Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) Conference

This session will cover:
(1) Behavior Specialists and RJE the Intersection
(2) How to Cultivate A Restorative Environment
(3)  Level Up
      (a) student
      (b) teacher
      (c) administration

Isaiah Dottin-Carter is in his fourth year as a Behavior Specialist with Harrisonburg City Public Schools. But before that, he is a husband, a father of five children (4 girls and 1 boy), a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a nephew, a mentor, a teacher, a student, a friend, and more. He is a James Madison University alumni and currently attends Eastern Mennonite University as a graduate student pursuing a master's in Restorative Justice in the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding program. In his downtime, Isaiah focuses on his family and whole health (spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and social) through loving Jesus and loving others. He likes sports, fun activities, and is developing a new relationship with education and cultivating a desire for reading.

Michelle Edwards is the lead Behavior Specialist for Harrisonburg City Schools.  She has enjoyed her role as Behavior Specialist for Harrisonburg City Public  Schools since 2013. Her passion and commitment for serving people started years ago as an undergraduate and graduate student at George Mason University. In 2018, she earned a Graduate Certificate In Restorative Justice in Education from Eastern Mennonite University. Michelle lives in the Shenandoah Valley with her husband, three wonderful children and one special grandson. She enjoys traveling, gardening and spending time with her family.  Currently, Michelle is enjoying the precious and fleeting moments spent with her youngest child before she leaves for college.

Restorative Justice in Education promotes values and principles that use inclusive, collaborative approaches for supporting students and educators in the community called “School.” This session will examine the ways in which RJE supports the experiences and needs of everyone within the community, and strives to create a relationship-centered space as well as a just and equitable learning environment. 

Kathy Evans, PhD is an Associate Professor of Education at EMU who has led EMU to develop the nation's first graduate program in Restorative Justice in Education. Her research, teaching, and scholarship focus on working with teachers to create just and equitable educational opportunities for all students, particularly those who experience discrimination and oppression. Kathy co-authored The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education with Dr. Dorothy Vaandering, also presenting at the conference. 

This session will look at different restorative circle models for supporting students and school staff in responding to student drama, disagreements, fights, and other forms of conflict in schools. These Tier 2 & 3 supports are based on empowerment and self-determination for students. They invite student voices in expressing their truths and needs, and eliciting their ideas and solutions.We will look at three restorative process models: mediation, shuttle mediation, and restorative conference. We will consider different elements of conflict including equals in conflict, one-way harm, power, and bullying, as well as two party and multi-party situations.

Participants will learn about:
Guiding principles of restorative circles
Goals and outcomes of three process models 
Skills of the mediator/facilitator 
Methods in the different process models

Bob Garrity, M.Ed., M.A., is an adjunct faculty member in Eastern Mennonite University’s Restorative Justice in Education program. He is a practitioner, teacher, and trainer in restorative practices. As a practitioner, he works with school divisions, individual schools, and educators as a facilitator, mediator, trainer, and consultant. In schools he facilitates restorative processes for student-student, student-teacher, parent-teacher, parent-parent, family-family, and group-group situations involving conflict or harm.  As an educator and trainer, he teaches at EMU and trains educators in their school divisions across Virginia in restorative practices, mediation, facilitation, group process, culturally responsive teaching, de-escalation skills, and bullying prevention. He provides direct services and training for schools, universities, agencies, businesses, families, and communities. Bob's publications and presentations include mediation training manuals, customized training materials, articles, and topics related to restorative practices.

Dr. Kevin F. Gilbert has been in education for 24 years and currently serves as the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) in Howard County, Maryland. Prior to his arrival in HCPSS, he served as the coordinator for teacher leadership and special projects with the Clinton Public School District in Clinton, Mississippi. 

As the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Gilbert is tasked with coordinating HCPSS’s efforts to be more diverse, promote equity, and ensure inclusion throughout the district, which includes directing the implementation of restorative justice with fidelity. As the first person to serve in this capacity for HCPSS, he also oversees the operation of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI). ODEI has proven to be one of the bedrocks of the HCPSS's equity work. The Howard County Public School System is located in Ellicott City, MD and serves over 59,000 students and over 8,000 staff members.

He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a doctorate in education leadership from Mississippi College.

Restorative Justice in Education promotes values and principles that use inclusive, collaborative approaches for supporting students and educators in the community called “School.” This session will examine the ways in which RJE supports the experiences and needs of everyone within the community, and strives to create a relationship-centered space as well as a just and equitable learning environment. 

Aundrea Smiley is a career educator and educational consultant with over 14 years of service in the field, as well as an RJ practitioner. She is a graduate of the Peacebuilding program at EMU, holding a  graduate level certificate in RJE , and is currently a doctoral candidate at Liberty University, where her dissertation research is focused on RJE at the elementary level. She is the owner & founder of a full service literacy center/ consulting firm in Clarksville, VA where she lives with her husband, son and two dogs. 

What can restorative justice offer LGBTQ+ people to create nourishing and life-giving educational spaces? This session will provide an overview of the internal, interpersonal, and structural violence LGBTQ+ people, particularly youth, encounter in U.S. schools. Given these forms of violence, this session invites participants to reflect on the applications of restorative justice to create trauma-informed and resilience-oriented Queer spaces for healing, community-building, and growth. This space does not aim to provide answers, but foster initial questions and provide ideas for cultivating Queer resilience in your own context.

Note: Those seeking a "101" introduction to LGBTQ+ identities will not be well served by this session. If you are seeking an "LGBTQ+ 101" session, many incredible resources exist in different formats online.

Conner Suddick (he/him or any pronouns) is a Queer, Gen-Z, restorative justice practitioner-researcher and graduate student at the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding who values curiosity, imagination, and joy. He seeks to meld restorative justice, trauma healing, education, and prison industrial complex abolition to create trauma-informed and resilience-oriented learning environments to envision the possibilities for justice. He enjoys hammocking, giving affirmations, learning watercolor and embroidery, wearing floral patterns, and consuming far too many limes.