Restorative Practices at work in our schools: are they building stronger student communities?

Joining Tom in the studio now are two long-time Maryland educators and two of the state’s leading advocates for fostering improvements in student behavior and community-building through a social-science approach called “Restorative Practices.” David Hornbeck is the founding chair and executive director of the non-profit Voices for Restorative Schools. He served as Maryland’s Superintendent of Schools from 1976 to 1988, and later spent 6 years as Philadelphia's Superintendent of Schools. David is also the father of Tom's other guest today, Matt Hornbeck. For the past two decades, Matt has served as principal of the Hampstead Hill Academy, a pre-K thru 8th grade charter school in Baltimore. HHA is one of a group of six charters run by the Baltimore Curriculum Project within the City School system. It’s one of the system’s top-performing elementary and middle schools…and it’s also one of the schools where restorative practices have been used to build an inclusive student community and to reduce conflict.