This study investigated whether a restorative practice initiative improved school climate. The study presents findings from a cluster randomized, controlled trial conducted with 2,248 students from grades 5 to 12 (38% Black, 32% Hispanic) attending 18 schools in the U.S. Northeast. After 1 year of implementation, the experimental analyses of the whole-school initiative did not result in more positive perceptions of school climate for students in the intervention schools compared with students in the control schools. Correlational analyses were also conducted with student surveys in both intervention and control schools. Based on student report, restorative practice exposure in all 18 schools was associated with positive perceptions of the school climate. This suggests that initiatives may need to focus on fidelity of implementation and consistent implementation across more years for substantive school climate gains.
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