Raising the Power of Relationships: Restorative Practices as a Culturally Responsive Way to Build School Climate

Abstract

The success of diverse student identities starts with the power of relationships through nurturing, caring, and compassionate educators who engage student voices. Khalifa (2018) stateed, “It is not enough to want to fight for equity; school leaders must establish structures that will infuse all forms of leadership with unique community cultural knowledge, epistemology, and perceptions” (p. 169). Culturally responsive school leaders promote inclusive school environments by building relationships and reducing student anxiety (Khalifa et al., 2016; Madhlangobe & Gordon, 2012). However, relationship building requires a growth mindset by all educators to affirm all student identities. Restorative practices are a means to achieve that end. Restorative practices are strategies that proactively build community and relationships while addressing conflict (International Institute for Restorative Practices, 2024). Practicing restorative approaches in schools could establish a foundation for raising the power of relationships with students while fostering cultural responsiveness within the school climate. I present a school action research project where a group of staff and administrators came together as a committee to engage in an inquiry project to implement school-wide restorative practices. The purpose of the team inquiry project was to establish restorative practices as a strategy to improve staff-to-peer and peer-to-peer relationships and nurture a positive school environment. The following case from the field reveals how a school united to improve interactions with racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students.