Riverside Unified Leaders Visit White House to Discuss Student Intervention, Support

MORENO VALLEY >> Three Riverside Unified School District representatives visited the White House Aug.22 to meet with key advisers to President Obama to discuss restorative justice practices, innovative forms of conflict resolution and the educator’s role in counteracting the “school-to-prison pipeline.” The California delegation, which included RUSD Board Member, Dr. Angelov Farooq; Poly High School Principal, Dr. Michael Roe; and Assistant Director Targeted Support & Engagement, Dr. Keyisha Holmes, attended the afternoon meeting in order to share some of RUSD's school discipline efforts that have resulted in fewer suspensions, a lower drop-out rate and an increased graduation rate, hear success stories from various other organizations in California, and to discuss innovative approaches to expand resources and help identify concrete ways for the California Restorative Schools Coalition to continue to work with the White House to keep up momentum. The group explained how punitive school discipline policies are pushing children out of school and into the juvenile justice system. The school-to-prison pipeline can be described as a national trend where for various reasons (poverty, abuse, neglect, lack of educational/counseling services) children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Recent studies show that students who have been suspended are more likely to be held back a grade or drop out of school entirely. Studies also show that once a student drops out of school, the chances of that individual becoming incarcerated at some point greatly increase. “Restorative justice is a high accountability model,” said Farooq. “This is not about fewer consequences. It is about confronting the totality of what is happening. Our learning environments in the classroom can thrive when opportunities for reconciliation foster greater responsibility.” Farooq said he believes local communities need to exponentially grow school-based restorative justice practices. As a member of the California Workforce Development Board, Farooq advocates for greater investments in training that create pathways to careers in education for displaced workers. “Opportunities to become a restorative practitioner can be a transformative milestone to forge dignity and purpose for the unemployed,” Farooq said. Riverside Unified is working to build capacity, District-wide, to identify student and staff strengths which can ultimately increase hope, well-being and engagement. Holmes, Assistant Director of Targeted Support and Engagement has focused her efforts on embracing cultural differences as a means to leverage the practice of equity for all. "The work of restorative justice is just as much about bridging cultural divides, as it is about alleviating the disparate treatment that currently characterizes traditionally underserved students," Holmes said. "Leading with our values, will pay huge dividends.”