The curriculum is
specifically designed
to extract deeper
information from
the student, so that
appropriate supports
and interventions can be
implemented to improve
a student’s opportunity
for success.
have found students to be quite open, and in
a majority of cases, willing to work through
the incident and not only gain a successful
resolution, but also have some strategies to
employ when faced with a similar situation
in the future.
As we delve a little further, we note that
the ATS Model achieves what parents,
teachers, administrators and the community
at large truly want. The ATS keeps students
in school, supports teachers in the classroom
and provides administrators with a workable
framework to attend to student discipline, as
well as to facilitate a culture shift that incor-
porates Restorative Practices into everyday
routines.
The ATS Model is designed specifically to
effect the changes described above. When a
student is sent to the office, the administra-
tor has the option of selecting the ATS pro-
gram as an alternative to suspension. To be
clear, the ATS option is voluntary, and first
and foremost, is not a consequence, which is
a departure from traditional means of disci-
pline. Once there, ATS staff works through
a carefully designed, scaffolded curriculum
focused on a specific theme each day:
• Day one – Own and recognize behavior.
• Day two – Support for social-emotional,
behavioral and academic concerns.
• Day three – Goal setting.
• Day four – Recognition of those harmed.
38
Leadership
• Day five – Reintegration.
It is important to note that each day builds
on the day before. A restorative curriculum
utilizes daily surveys, essays, PowerPoint ac-
tivities and commitment cards as well as role
playing and circle activities. The foundation
of the work is to assist students in this mind
work, and the goal is to work with students
as they “do the heavy lifting.”
For example, students work with support
to create replacement strategies; that way,
they own the strategy and are more willing
to use it. Also key to the ATS Model is the
idea that the curriculum delves beyond the
actual event that caused the referral. The
curriculum is specifically designed to extract
deeper information from the student, so that
appropriate supports and interventions can
be implemented to improve a student’s op-
portunity for success.
Finally, as each student leaves the ATS
Classroom, there is an exit plan designed to
provide students with ongoing support in
the classroom environment. Consider the
following example:
A student taps incessantly on his desk,
disrupting the class. Though the teacher has
tried numerous methods to have the student
stop, the behavior persists. In frustration,
the teacher writes the referral and sends the
student to the Administrative Office. The
administrator decides that a day in the ATS
Classroom might benefit the student as an
intervention.
While attending the ATS Classroom,
the student works on the designated cur-
riculum. In this case, a main focus beyond
recognizing the disruptive nature of the be-
havior (and sincerely apologizing for it) is on
creating and implementing a realistic and
workable alternative to tapping on the desk
in the first place. After brainstorming some
possible replacement strategies that might
work in place of tapping, the student decides
that when he is feeling stressed, he will sim-
ply tap his fingertips together, which makes
no sound. At this point, it is important that
this replacement strategy be noted on his exit
plan, and that it is clearly communicated to
the teacher.
The communication piece is essential be-
cause we want to ensure that when the stu-
dent returns to the learning environment
and “forgets” to implement his replacement
strategy, the teacher can silently reinforce
the new behavior by making eye contact and
tapping her own fingers together. If, on the
other hand, the teacher is unaware of the re-
placement strategy, he may be apt to show
frustration (rightly so) that the ATS inter-
vention did not have an impact on the stu-
dent’s behavior.
As the student reintegrates back into the
classroom, an additional layer of support