–City Councilman Zeke Cohen, leaders of the Baltimore Teachers Union, and several city schools students held a rally outside City Hall calling on district leadership to implement the OSI-initiated and -supported restorative practices program in all Baltimore City schools.–
By Lea Skene
Days after a student was gunned down outside his northeast Baltimore high school and police charged another teenager in the killing, some city and school district officials — including Baltimore Teachers Union leadership — are demanding heightened focus on conflict resolution and emotional health in classrooms.
…At the rally Tuesday evening, supporters called on the school district to expand an existing program called restorative practices, which seeks to change school culture and reduce suspensions by emphasizing communication, accountability and conflict resolution.
In 2018, 15 Baltimore City schools implemented the program with impressive results, according to a study released in 2020 by Johns Hopkins, the Open Society Institute, the Maryland Carey School of Law and the school system. A year after implementation, suspensions had decreased 44% and surveys showed improved relationships between teachers and students in those schools.
