McAuliffe Charter Students To Lead Roundtable Discussion on Student Discipline

FRAMINGHAM, MA - Seventh grade students at the Christa McAuliffe Charter School will host two community roundtable discussions on discipline policies in schools and the growing national shift to restorative practices, on Tuesday, March 8.

The student‐led discussions will gather feedback from participants to shape future disciplinary practices at the public middle school for students in grades six, seven, and eight.

“Restorative practices are basically talking through a situation with the victim and the accused. The accused say what they did and the victim talks about what has happened to them without accusing others of harm,” said Amanda Lampl, a seventh grade student, who lives in Framingham.

"Some ways you can use restorative practice are through peer/teacher mediation or justice panels. Restorative practices are being implemented [in schools] because in the past kids have missed out on too much school through suspensions," said Lampl.

As part of their study of ancient civilizations, McAuliffe’s 7th grade scholars learned about the Code of Hammurabi, a set of 282 laws created in Ancient Babylon that were the first codes of law to apply to all people.

“We started out talking about justice and dug into what it really means. We began to think about how justice then (during ancient times) is compared with now,” Ian Barney, another Framingham student in grade 7 at McAuliffe Charter.

“We also learned what our [McAuliffe] disciplinary system looks like and how it compares with restorative justice. Now we are asking people to come to these discussions so we can decide if these practices are good for our school,” said 7th grader Rose Bailey.

McAuliffe’s 7th grade scholars will lead the roundtable discussions at 5:30 and 6:30p.m. on Tuesday, March 8.

The seventh grade students are seeking participation from a broad range of community members including those who work in public or private education, and those who have interest in learning about restorative practices in schools.

Visit www.mcauliffecharter.org/roundtable to register as a participant.

“I’m so proud of our 7th grader scholars and teachers for grappling with tough questions about justice, rules, discipline, consequences, restoration, mediation, and forgiveness,” said the charter school's Executive Director Kristin Harrison. “I’m looking forward to participating in Tuesday night’s discussions and considering input from diverse perspectives of students, families, teachers, and guests.”

The Christa McAuliffe Charter School is a diverse Expeditionary Learning public school for students in grades 6,7, and 8 based in Framingham. The school’s hands‐on curriculum cultivates high levels of student engagement, responsibility for learning, and enduring character growth. The public middle school accepts students via lottery from several metroWest communities, including Framingham.