Supporting Children to Navigate Crisis Repair: A Conversation of Everyday Bullying and How Schools Fail Us

This chapter is about a Restorative Justice attempt and failure. It is about a family negotiating the disappointment of a school that failed their child. Helena, 13, experiences bullying on her school campus at the hands of older boys. Helena’s parents—professionals with rich, deep backgrounds in Restorative justice—attempt to partner with the school and other families only to be met with disregard and silence. The school’s administration believed it was implementing a restorative process, but it was performative in nature and the outcome was more bullying for Helena. How do parents negotiate the reality their child spends most of their day in an unsupportive environment? How do families and schools get to a place of renewal, reimagining what safety is while maintaining a strong partnership? Compelling elements of this chapter are the captured dialogue between parties, Helena’s extraordinary generosity in drafting letters to her peers who harmed her, and the family’s summarized tips to guide others in navigating the everyday crisis of bullying—especially when a school fails to maintain safety for all students.