Greensville presentation outlines Unit of Justice circles pilot; trainers cite reduced incidents in other districts
Summary
A district team described an ongoing Unit of Justice (restorative-circle) effort at Greensville County High School, including training schedule, an outside funding source and cited incident reductions at other Virginia schools.
Margaret (Marva) Dunn, the district’s Unit of Justice project manager, briefed the board on Feb. 10 about the program the district is piloting at Greensville County High School and the refocus classroom.
Dunn said the Unit of Justice approach emphasizes relationship-building, de-escalation and giving students a voice. She told the board that other Virginia schools that implemented the program reported substantial drops in state-reported incidents: she cited Armstrong High School dropping from 583 incidents the year before implementation to 150 the second year, and Hopewell High School reporting a decline from 213 first-quarter incidents to 100 after adopting the program. Dunn said she sent board members a Hopewell principal video and supporting reports and encouraged board members to review the material.
Dunn described the district’s local work as a sustained training effort: team members have met weekly for Unit of Justice training for roughly 17 weeks on Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; she said additional staff training and committed personnel are needed to expand the approach. Dunn said the program has been implemented primarily on the high school campus and within the refocus classroom and indicated the district will need follow-up and consistent supports to keep behavioral gains once students return to regular classes.
Dunn also told the board she had secured about $35,000 in funding from local partners in Emporia to support implementation. When board members asked how many students are currently in the program, Dunn said she did not have complete data at the meeting and would provide it; she estimated about six students had been in the refocus classroom during earlier observations but said current participation data had not been submitted to her.
Board members complimented the team’s commitment and asked for follow-up reports with precise participation numbers and outcome measures. The board did not vote on the program at this meeting.
