Building Community & Resilience
Establishing the relational foundation a restorative culture is built on.
For schools & districts
When love leads the way, students thrive.
The leading model for changing suspension-first discipline.
A space where meaningful relationships, equity-driven practices, and effective discipline systems begin with the heart — so students feel safe, valued, and empowered to learn.
Neuroscience confirms that emotional and physical safety are essential to healthy brain development. Our work is built on the "warm demander" model (Zaretta Hammond) — holding high expectations for every student alongside deep respect for their humanity.
Training programs
Restorative practices leadership training for district leaders, school teams, and community organizations — offered as standalone workshops or a full leadership series. Each includes a facilitator agenda, participant workbook, slide deck, reference cards, and hands-on activities.
Trauma-Informed Practices
Recognizing trauma responses and responding in ways that regulate, not escalate.
Circle Keeper Training
Facilitating restorative circles for community-building and conflict repair.
Tier 1 Best Practices for Teachers
Everyday classroom moves that prevent escalation before it starts.
PBIS & Schoolwide Culture Alignment
Aligning behavior systems schoolwide so practices reinforce each other.
SRO Training
Restorative tools for school resource officers — see below.
The Student Support Room
From Suspension to Support.
A proven framework for systemic change.
The challenge
Traditional In-School Suspension functions as punishment rather than learning. It removes students from instruction without addressing root causes, damages relationships, reinforces trauma, and disproportionately impacts students of color — perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline.
Nearly every middle school and high school in the U.S. has an In-School Suspension room. What if that room moved from punitive to restorative? What if it taught rather than shamed? The Student Support Room reimagines that space: a restorative, non-punitive room where students go to regulate, reflect, and re-enter instruction ready to learn — moving from co-regulation with adult support toward independent regulation.
It’s an "out of the box" model, built to drop into a school and use immediately. It can directly replace a standard ISS room or Alternative Learning Center, or be layered in as a new, standalone room. Built on the CASEL 5 core competencies and restorative practices, it strengthens Tier 1 practices and provides intentional support for every student — not just the ones already in crisis.
The five-step Restorative Room Flow
| Step | CASEL competency |
|---|---|
| 1. Check-In | Self-Awareness — identify emotions |
| 2. Regulate | Self-Management — manage emotions |
| 3. Reflect | Social Awareness — understand impact |
| 4. Repair | Decision-Making — make amends |
| 5. Check-Out / Re-Entry | Return to learning with new skills |
Proof of impact
A model demonstrated across multiple districts — with the deepest data from its flagship site.
Multi-district evidence base
50%+reduction in out-of-school suspensions, two consecutive years
50%decrease in physical aggression incidents (Denver & Wake County)
100+educators trained in restorative practices across 3 major districts
Demonstrated across Wake County Public Schools (the 15th-largest district in the U.S.), Denver Public Schools, and the NYC Department of Education.
Columbine Elementary, Denver Public Schools (2018–2021)
As Dean of Culture, Jesse led a schoolwide culture transformation that cut physical aggression incidents by 50%, built a sustainability-focused Culture Binder to keep the model running after he left, and trained 30+ peer mediators — the same peer-mediator approach now embedded at Herbert Akins Road.
Flagship site: Herbert Akins Road Middle School, Wake County
626total visits in 2025–26, up from 477 in 2024–25 (+149)
75–80estimated disciplinary removals prevented, preserving instructional time
30+peer mediators trained and embedded in school operations
Total Student Support Room visits, by year
Zones of Regulation: entry vs. exit
Most students arrive dysregulated (yellow or red) and leave in the green zone, ready to learn.
Suspensions are trending down district-wide
| School year | Total suspensions | Students involved |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | 78 | 53 |
| 2023–24 | 36 | 28 |
| 2024–25 | 32 | 24 |
| 2025–26 (partial, through March) | 27 | 22 |
In every year, the number of suspensions sits only slightly above the number of unique students involved — meaning most students who are suspended are suspended only once. That’s evidence the model’s wraparound supports teach skills that stick, not just manage incidents in the moment.
Featured in
The Schools We Need Now
"Collecting targeted data is essential in noticing patterns of student behavior and teacher practices... [so we can] deliver intentional professional development opportunities."
— Adkins & DiMartino, p. 10
About the book →Impact in pictures
Leading a restorative practices training
Professional development with school staff
Peer mediators recognized, Herbert Akins Road Middle School
A driftwood activity from an Action4Equity training in Winston-Salem
Student-designed community mural — leadership, ambition, positive mindset
Top reasons for Student Support Room visits
Built to actually run in a school
Ease of implementation
- Turnkey toolkit with worksheets & data systems
- Structured PD for administrators, facilitators, and teachers
- Seamless PBIS & equity policy integration
- Built-in progress tracking & assessment
- Culturally responsive, trauma-informed design
District training process
Shift → Train → Maintain
Transform mindsets from punishment to growth.
Build educator capacity through skill development.
Establish sustainable systems with ongoing data collection.
Systemic transformation
- Mindset shift: compliance → growth
- Capacity building: "warm demander" educators
- Disparity reduction through root-cause work
- Climate improvement via connected communities
- Policy influence with evidence-based advocacy
License the Student Support Room
$350per school license
Includes unlimited access to the Student Support Room model plus a custom-built data tracker form. One license covers one school — inquire for district or multi-school pricing. Includes a free 1-hour consultation call, bookable directly below. An additional consultation hour is available for $50 (discounted rate, exclusive to license holders).
Educator resources
Classroom-ready printables, filtered to what you need.
Restorative Room Flow diagram
A visual map of how a student moves through the Student Support Room, start to finish.
CASEL 5 wheel
The five competencies behind every training and every room design we build.
Tier 1 best-practices guide
Everyday moves for the whole classroom, not just the students already struggling.