Restorative justice in Catholic schools gets to root of student conflict

Rather than immediate suspension or using detentions, some Catholic schools in Waterloo region are choosing to sit students down for a frank conversation instead.

St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Cambridge is one participating school in an approach they call “restorative justice,” where a mediator is brought in to help get to the root of conflict. “It’s learning how to be in relationship with somebody,” said Shelley Schanzenbacher, restorative justice practitioner at Community Justice Initiatives Waterloo Region. She works with students in the schools as a mediator.

“Sometimes what happens is those situations begin to escalate, because they never get put to bed,” she told Craig Norris, host of The Morning Edition on CBC Radio.

CBC: Restorative Justice in Catholic schools gets to the roots of student conflict.