Drinking from a fire hose? Strategically rolling out restorative justice practices for transformative whole school change

Strategic approaches to professional development are needed for the implementation of Restorative Justice Practices (RJPs) as a transformative, whole-school initiative. The authors highlight the challenges of misimplementation and educators feeling overwhelmed by the scope of schoolwide change. Based on personal and professional experience, two practitioners describe a scaffolded educator training model—the 4-day RJP Implementation Academy. Central tenets of the Academy include direct instruction to build educator efficacy, structured planning using research-based indicators of implementation, and a strengths-based approach to change. Through experiential learning and interactive tools, the Academy aims to support sustainable, context-sensitive implementation that aligns with social and emotional learning goals.