The youth and adult team at Hunt Middle School have been engaged in incredible work as a team focused on restorative practices. At their most recent retreat, they began the day in small group discussions about leadership, sharing their thoughts on the qualities that effective leaders share, and where and how they see themselves as leaders in their own community. They then took part in a lesson and activity focused on the principles of nonviolent communication. In partners, they improvised conversations about conflicts that they often run into with peers, family, and school staff,  and practiced clearly stating their observations, feelings, needs, and requests. After a pizza lunch, they reviewed the data that they have collected and shared over the past months around ways that they can improve their school, and participated in “dotmocracy,” voting by placing stickers on the concerns they most want to address. They have decided to take action to address discrepancies in the enforcement of Hunt’s phone, bathroom pass, and dress code policies, and to work on anti-racism initiatives. When the team next meets, each of the four groups will begin collecting more data, communicating with stakeholders, and brainstorming action steps. We are so proud of this team for their bravery, creativity, and openness, and can’t wait to see what good work they do in the coming months!