Project Mentor: Dr. Bill Whitney, Creative Inquiry
Project Description:
Can storytelling be the way to help youth communicate with and understand each other?
The Beyond Bars project aims to use innovative forms of storytelling workshops as a restorative practice in order to mitigate the effects of the school-to-prison pipeline. The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the systematic funneling of youth into the carceral system through the use of punitive measures in schools. Our team has created a workshop toolkit which is designed to open up space for students to think critically about these punitive measures and the effect which they have on the lives of young people, as well as strengthen these communities. Through the testing and implementation of our toolkit in local schools and organizations, we are gathering data to better understand this tool's effectiveness, and have been achieving amazing results. In the coming year, the team will be seeing a longitudinal research study through to completion as well as continuing to pilot and refine the toolkit itself. Our goal is to have this resource available nationwide to both educators and students.