Restorative Justice

Launch acknowledges that we cannot create a conflict-free school, but we strive to create an environment that approaches conflict as an opportunity for healing. It is important to engage the whole community in resolving conflicts through RJ so that our students are empowered with the tools to navigate the challenging world around them and effectively change their communities through values of restorative practices.

Through Ubuntu, we strive to build and strengthen our community and have our students develop healthy relationship-building habits. This is reinforced daily through our Habits of Heart & Mind pillars.

Through supporting and uplifting students to know their voice of advocacy, Launch aims to dismantle the school-to-prision pipeline. We encourage emotional intelligence and challenging personal believes in order to better understand others, so that we can grow into a community where commonalities and differences unite and inspire us – not divide and conquer us.

As we move forward in our school culture, we must acknowledge the influence of the larger community, cultures, and country. These models shape the attitudes, behaviors, and implicit biases we all struggle with.

Launch always seek positive solutions to harm done to strengthen students’ ease of belonging. Zero-tolerance policies suspensions and removals from the classrooms  have been proven to negatively impact a student’s academic and life success.

Education is not only academic, but also can mold responsible citizens through recognizing every individual student. The support of families and communities are intregal to students’ development of intellect and character in order to achieve more than they thought possible. We strive to create an inclusive community and culture that allows students to grow, make mistakes, be heard, and communicate effectively.

A listening circle is a versatile restorative practice that can be used proactively, to develop relationships and build community or reactively, to respond to wrongdoing, conflicts and problems. Rooted in indigenous cultures from around the world, listening circles provide all participants an opportunity to speak, listen, and empathize with one another in an environment of safety, decorum and equality.

At Launch we use circles across our classes and crews.  Families have the opportunity to participate in parenting circles lead by our Parent Association, learning circles lead by our RJ Coordinator and if needed restorative circles to discuss a specific incident.