As we began to implement restorative practices into our One Indy schools in early January 2016 we found a high demand for more people to be available to lead both proactive and restorative circles in classrooms across our schools. This led to our first ever Circle Keeper training for volunteers.
Many of our volunteers were from a program we called Peace Church Ambassadors and they helped almost exclusively with implementing restorative practices at Ralph Waldo Emerson #58 while our Youth Development Facilitator, Mame Keita, was out on maternity leave.
Near the end of the school year, one of these volunteers, Linda, was unable to finish out the academic year with the classrooms she had been serving for nearly 6 months. The letters below were given to Linda from students in each of these classrooms and are a true testament to not only the effectiveness of restorative practices but the hard work and dedication our volunteers provide!
“I am glad your have came to are school. You have made all of us a better person even me…I hope you get better soon we will miss you.”
“Ms. Linda please get better. I already miss you please come back when you feel better and when you were here we all got to express our feelings and…”
“…we all want you to come back. We want you here so we can express are feeling without anybody judging us and I have a lot to talk about when you come back to see us again. We will miss you.”
