The Toolkit Before the Toolkit: Centering Adaptive and Relational Elements of Restorative Practices for Implementation Success
Restorative practices are characterized by proactive relationships, connection, and community transformation. When implemented correctly, restorative practices are not more to do but a different way to be.
This guide highlights the mindsets, values, social capital, and structural supports that bind and hold together restorative practices.
Educators, school leaders, and district administrators can use this practical guide to successfully implement restorative practices and transform their schools into strong communities with meaningful relationships, a sense of authentic belonging, and equitable whole-person outcomes.
Accompanying Resources
Brief: A Reflective Process for Working Through Complex Restorative Practice Dilemmas in Schools
This brief offers a reflective process for individuals and teams to use when facing a complex restorative practices dilemma at their school or district. It aims to help educators consider and bridge the adaptive, relational, and structural elements of restorative practices before moving to technical solutions and strategies.
Audiocast: Centering Adaptive and Relational Elements of Restorative Practices as Tools for Implementation Success
Lauren Trout, the toolkit’s author, and Dr. Angela Ward from Transforming Education, discuss restorative practices as a paradigm and the necessary conditions for implementing with fidelity and sustainability.
Audiocast: Restorative Practitioners Panel
Lauren Trout, the toolkit’s author, speaks with four practitioners who have used the Toolkit in their education practice. The group discusses their work and their insights about restorative practices in the field of education.
Restorative Justice in Schools: Highlights of Research and Practice in the U.S. (Encore Presentation)
In this archived webinar, WestEd’s Anthony Petrosino and Sarah Guckenburg describe their research on restorative justice, a non-punitive approach for dealing with conflict that’s transforming the disciplinary approaches in a growing number of schools.
Petrosino and Guckenburg conducted interviews in the field, surveyed practitioners nationwide, and conducted a comprehensive literature review on restorative justice practices in the United States. Their research goals were to learn about current practices, essential elements of implementation, and provide recommendations for future research on restorative justice in K–12 settings.
Sam Garrison, Principal of the Camden Street Renew School in Newark, New Jersey, discusses the work of administrators and teachers in using restorative justice at his elementary school site, and the impact on student outcomes.
What You Will Learn
- The research on how restorative justice is being used in U.S. schools
- Challenges to implementing restorative justice in K-12 education settings
- The impact of restorative justice at an elementary school site in New Jersey
Who Will Benefit
- School district superintendents and administrators
- Principals and site administrators
- Teachers, behavior specialists, intervention coordinators
- School board members and parent leaders
- Researchers and grantmakers
This webinar was sponsored by the Region IX Equity Assistance Center at WestEd and the Region II Equity Assistance Center.
Restorative Justice in Schools
In this archived webinar, WestEd’s Anthony Petrosino and Sarah Guckenburg describe their research on restorative justice, a non-punitive approach for dealing with conflict that’s transforming the disciplinary approaches in a growing number of schools.
Petrosino and Guckenburg conducted interviews in the field, surveyed practitioners nationwide, and conducted a comprehensive literature review on restorative justice practices in the United States. Their research goals were to learn about current practices, essential elements of implementation, and provide recommendations for future research on restorative justice in K–12 settings.
Sam Garrison, Principal at Camden Street Renew School in Newark, New Jersey, describes how administrators and teachers are using restorative justice at their elementary school site, and the impact on student outcomes.
What You Learn
- The research on how restorative justice is being used in U.S. schools
- Challenges to implementing restorative justice in K–12 educational settings
- The impact of restorative justice at an elementary school site in New Jersey
Who Benefits
- School district superintendents and administrators
- Principals and site administrators
- Teachers, behavior specialists, intervention coordinators
- School board members and parent leaders
- Researchers and grantmakers
This webinar was co-sponsored by the Region IX Equity Assistance Center at WestEd and the Equity Assistance Center Region II.
Leading Voices Podcast Series Episode 6: Advancing Evidence-Based Practices in the REL West and Northwest Regions—A Conversation with Katie Drummond and John Rice
In this episode, Danny Torres talks with Dr. Katie Drummond, Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest, and Dr. John Rice, Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West.
Their conversation covers a range of topics, including:
- Addressing effects of the pandemic in the REL West and REL Northwest regions
- Partnering with community-based organizations and state and local education agencies
- Advancing research and evidence in state and district programs
- Supporting the whole child and closing opportunity gaps in education
- Accelerating learning in mathematics and language arts
- Reducing chronic absence and disparities in disciplinary actions
- Improving teacher retention
Since 1966, the Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) have partnered with school districts, state departments of education, and others to help improve educational effectiveness and improve learner outcomes. WestEd operates REL Northwest, which serves Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, and REL West, which services Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
By leveraging research-based practices and evidence, WestEd’s RELs aim to improve education outcomes for all students in the regions they serve.
Related REL Northwest Resources
- Accelerating Literacy Outcomes in Montana Through Evidence and Data Use (Blog Post)
- Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning (Practice Guide)
- REL Northwest Website
- Subscribe to the REL Northwest email newsletter
Related REL West Resources
- Supporting California’s English Learner Students Who Have the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities (Blog Post)
- Self-Affirmation: A Powerful Tool for Addressing Stereotype Threat (Infographic)
- The Foundation for Education Equity Systems Change (Infographic)
- About REL West (Video)
- REL West Website
- Subscribe to the REL West email newsletter
Liberatory Design for Equity in California’s County Offices of Education
In this archived professional learning session hosted by the COVID Education Equity Response Collaborative’s Equity Accelerator, a panel of California County Office of Education leaders and WestEd staff discussed elements of the National Equity Project’s Liberatory Design approach and how leaders can use them to improve equity in classrooms, schools, and districts. Moderated by emerging education leader Aniah Francis, the session explored how education leaders in California are using this framework to transform systems to be more just and equitable.
This was the fourth event in a year-long series offered by the COVID Education Equity Response Collaborative. As part of the Collaborative, WestEd leads the Equity Accelerator to support COEs in improving alignment of whole-child and whole-school efforts that cohere around a vision of equity. Using a two-tiered approach, the Equity Accelerator provides a statewide professional learning series and an intensive fellows program for select COEs.
Resource List
The resources below are listed in the order they were shared in the chat. Follow along with the session recording for additional context.
- Liberatory Design Overview
- Liberatory Design: Mindsets and Modes to Design for Equity
- Santa Clara County Office of Education Ways 2 Equity Playbook
- San Diego County Office of Education “Equity in Education” Playlist
- San Diego County Office of Education Equity Blueprint for Action
Webinar Presenters:
- Ma Bernadette Andres-Salgarino, Santa Clara County Office of Education
- Jenny Betz, WestEd
- Aniah Francis, University of San Francisco
- Javier Garcia, Tulare County Office of Education
- Anisha Munshi, Santa Clara County Office of Education
- Christina Pate, WestEd
- Felicia Singleton, San Diego County Office of Education
Questions? Contact equityaccelerator@WestEd.org.
Subscribe to the Equity Accelerator email list to receive alerts for upcoming professional learning opportunities.
The Development of Teacher Expertise in Secondary Contexts to Support English Learners: Preliminary Findings
This recorded session is the second session of our online webinar series, Where the Evidence Leads: Preliminary Findings From IES-Funded English Learner Research Studies, hosted by the National Research & Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners at WestEd.
Building upon decades of seminal work, researchers at WestEd are working to iteratively develop, implement, and estimate the impact of replacement educational materials for 8th grade English language arts. This IES-funded English Language Arts Study is being conducted for the dual purpose of:
- developing teacher expertise with quality curriculum and learning for students bureaucratically classified as long-term English Learners; and
- strengthening classroom learning opportunities for middle school English Learners.
During the webinar, WestEd researchers discussed the diverse factors at play in the development of teacher professionalism, how to navigate the complexity of supporting the development of teacher expertise, and how specific domains of teacher expertise such as reflection and quality interactions can guide future growth.
Speakers
Aída Walqui
Center Director and Principal Investigator
Dr. Walqui is the Center Director and Principal Investigator for all four studies. For the last five decades, Dr. Walqui has dedicated her professional life to improving the expertise of teachers and educational leaders to deepen and accelerate the linguistic and academic achievement of English Learners. Having taught at all levels, Walqui is the author and co-author of multiple articles and books, including The Amplified Curriculum: Designing Quality Learning Opportunities for English Learners, published by Teachers College Press, and Reconceptualizing the Role of Critical Dialogue in American Classrooms: Promoting Equity through Dialogic Education, published by Routledge. At WestEd, Dr. Walqui initiated the Quality Teaching for English Learners initiative. Among the several awards received during her career, in 2016, she was selected by the International TESOL Association as one of the 50 most influential world researchers in applied linguistics. A native of Perú, Dr. Walqui holds a PhD from Stanford University.
Lee Hartman
English Language Arts and English Language Development Specialist
Lee Hartman is an English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD Specialist on the Center’s Educative English Language Arts Curriculum Materials study. He is an Education Program Associate on WestEd’s English Learner and Migrant Education Services team. He creates and implements learning experiences for ELA and ELD educators in 4th through 12th grade schools through professional development and lesson design. Previously, he served as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructional coach to teachers working with English Learners and was responsible for creating and implementing secondary ELA and ESL curricula. A former teacher of secondary students, he specializes in the education of language minority students with a particular emphasis on Newcomers.
Mary Schmida
Co-Principal Investigator
Mary Schmida is a Co-Investigator on the Educative English Language Arts Curriculum Materials study for the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. In this capacity, Schmida is writing units for 8th grade English Learners that support their analytic, conceptual, and linguistic understandings and is designing teacher educative materials to support their theoretical understandings and implementation of the units in their classrooms.
Forthcoming Webinars
- Levers for Improving Access to Core Content for Multilingual Students
- Results from the Reimagining and Amplifying Mathematics Participation, Understanding, and Practices Study (RAMP-UP)
About the Center
Since 2020, the National Research & Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners has sought to significantly advance the capacity of educators, policymakers, and researchers to serve students who are classified in school as English Learners by bridging research and practice bidirectionally.
Funded by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, the Center consists of a world-class research team from WestEd; the University of Oregon; Oregon State University; and the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Center seeks to (a) identify and describe the systemic barriers that prevent secondary English Learner students from successfully accessing the general curriculum and (b) develop and test innovative, educative curriculum materials that enable these students to reach their full potential in community, college, and career.
Formative Assessment and Self-Regulated Learning
Formative assessment is a set of practices that enable students and teachers to track progress and adjust learning and teaching during lessons as needed. This ideally leads to more dynamic learning and student agency in classrooms which, in turn, is associated with better student learning.
This archived webinar focuses on the association between formative assessment and self-regulated learning, which was explored in a new REL West study that analyzed survey results for more than 1,200 teachers and 24,000 students in three Arizona school districts.
What You Will Learn
This webinar will:
- Describe the theory of action underlying the study
- Explain and answer questions about the study’s findings on formative assessment and student self-regulated learning
- Share an example of how one participating Arizona school district has worked to promote key practices highlighted in the study
Presenters
- Pam Betten serves as the Chief Academic Officer for Sunnyside Unified School District in Tucson, Arizona, leading the Curriculum and Instruction Department. She provides direct oversight for core content area directors, special populations and exceptional education departments and professional development.
- Lenay Dunn is the Deputy Director of REL West, leading the program’s portfolio of applied research and analytic assistance to state education agencies, districts, and schools. She also serves as a partnership lead for REL West’s Arizona Literacy Partnership to use evidence-based decision-making approaches to strengthen K–3 literacy outcomes.
- Margaret Heritage is an internationally recognized expert in formative assessment and independent education consultant. She was principal of the laboratory school of UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and was Assistant Director at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.
- Reino Makkonen provides evidence-based analysis and technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners served by REL West and the Region 15 Comprehensive Center at WestEd. He serves as the REL West Director of Research-to-Practice Initiatives and lead for the REL West Educator Effectiveness Alliance.
- Marie Mancuso is Director of Region 13 Comprehensive Center at WestEd, where she provides expertise, onsite consultation, and guidance to state education agencies. Her work enables education leaders and policymakers to examine, develop, and implement key education policies and initiatives that strengthen and improve student outcomes.
S2E9: Meeting the Needs of All Students: How Can Educators, Leaders and Education Systems Better Attend to the Intersection of Language and Disability for Multilingual Learners
Download this episode’s companion brief, How Can Educators, Leaders and Education Systems Better Attend to the Intersection of Language and Disability for Multilingual Learners.
This episode highlights an important but still under-examined subject: the necessity for schools and school systems to pay better attention to the intersection of language and disability for young multilingual learners. Focusing on multilingualism and disability offers insight into a larger and more persistent question—how can district leaders, including superintendents and school business officials, make decisions and take actions that more effectively identify and meet the needs of all their students?
Host Jason Willis welcomes two WestEd colleagues, Jamey Burho and Elizabeth Burr. Both have worked extensively on policies and practices that support the needs of multilingual learners, particularly those with disabilities. In the past couple of years, Jamey and Elizabeth have co-authored key studies, including a 2022 report, Resourcing Supports for Young Multilingual Learners with Suspected Disabilities in California, and in December 2023, Pre-Referral Processes in California State Preschool Programs: How Practitioners Decide to Refer Multilingual Children for Special Education Evaluation along with Alyssa Perez.
More About Our Guests
As a Senior Research Associate on the Research-Practice Partnerships team at WestEd, Elizabeth Burr coordinates research projects, including policy analyses, literature reviews, and syntheses with the Regional Educational Laboratory West. She authored Guidance Manuals for Educators of English Learners with Disabilities: Ideas and Lessons from the Field and was a lead author of California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities. She is working on a comprehensive toolkit for educators of English learners with disabilities. Before joining WestEd, Burr was a Project Director at the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University and a Project Director at Policy Analysis for California Education.
Jamey Burho is a Senior Research Associate with the English Learners Services and Migrant Education (ELMES) team and the Special Education Policy & Practice (SEPP) team at WestEd. Her expertise focuses on students identified as English Learners with disabilities or dually identified students. As part of WestEd’s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) program, Burho routinely leads professional development sessions nationwide for educators on supporting multilingual students. Before joining WestEd, Burho was a postdoctoral fellow at Oregon State University. She began her education career in Washington, D.C., as a special education teacher. She holds a BS in international relations from Georgetown University, an MA in teaching (special education) from Trinity Washington University, and a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Maryland.
Jason Willis serves as WestEd’s Director of Strategic Resource Planning and Implementation. He is a former chief business official in several California school districts.
Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by CASBO and WestEd. The series is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music and sound by Tommy Dunbar. Alyssa Perez and Hannah Jarmolowski at WestEd provide research and develop the written briefs that go along with episodes.
Leading Voices Podcast Series Episode 8: How States Can Attract and Sustain Teachers—A Conversation with Caitlin Beatson and Kate Wright
“If we can’t build an educator workforce, then we are not going to be effective in solving any of these other problems—closing the achievement gap, effective instruction, all these other pieces.” – Kate Wright, Director of the Region 15 Comprehensive Center
Teachers are leaving the educator workforce at alarming rates, and the trend has intensified in recent years. What explains teacher attrition and how can state education leaders help districts attract and retain new teachers?
In this episode, host Marley Arechiga talks with Caitlin Beatson, Deputy Director of the Region 2 Comprehensive Center at WestEd, and Kate Wright, Director of the Region 15 Comprehensive Center, about the importance of sustaining the educator workforce and how the federally funded Comprehensive Centers partner with states to address challenges and implement evidence-based and actionable solutions.
Their conversation covers the following topics:
- The state’s role in supporting districts to recruit and sustain teachers
- The 4Cs—a construct that represents four ways that state education agencies, in partnership with WestEd Regional Comprehensive Centers, are conceptualizing how to help their school districts strengthen educator workforces
- Teacher residency programs
- Differentiated staffing in the classroom and distributed leadership
Learn more about WestEd’s Region 2 Comprehensive Center and Region 15 Comprehensive Center.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- K–12 Teachers Are Quitting. What Would Make Them Stay? (McKinsey & Company Article)
- The State of the Teacher Workforce (Learning Policy Institute)
- The Case for Differentiated Staffing in the Classroom
- How States Are Building District Capacity to Overcome Teacher Shortages (Part I)
- How States Are Building District Capacity to Overcome Teacher Shortages (Part II)
- How States Are Building District Capacity to Overcome Teacher Shortages (Part III)
- How States Play a Key Role in Strengthening the Teacher Workforce
- Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce Website
- Equitable & Inclusive Hiring Practices: A Reference Guide of Strategies to Grow & Diversify the Educator Workforce
- Going Beyond the Data in Diversifying the Teacher Workforce
- Teacher Compensation Reform Decision Guide
S2E8: What You Need To Know About California’s New Equity Multiplier–and Related School Accountability System Changes
Download this episode’s companion brief: Equity Multiplier.
Show Notes
The Equity Multiplier—a new $300 million component of California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)—is rolling out this school year. Guests Natalie Wheatfall-Lum and Sara Pietrowski join host Jason Willis to describe how the Equity Multiplier works, how it came about, and related changes to the state’s accountability system, including what districts must now report in their Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs).
They delve into the broader policy issues and implications of targeting LCFF funds directly to the school sites whose student populations generate them, helping local education agencies better identify and address all their students’ needs. They also discuss the importance of focusing on Black student achievement in particular.
The Equity Multiplier is one piece of a larger set of changes to California’s accountability system enacted as part of the 2023-24 state budget. Eligibility for the additional funding is based on two indicators at school sites: prior year non-stability rates of greater than 25 percent and prior year socioeconomically disadvantaged pupil rates greater than 70 percent. Like LCFF, the funds flow from the state to school districts or other local education agencies; however, in a shift from LCFF, Equity Multiplier funds must be used at the school sites that generate them.
About Our Guests
Natalie Wheatfall-Lum, J.D., serves as Director of TK-12 Policy at The Education Trust-West. Since 2014, she has supported the organization’s policy research, analysis, and position development, primarily in K-12 equitable funding and accountability. Before working in education policy, Natalie practiced law, gaining experience in various civil rights issues, including LGBTQ equal rights, fair housing, and immigration.
Sara Pietrowski serves as Policy Director for the California State Board of Education, where she has supported the board’s work of developing an accountability and continuous improvement system for more than six years, including the LCAP, California School Dashboard, and Statewide System of Support. She previously served in the Sacramento City Unified School District, where she led the district’s data dashboard development and coordinated LCAP and improvement science efforts.
About Our Host
Jason Willis serves as WestEd’s Director of Strategic Resource Planning and Implementation. He is a former chief business official in several California school districts.
Related Resources
- Equity Multiplier page, CDE website and 2023-24 First Principal Apportionment of EM funds
- Supporting the African-American Learner: Guide for Transforming Beliefs, Systems and Practices for Black Students
- Evaluation of California’s Differentiated Assistance, WestEd
- More To Be Done: California’s LCFF After A Decade, Education Trust-West
Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by CASBO and WestEd. The series is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music and sound by Tommy Dunbar. Alyssa Perez and Hannah Jarmolowski at WestEd provides research and develop the written briefs that go along with each episode.
