Restorative Justice in Education Conference
Date: Tuesday-Wednesday, June 24-25, 2025
Location: Campus Center at 91����Ƶ, 1200 Park Rd, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Cost: $350 for full-program registration. $100 for virtual access.
Online:

For the past decade, the annual Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) Conference at 91����Ƶ has drawn participants from across Virginia, the U.S., and as far away as Canada and South America to learn how to apply the values and concepts of restorative justice in their classrooms and school divisions.  

The gathering has grown in size over those years and expanded in its offerings, but its purpose remains the same: to provide a space where RJE scholars and practitioners, teachers, educators, and 91����Ƶ faculty and staff can connect, learn together, and encourage one another in the work they’re doing.

“It’s all about fostering conversations among practitioners,” said 91����Ƶ Professor Kathy Evans, a member of the conference planning team. “We’ll have classroom teachers who are completely new to restorative justice sitting alongside folks who’ve written books and conducted scholarly research on RJ. Together, we’ll share ideas and explore how we can collaborate to bring about the kind of world we all want to see.”

The 10th annual RJE Conference, held Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24-25, is available to attend in-person and online. All events will be held at 91����Ƶ’s Campus Center. Visit for more information and a conference schedule.

The conference includes a keynote address, breakout sessions, and a welcome reception held at a local vineyard. The event will conclude on June 25 with a closing reflection circle at 3:45 p.m.

Keynote speakers

The theme for this year’s conference is “Language Matters: Exploring the Role of Discourse and Communication in Restorative Justice in Education,” which is drawn from the scholarship of . Her work has been integrated into 91����Ƶ’s Graduate Teacher Education program in RJE.

Keynote speakers Bella Finau-Faumuina and Dwanna Nicole will open the conference with their address, “Stolen Language: Restoring Indigeneity in Restorative Justice Practices” on June 24 at 10 a.m. Finau-Faumuina is an advocate and educator dedicated to implementing Hawaiian culture, history, and practices into public schools across Hawaii. She is part of the Office of Hawaiian Education, and promotes traditional Hawaiian knowledge as context and content throughout the state’s Department of Education. Nicole is executive director of the Restorative Justice Partnership, where she works within school communities throughout the country to assist in developing strategies to create more positive school climates for students, educators, and families. She also provides training and support in the implementation of restorative justice in schools. 

Their address will touch on the resurgence of cultural practices, including language, land, and restorative justice, within Hawaiian communities, and will highlight how one educator is using restorative justice to heal the cultural trauma that students experience and bring into the classroom.

Noting that restorative justice practices are rooted in Indigenous traditions, Evans said that this year’s theme feels especially timely. “I’m excited to have them here to set the tone for the conference,” she said. “It’s a powerful opportunity to reflect on how language shapes our efforts to build a more just and equitable world.”

Breakout sessions

Conference sessions will include offerings for newcomers of RJ as well as veterans of the field. Participants can choose between four sessions for each 90-minute block of time. 

One session, led by Tonya Walls, the executive director for Code Switch: Restorative Justice for Girls of Color, will explore the transformative power of language and communication in fostering healing and empowerment for girls of color in educational settings. Another session, titled “Using Language of Competence within Restorative Special Education,” will consider the ways in which ableism gets perpetuated through language.

The language we use to describe our students truly matters, Evans said. “It shows up in the way we refer to our students with special needs,” she explained. “Do we call them students with disabilities? Students with different learning styles? Or students who are neurodivergent? The words we choose shape how we see them and how they see themselves.”

Welcome reception

To kick off the conference, a special gathering at Bluestone Vineyard in Bridgewater, Virginia, on Monday, June 23, at 6 p.m. will offer conference participants, RJE graduates and practitioners, and 91����Ƶ faculty and staff a chance to connect with one another and build relationships. The evening reception promises to include light appetizers, delicious cake and wine, and great company. Participation at the welcome reception is also open to those who aren’t attending the RJE Conference.

Evans said one of the most meaningful compliments she received came from a participant last year who told her the event felt more like a community gathering than a typical conference.

“I love that,” she said. “I love how casual and comfortable it feels. It doesn’t feel formal like a conference. It feels like a bunch of good friends coming together to support and cheer one another on in the work we’re all doing.”

For questions about the RJE Conference, contact cape@emu.edu.

Classrooms are in crisis.

The teaching profession is experiencing its lowest levels of employment in 50 years, according to the . More and more of those who are teaching have a short-term provisional license in lieu of a standard license and often have little to no actual training as teachers. There’s a growing need in the educational landscape and 91����Ƶ has responded.

A new graduate certificate program equips provisionally licensed teachers with the skills and tools needed to better serve their students, while preparing them for licensure and helping tackle a nationwide teacher shortage. 

The Teaching and Learning Graduate Certificate, offered through 91����Ƶ’s Graduate Teacher Education , is designed for those with a bachelor’s degree and a provisional license.

91����Ƶ’s Teaching and Learning Graduate Certificate program, which launched during the Spring 2025 semester, consists of five courses totaling 15 credit hours. Those who complete the sequence of courses advance their academic training and fulfill the professional requirements set by the Virginia Department of Education for a full teaching license, while earning graduate credit. The classes can be applied toward a master’s degree in education if students want to continue their studies. The graduate certificate also serves as a standalone credential and can be used to burnish a resume.

The program is fully asynchronous and online, offering flexibility that allows students from across the commonwealth and beyond to complete the coursework on their own schedules. Despite the virtual nature of the program, students can find belonging in a supportive professional learning community, said Paul Yoder, associate professor of teacher education and director of graduate teacher education at 91����Ƶ.

“Some folks with a provisional license will take programs that are completely autonomous,” he said. “We’re bringing people together to learn and share their experiences with a seasoned educator as well as with others who are in the same boat. Rather than just reading something or watching videos, we want to engage people so that they can support each other.”

Yoder said the graduate certificate offers another way that 91����Ƶ can meet real needs in the community. 

“While we have existing programs at 91����Ƶ, including the preservice teacher program for undergraduate students, and that has been the predominant way that teachers have been prepared in the U.S. and Virginia, we see that it’s been shifting in the past decade,” he said. “We want to help meet that significant emerging need for training nontraditionally prepared teachers.”

From addressing social and ethical issues in the classroom to supporting positive classroom behavior and human growth and development, the courses enable new teachers to serve confidently and lead in a global context while making a difference in their classroom. The five courses that form the graduate certificate are: Curriculum and Instructional Strategies, Supporting Positive Classroom Behavior, Assessment of Learners, Social and Ethical Issues in Education, and Human Growth and Development.

One quality that sets 91����Ƶ’s program apart from its peers is its fundamental emphasis on principles of restorative justice in education, such as building relationships and healthy communities.

“That’s going to be integrated within all of these courses,” Yoder said. 

He said that 91����Ƶ looks forward to leveraging its existing partnerships with school divisions such as Harrisonburg City Public Schools as well as with others that have relied on quality 91����Ƶ teachers over the years.

For more information about the Teaching and Learning Graduate Certificate, visit: