Restorative Practices in Milwaukee Public Schools
McClain, Dani, "Peer review lets students resolve behavior issues: Discipline reports have dwindled at Milwaukee high school," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 22, 2008.
The Milwaukee Public Schools and the District Attorney's Office are working together to introduce restorative practices in schools to reduce suspensions and improve school culture. This article describes the peer jury programs and "community circles" used at James Madison Academic Campus (JMAC) and other public schools in Milwaukee, and the positive impact they have had on behavior. The Assitant Principal at JMAC, for example, described how at the start of the last school year, teachers reported an average of 20 referrals for discipline infractions to the office a day, but toward the end of the school year after utilizing restorative practices, that number had decreased to 2 or 3 referrals a day.
Also see the following editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, June 25, 2008:
A program that works: James Madison high school’s model of peer-to-peer justice should expand throughout the Milwaukee Public Schools. Student jurors become role models.