Victoria Fulton

“Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools proposes creating a pilot program for Restorative Practices. In three middle and high schools, we will utilize the In-School Suspension (ISS) teacher or another existing staff member to serve as a restorative practices coordinator. In each of these schools, the ISS classroom will be transformed into a "restoration station." The restorative practices coordinator will undergo in-depth restorative practices training and will receive a stipend for undertaking this new role. In addition, staff at each school will also receive restorative practices training and will participate in a book/documentary study to deepen their understanding — allowing the entire school community to participate in this mindset shift. The three schools we will target for the pilot opportunity with this grant have demonstrated discipline counts that exceed the district's average, discipline disproportionality between student groups, or both. This grant opportunity will target students disproportionately affected by suspensions or the juvenile justice system, as well as both young men and young women of color. We see an opportunity through this grant to greatly advance our district's work on rethinking student discipline. We envision creating a space where instead of a more punitive approach, students can use restorative practices to resolve conflicts and reflect on their behaviors. By equipping and empowering both students and staff to create a collaborative, trauma-informed space, we aim to reduce discipline disproportionality as well as overall discipline counts in each target school.”