Restorative Practice Specialist

Nexus Family Healing is looking to add a Restorative Practice Specialist to our team at New Dominion School, our on-campus school in Austin, MN. This role empowers students through social and emotional growth within the school setting to contribute to positive outcomes and brighter futures.

About the role

The Restorative Practice Specialist will develop a school-based restorative strategy that refocuses student behavior from disruption to self-reflection. This role turns discipline into learning, providing students with opportunities to grow from their behavioral challenges while meeting the goals of the Empowering Restorative Engagement Model (ERE Model). The position delivers trauma-informed care support to ensure students can engage in rigorous learning within a stable educational environment.

Responsibilities

• Restorative Practice Planning
  • Collaborate with the Administrative Team to develop restorative strategies, practices, and processes; create supporting tools and resources to consistently apply and document restorative practices with students.
  • Build trust, rapport, and credibility with school staff by providing tools, training, and education on restorative practices; demonstrate the positive impact and benefits of a restorative approach.
  • Assess restorative referral forms submitted by school staff/behavioral interventionists; ask follow-up questions about attempted tier one and two interventions and prepare for student refocus time.
  • Assess student mood, body language, and emotional state to determine if intervention and refocus time is needed.
  • Evaluate the emotional state of each student entering the restorative room; determine needs and greet students to ensure they feel safe, invited, and welcomed.
  • Create a restorative room environment that fosters patience, trust, and is free from judgment.
• Restorative & Refocus Room Action
  • Collaborate and communicate with school staff to identify and transition students to the restorative setting; begin refocused activities, mediation, and return to learning.
  • Leverage restorative activities and trauma-informed care to facilitate behavioral self-reflection; ask open-ended questions to help students process behavior.
  • Act as a liaison between student and school staff; identify how escalation occurred and discuss prevention of future classroom disruption; provide an alternate location for disruptive students.
  • Mediate discussions between students and staff using restorative techniques; allow both parties to acknowledge choices, create a development plan, and mitigate future disruption.
  • Foster balance and accountability by creating a safe space; hold students accountable while supporting their social and emotional development.
  • Guide students to improve behavior and solidify positive interactions with trusted adults.
  • Work with students to complete reflection forms; help them identify, understand, and learn from disruptive behavior tied to intolerance, bullying, aggression, disrespect, truancy, and anger.
• School Atmosphere of Learning & Safety
  • Maintain a strengths-based and trauma-informed approach when working with school staff; infuse restorative practices in classrooms by providing tools and information.
  • Respond to school-based behavior referrals to determine appropriate restorative responses; follow up on restorative processes and ensure agreements among stakeholders are upheld.
  • Provide training and assistance to support the implementation of restorative practices in the school; offer support for Restorative Circles, conferences, and meetings.
  • Develop training modules addressing restorative practices for school-based and non-school-based staff; provide resources to help restorative practices thrive beyond the restorative room.
• Clinical, Behavioral & Educational Collaboration
  • Analyze and leverage data to deliver school-specific targeted technical assistance and coaching to build staff capacity in implementing the GPS/EDS student handbook, ERE Handbook, and strategies to support student behavior and promote a positive climate.
  • Support the effective implementation of trauma-informed care and restorative-based disciplinary processes.
  • Create timelines for restorative initiatives; assess and track project progress using computer programs and tools while driving project completion and accountability.
  • Collaborate with colleagues and management to identify opportunities for improvement; research issues and develop detailed recommendations and implementation plans.
  • Advance data-driven initiatives for school teams and external audiences; communicate restorative program progress through data to key stakeholders.
  • Assign interactive and relevant professional development to school staff to increase their knowledge and skills in developing academic, social, and emotional support for students.

Requirements

• High School Diploma with Paraprofessional Licensure required.
• Minimum of 1+ year experience in an educational setting requiring behavioral-based trauma-informed care.
• Valid driver’s license; must meet state regulating agency and Home Office driving requirements.
• Ability to build strong relationships with diverse individuals or communities and understand their unique needs and challenges.
• Openness to meeting the cultural needs of individuals or communities, considering factors such as language, traditions, and values.
• Must successfully pass a MN criminal background check.
• Successfully participate and complete a two-day Handle with Care exam and training.

Nice to Have

• 2+ years’ experience in an educational or residential setting requiring behavioral-based trauma-informed care.
• 2+ years’ experience in a setting with restorative justice practices.
• 2+ years’ experience working with middle school and/or high school students.

Skills

• Customer Focus: Knowing internal and external customer business needs and acting accordingly; anticipating customer needs and prioritizing customer satisfaction.
• Adaptability: Maintaining effectiveness in reaching goals by adapting to changed circumstances, tasks, responsibilities, and people.
• Teamwork: Working as a productive member of a cohesive group toward a common goal and contributing to team development and dynamics.
• Planning & Organizing: Setting priorities and defining actions, time, and resources needed to achieve predefined goals.
• People Development: Assessing skill strengths and weaknesses of individuals and teams to determine appropriate actions to build or improve needed skills.
• Empathy & Self-Awareness: Demonstrating self-awareness by acknowledging and understanding one’s own thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and recognizing their impact on interactions.
• Fosters a Safe Space: Creating a safe workplace or environment for Nexus youth, families, co-workers, and employees to be vulnerable, share experiences confidently, and feel accepted without consequence.

Values

• Innovation: Leading the way and implementing creative, cutting-edge ideas and approaches.
• Compassion: Listening, honoring differences, and showing respect, kindness, empathy, care, and concern.
• Agility: Exhibiting flexibility and adapting quickly.
• Responsiveness: Being quick, positive, and accurate.
• Excellence: Demonstrating quality results that surpass ordinary standards.

Pay

$21 - $23 per hour

Schedule

Full-time, Monday - Friday on-site at New Dominion School on the campus of Nexus Family Healing.

Location

1111 28th St NE, Austin, MN 55912

Benefits

• Four weeks paid time off (PTO) in the first year of employment.
• Multiple options for health insurance coverage.
• No-cost life insurance.
• Short/long-term disability insurance.
• 401k match.
• Talkspace Therapy Benefit for the whole family.
• Hinge Health Benefit for the whole family.
• Carrot Fertility Benefit.
• Tuition assistance and training opportunities.
• Advancement pathways and internal promotion opportunities.