My favorite professional annual gathering is the Horizons National Conference. Each year, the conference takes place in a different city, and this year, we were fortunate to be in Asheville, North Carolina, where there is a thriving affiliate at the Carolina Country Day School. Representatives from sites all around the country gathered for the week to learn from one another, hear about what is happening on the ground at different affiliates, and get inspired for our summer programs that will be coming to life in just a few short months.
Due to our success with our restorative practice last summer, led by Jose Martinez ’08 and our current Program Director, Jessica Nuñez-Hernandez ’12, Horizons Colorado at Colorado Academy was asked to lead a workshop on the why, what, and how of restorative practice. Jose and Jessica led an engaging and interactive session that provided participants with practical applications to implement in their summer programs.
To summarize restorative practice, it is a method for conflict resolution that holds both students and teachers accountable for their actions in an effort to create a culture of mutual respect within the school community—as opposed to one that enforces a punitive approach when problems arise between parties. This is a methodology that can be applied to any organization or business, not solely schools. By fully implementing restorative practices in our Horizons Colorado program last summer, both the teachers and the students felt more supported and heard, and behavioral issues that arose were dealt with by giving both sides a voice and a plan of action based on a restorative framework. As a result, we had a more productive, positive summer program experience overall.
In addition to the impactful workshop spearheaded by our talented Horizons alumni, this year we were lucky to have three Horizons Board members attend the conference: Julie Martin, Catherine Rollhaus, and Laura Lee Gastis. These committed Board members fully support the mission of Horizons, and we were so grateful to have them there to represent our program!
I am also thrilled to announce that we will have two pilot projects launching this summer, one at Graland Country Day School and the other at the Montessori School of Denver. Representatives from both schools also participated in the conference this year. We are working together, planning the future growth of Horizons in metro Denver, knowing that more students in Denver and, eventually, throughout the state will be able to take part in this invaluable program! I will be writing more about the nascent programs in the coming months, so please stay tuned.
This conference always leaves me feeling hopeful for the future, and this year that feeling of promise is more palpable than ever.