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Sun Prairie outlines restorative-practices expansion and role of coaches as discipline disparities draw focus
Summary
District leaders described a tiered restorative-practices plan, dedicated restorative-practices coaches at each secondary building, and data showing disproportionate suspensions for Black and economically disadvantaged students.
At the Jan. 27 Sun Prairie Area School District board meeting, Dr. Sarah Chiaclarity described the district’s expanding restorative-practices program and presented behavioral data showing disproportionate exclusionary discipline for some student groups.
Chiaclarity said the district follows a tiered restorative approach that pairs universal social‑emotional learning with supplemental restorative interventions and individualized reentry supports for students who have experienced exclusionary discipline. "Restorative justice is a holistic approach to school culture, not just a discipline system," she said, explaining the district partners with Restorative Justice in Education and trains staff in community‑building circles, restorative conversations and conflict-resolution strategies.
The district has repurposed staff time to create a 1.0 full‑time equivalent restorative-practices coach position at each middle school and one at each comprehensive high school; Prairie Phoenix Academy’s school social worker performs the role there, Chiaclarity said. Middle schools began implementation in 2022–23 (year three of work), and high schools began last year (year two). The coaches facilitate proactive community-building, coach staff and consult on responsive reentry processes after exclusionary incidents.
Chiaclarity presented behavior data through November 2024 showing that of 208 recorded suspensions in the reporting window, 55% involved Black students and 73% involved economically disadvantaged students. She cited broad improvements in some middle‑school sites — for example, Prairie View cut suspensions nearly in half since last year — while noting increases at other sites, including a six‑fold increase in out‑of‑school suspensions at Sun Prairie East in the same comparison period.
The district tracks restorative-practices usage as a separate documentation stream alongside traditional referrals. Chiaclarity said the data show Black students, students with disabilities and low‑socioeconomic students are among those who benefit most from restorative interventions relative to the general population. She emphasized that district staff use a range of classroom‑level steps (warm demanders, reteach/remind, scripted reflection forms) before formal referrals and that formal referrals are reserved for incidents identified in the district behavior matrix (for example, serious violence or substance use).
Chiaclarity framed restorative practices as a multi‑year effort tied to instructional and equity goals and said alignment is needed between the behavior matrix, the student information system (Infinite Campus), and data-visualization platforms (EduClimber/NextPath) to capture restorative work consistently.
