Chalkbeat--Major new study finds restorative justice led to safer schools, but hurt black students’ test scores
In one Pittsburgh elementary school classroom, students started the day in a circle, explaining how they were feeling as others listened intently. Some were happy, but others were sleepy or sad.
“Let’s remember those who said they’re tired or frustrated so we can help them out today,” the teacher said in closing.
A similar ritual for a group of sixth-graders in another class didn’t go as well. Asked to share their week’s high and low points, students talked over each other. When the teacher shared her own low point, a student yelled, “I thought your low point would be teaching us every day.”
Those experiences mirror the mixed results of two dozen Pittsburgh schools’ move to new discipline policies known as restorative justice, according to a comprehensive study released last week. It appears to be the first randomized trial — the gold standard in social science research — of restorative justice in schools, a practice that has taken hold across the country.
Matt Barnum| Jan. 4, 2019
Education Week--Education Statistics: Facts About American Schools
How many K-12 public schools, districts, and students are there? What does the American student population look like? And how much are we, as a nation, spending on the education of these youth?
These data points can give perspective to the implications and potential impact of education policies. The Education Week library provides answers to these questions, and some other enlightening facts, below.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/education-statistics/index.html
Maya Riser-Kositsky| Jan 3, 2019, updated Jan. 4, 2019