Meadow Ridge Elementary Builds Community with ‘Restorative Practice Circles’
Every day, 768 students make their way to Meadow Ridge Elementary in Plymouth for a day of learning.
But learning isn’t always about test scores and academic achievement.
“We talk a lot about sharing kindness, how can we share kindness through our words and our actions,” third-grade teacher Michelle Earhart asked of her students who were gathered in a big circle.
In two of the Meadow Ridge’s third-grade classrooms, teachers and students have been taking time this year to gather in so-called “restorative practice circles.”
“What can we do in this class to make it a place where people are comfortable talking about their feelings,” Earhart asked of her students.
Restorative practice circles are a way for everyone to learn more about each other, and be more accepting of one another, regardless of their differences.
“It’s really just really about becoming a working unit, and that’s gonna help us feel more comfortable,” said Kallie Biermaier, another third-grade teacher at Meadow Ridge. “It helps us learn better, and then it’s also gonna provide a structure for when things go wrong in our classroom.”
Kallie Biermaier leads a restorative practice circle at Meadow Ridge Elementary in Plymouth.
Biermaier is one of 40 people across the district who received restorative circle training over the summer. So far, she says the students are buying in to the concept.
“It just allows students to kind of build that safe space,” Biermaier said. “And once there is that safe space then it’s okay to learn, make mistakes, grow. It’s a good supportive learning environment.”
Many of the students’ learning environments were thrown into disarray during the pandemic, so the restorative practice circles help them build a sense of community that was lacking over the last two years.
“There is a basic human need of belonging,” said Karen Keffeler, the Meadow Ridge principal. “We all have a need to belong, and over these last few years, that has certainly been disrupted.”
The Golden Rule says to treat others the way you want to be treated. The hope is that the restorative practice circle helps to ingrain that rule in the students’ minds.
“Hopefully yeah, we’re raising good, conflict resolution, compromising leaders,” Biermaier said.
Related: CCX News Special Report: How Wayzata Area Schools Handle Plymouth’s Population Growth
