Director of Student Life at Boulder Creek Academy in Idaho, Lisa Hester was invited by L. A. Talk Radio host Lon Woodbury to discuss restorative justice circles in therapeutic boarding school and to describe how this therapeutic procedure had contributed to changing her whole school in 2012. Despite some initial resistance by teachers to this healing modality, it proved useful in significantly improving discipline in the school.
Lisa Hester
Lisa Hester finished her undergraduate work at Central Michigan University, where she got a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology. Later, she acquired a Masters degree in Community service from the University of Denver. She has worked with children and adolescents for more than 25 years, including working with children in the child welfare system, where she offered sexual abuse therapy and family reconciliation. She has also worked as a coordinator in a foster care environment.
Boulder Creek Academy
Founded in 1993, Boulder Creek Academy has helped struggling adolescent boys and girls whose needs were not being met in traditional schools. The therapeutic boarding school has a special education program that assists students with scholastic, psychological and sociological issues. It is located on 180-acres at the foot of the marvelous Cupboard Mountains in northern Idaho. The boarding school serves young people from around the country, including Oregon, Washington, and California, as well as some international students.
Restorative Justice Circles in Therapeutic Boarding Schools
During the hour-long interview, Lisa Hester explained how Boulder Creek is using restorative justice circles to support students when they have a conflict with one another. The strategy affirms the inherent worth of every student. The process holds them answerable for misbehavior, while still empowering them with the obligation for solving their very own problems. Restorative justice provides students with practical tools for mending broken relationships and for developing mutual understanding and cooperation.
Corrective justice circles in therapeutic boarding institutions, she explained, are a substitute to punitive treatment for student misbehavior. These dialogue-based programs motivate young people to take responsibility for their activities, repair damage done to others, and improve and reinforce peer relationships. Zero-tolerance policies, she pointed out, only antagonizes students and staff.
Hester described the various components that go into the program. For example, circles are usually formed to talk about disciplinary problems, including disrespectful behavior, acting out in class, and creating incidents that could be considered bullying by others. Those with poorly established social skills are taught to use compassion and compromise. Besides describing the procedure of restorative justice circles in therapeutic boarding institutions, she shared stories where the program had been able to stop problems between students from escalating.
Lisa Hester
Lisa Hester finished her undergraduate work at Central Michigan University, where she got a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology. Later, she acquired a Masters degree in Community service from the University of Denver. She has worked with children and adolescents for more than 25 years, including working with children in the child welfare system, where she offered sexual abuse therapy and family reconciliation. She has also worked as a coordinator in a foster care environment.
Boulder Creek Academy
Founded in 1993, Boulder Creek Academy has helped struggling adolescent boys and girls whose needs were not being met in traditional schools. The therapeutic boarding school has a special education program that assists students with scholastic, psychological and sociological issues. It is located on 180-acres at the foot of the marvelous Cupboard Mountains in northern Idaho. The boarding school serves young people from around the country, including Oregon, Washington, and California, as well as some international students.
Restorative Justice Circles in Therapeutic Boarding Schools
During the hour-long interview, Lisa Hester explained how Boulder Creek is using restorative justice circles to support students when they have a conflict with one another. The strategy affirms the inherent worth of every student. The process holds them answerable for misbehavior, while still empowering them with the obligation for solving their very own problems. Restorative justice provides students with practical tools for mending broken relationships and for developing mutual understanding and cooperation.
Corrective justice circles in therapeutic boarding institutions, she explained, are a substitute to punitive treatment for student misbehavior. These dialogue-based programs motivate young people to take responsibility for their activities, repair damage done to others, and improve and reinforce peer relationships. Zero-tolerance policies, she pointed out, only antagonizes students and staff.
Hester described the various components that go into the program. For example, circles are usually formed to talk about disciplinary problems, including disrespectful behavior, acting out in class, and creating incidents that could be considered bullying by others. Those with poorly established social skills are taught to use compassion and compromise. Besides describing the procedure of restorative justice circles in therapeutic boarding institutions, she shared stories where the program had been able to stop problems between students from escalating.
About the Author:
Lon Woodbury created Struggling Teens to help families. He has recorded the entire interview on his L.A. Talk Radio show for easy access at any time.
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