Panel Discussion Set for Friday on Restorative Justice Approaches to School Discipline

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Students have a conversation at the Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights in New York, which was founded by two of Friday's panelists.

The University of Arkansas graduate program in educational leadership in the College of Education and Health Professions is sponsoring an expert panel discussion titled, "Alternatives to Student Suspensions and Expulsions: Educator and Research-Based Experiences with Restorative Justice Practices" at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 in the Graduate Education Building auditorium foyer, Room 166.

A buffet-style dinner will be served starting at 5 p.m. The panel discussion will end at 7:30 p.m.

The program is part of a professional development series offered to graduate students enrolled in the graduate program in educational leadership but the event is open to the public. There is no cost for the event. To RSVP, please contact Kevin Brady, associate professor and program director of the UCEA Center for the Study of Leadership and the Law, at kpbrady@uark.edu.

Panelists will include both educators and researchers with experiences in the development and implementation of restorative justice practices in our nation's schools. 

The invited panelists include:

• Rachel Norris, biology teacher, Central High School, Little Rock
• Sara Reeves, assistant principal, J.O. Kelly Middle School, Springdale Public Schools
• Christine Harman, Northwest Arkansas office coordinator, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
• Kathy Evans, assistant professor, Eastern Mennonite University
• Gareth Robinson, principal and founder, Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights, New York
• Crystal Davis, assistant principal and co-founder, Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights, New York 
• Anne Gregory, associate professor, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University