^{Standing in line, ordering peacefully

Eating together, gracefully

Hanging with friends, breathing fresh air

Everyone will be calm, no one will stop and stare

With full tummies they will go back to school

Teachers and students are happy and everyone acts cool}

_{- Co-written poem describing students’ ideal lunch experience}

Invite young people’s visions and capacities.

Excel and Snowden Students

We partnered with 46 students from Excel and Snowden high schools in Boston on a program combining restorative justice and co-design. Over six weeks, students used RJ circles as a space to learn about each other, discover points of commonality, and build their skills in self-reflection and communication. At the same time, they built a collective vision of safety and belonging at their schools, culminating in the redesign of a specific experience – for Excel, the entryway and bag check; for Snowden, lunchtime.

Observing the high school experience through the eyes of these young people affirmed for us their capacity for community – their belief in their own strengths and potentials, their understanding of the interdependence of school adults and students, and their ability to uncomplicate experience design by getting to the heart of the matter.

^{The project: This work is part of an ongoing partnership with the Transformational Prison Project and Boston Public Schools to explore how restorative justice and co-design can contribute to student growth and elevate student voice.}