Breanne Keys

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Restorative Specialist

Restorative Center Teacher/Restorative Program Coordinator, Olympia High School


Hello! My name is Breanne Keys and I'm the Restorative Specialist at Olympia High School. I run the Restorative Center and I'm also in charge of building our school-wide Restorative Program. 
 
2018 School Picture

What are Restorative Practices?

  • Philosophically: A school-wide way of being that creates an opportunity to deepen relationships, collaborate, and build greater community connections through empowerment.

  • Tools to collectively repair harm, build relationships and successfully restore and enhance communities.

  • “Simply put, to be ‘restorative’ means to believe that decisions are best made and conflicts are best resolved by those most directly involved in them” (Costello, Wachtel, & Wachtel, 7).

     

Why are we using Restorative Practices?

Restorative practices encourage greater personal accountability and support our mission of responsible citizenship:

  1. Many students view suspension as a vacation / some parents do not apply a consequence

  2. Removal is exclusionary and contributes to patterns of isolation / recidivism / escalation   
  3. High school students are still in their formative years when it comes to behavioral development.
  4. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) may contribute to negative behaviors.
  5. It is our job to continue to attempt to reach our students.



Responsibilities of the Restorative Center/Program:

  • Student Support and follow-up  
  • Student Accountability
  • An opportunity for students to reflect on their behavior and the role they've played in the conflict. This is also a chance for them to come up with solutions for how they can fix what happened and/or make changes in order to avoid a similar incident in the future.
  • Depending on the severity conflict, a restorative circle with those involved may also be scheduled. A restorative conference may also necessary, which would include family, friends, and has significantly more structure than a restorative circle.