Restorative Practices has been adopted as a framework in many school districts throughout the country and around the world. This practice is ‘an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities.” These practices align to our DME: Priority 2 – Welcoming Culture and Nurturing Climate.  International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP) has been selected as the Restorative Practices model that HPS will adopt for the district. 

In the 2021-2022 school year Hartford Public Schools partnered with IIRP to provide Restorative Practice Training and Support.  Over the course of the school year, IIRP provided 22 days worth of training including Train the Trainer, Intro to Restorative Practices, REST (Restorative, Equity, SEL, Trauma Informed), Intro to Circles and Technical Support.  Collectively they trained over 1,700 certified HPS staff members, along with Administrators, Behavior Technicians, Student Engagement Specialists and Paraeducators.  This programming and training expanded for the 2022-2023 SY. During the 2023 - 2024 school year, we are looking to continue to train our new staff as well as staff who were not trained last year due to other professional learnings. Similarly, we want to continue to build the capacity of our current staff to be able to lead these trainings in the future.