particularly
interested
in
the
interpersonal
conflict
module
in
the
curriculum
to
assist
with
an
alternative
measure
to
current
discipline
practices.
As
I
participate
in
a
facilitative
and
reflexive
role,
I
am
introducing
Restorative
Justice
approaches
in
such
a
way
that
the
leader
as
knowledge
producer
will
naturally
shape,
define
and
implement
RJ
contextually.
We
are
exploring
the
utilization
of
restorative
justice
processes
as
tools
to
listen
not
only
to
the
voices
of
those
directly
involved
with
the
harm
caused
by
racially
inequitable
discipline
practices
but
also,
listening
for
the
voice
of
the
system.
We
are
learning
that
this
level
of
listening
requires
situating
the
system,
in
this
case
the
organization
of
education,
the
system
of
discipline
practices
as
a
relevant
participant
in
the
process
and
produces
thick
descriptions.
We
must
find
ways
to
appreciated
the
system,
name
its
perspective
and
discover
how
to
enter
and
how
to
gain
a
shared
voice
of
improvement.

2. Jacqueline
Roebuck
Sakho
May
21,
2013
Urban
Education
&
RJ
I
believe
as
Restorative
Justice
practitioners
working
in
urban
centers
we
have
an
opportunity
to
discover
(a)
how
community
leaders
are
making
sense
of
conflict
in
schools,
(b)
how
community
leaders
are
engaging
in
activities
that
are
mimetic
of
how
we
identify
and
define
RJ,
(c)
what
new
ways
might
RJ
practitioners
introduce
and
engage
RJ
approaches
in
urban
communities
and,
(d)
what
have
we
been
missing
in
our
practice.

3. Jacqueline
Roebuck
Sakho
May
21,
2013
Urban
Education
&
RJ
Works
Cited
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M.
(2012).
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2012,
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