Randy L. Langford
Hello All,
The Restorative Justice Initiative is excited to invite the staff, faculty and administration of St. Mary’s School of Law to participate in Peacemaking Circle training for the application of restorative justice in public schools. Faculty and administrators from Goodwin Frazier Elementary School in the Comal ISD will be coming to the law school along with St. Mary’s law students to receive facilitator training in circle processes. The training will be held in the Law Administration Building Atrium on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm.
3L student Ben Farish is heading the RJI pilot project at Goodwin Frazier and will be leading the training along with other RJI members who have been working in public schools. RJI has already conducted peacemaking circles in two fifth grade classrooms at Goodwin Frazier which consisted of two circles a week for three weeks. Five St. Mary’s law students acted as facilitators and trained the classroom teachers to facilitate. Those teachers have reported dramatic improvements in classroom discipline and student attitude. The results were so impressive that fifteen other teachers at Goodwin Frazier have requested RJI facilitate peacemaking circles in their classrooms and train them and their students in the restorative justice process. St. Mary’s RJI plans to work at Goodwin Frazier until all classes are utilizing restorative practices. On November 18th the Executive Director of Elementary Education for Comal ISD will be sitting in on a circle at Goodwin Frazier to determine if Comal ISD would like to make restorative justice a district wide endeavor. Principles and faculty from other schools have also requested RJI begin circle training at their campuses as resources allow.
As you can see, RJI is very busy. Along with our prison program, community circle program and education program (we recently conducted a community conferencing simulation for a criminal justice class at UTSA), we now have a very successful and sought after public school restorative justice program. News of St. Mary’s RJI has spread nationwide as we recently had a practitioner in Minnesota use our website as a teaching aid in one of her classes, and a Michigan Restorative Justice group has requested we collaborate and share knowledge as we all work to expand the application of restorative justice in our communities. We hope the St. Mary’s faculty and administration takes time to learn more about the work of RJI and meet the law students who are volunteering their time and resources to establish St. Mary’s School of Law as a center for restorative justice practice and study.
Thank you all for your continuing support. We hope to see you at the training on Monday.
Randy L.
Langford
2009 Juris Doctor Candidate
Member, St. Mary’s School
of Law Restorative Justice Initiative
Protecting the Lord's children who have fallen short of perfection from the wrath of those who believe they have attained it - Stuart Kinard
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