Estes Park School District is a Restorative Practices District. Restorative Practices include approaches such as connection circles, adult and peer-led mediation and conferencing to build a stronger community within our schools and respond to student mis-behavior when it does occur by getting to the root cause of the problem. The goal of a restorative culture is to teach social-emotional and conflict-resolution skills in a way that encourages acceptance of responsibility for mis-behavior, increases self-discipline and fosters appreciation for the rights of others.

Using this model in our school community allows for all students, teachers, administrators, parents and community members to get to know each other through active and respectful listening and ultimately creating a foundation of trust and empathy. When people are engaging in a restorative manner, it affects overall campus climate in a healthy way, making harm less likely to occur in the first place.