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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jania Witherspoon, Co-founder and Director of Youth Voices at The Circle Keepers
8:46:38
ยท
156 sec
Jania Witherspoon, co-founder of The Circle Keepers, advocates for implementing restorative justice in NYC schools. She shares her personal experience with restorative justice at Harvest Collegiate and emphasizes its positive impact on school culture, conflict resolution, and student empowerment.
- Calls for $80 million to place restorative justice coordinators in 500 schools
- Advocates for baseline funding of $12 million for restorative justice and $5 million for the mental health continuum
- Highlights the contrast between underfunded school resources and continued funding for school policing
Jania Witherspoon
8:46:38
Good evening.
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I know it's been a long day, so thank you for still being here.
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My name is Janaya Witherspoon and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and I'm a current master's student of social work at the Silverman School.
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I am the co founder and director of Youth Voices at the Circle Keepers, a nonprofit organization I co founded as a tenth grader, as a tenth grade public student alongside my restorative justice coordinator.
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I'm here alongside the Circle Keepers and the Dignity in Schools Campaign New York to advocate for a school system that prioritizes respect, problem solving, and student support over punishment and criminalization.
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At Harvest Collegiate, restorative justice wasn't just a program.
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It transformed our school culture.
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Students trusted the process because it worked.
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Instead of punitive discipline, conflicts were met with dialogue, accountability, and repair.
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That environment shaped me.
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Leading circles taught me how to hold space, navigate emotions, and support my peers, skills that now drive my work in social work and youth advocacy.
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When conflicts arose, meaningful dialogues were had.
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This created a system of trust, where students felt safe, valued, and heard.
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The culture of the school began to shift.
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Students took accountability for their actions, and instead of feeling alienated, they were given the opportunities to repair harm and strengthen their relationships with peers and educators.
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I've seen young people thrive with given the tools to express themselves, resolve conflicts, and build community.
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This impact is undeniable.
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Restorative justice fosters a sense of belonging and empowers students to be active participants in shaping their school environments.
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This approach works, and it is past time for the city to invest in it at scale.
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Our elected officials have continuously underfunded public schools.
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This is especially severe for black and brown students like me.
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At harvest, we had broken bathrooms, no gym, and barely enough laptops to go around, yet we were considered well resourced.
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Meanwhile, the city continues to fund school policing over student support.
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We demand $80,000,000 to place restorative justice coordinators in 500 schools, and we also call for baseline funding for critical programs, including $12,000,000 for restorative justice and $5,000,000 for the mental health continuum.
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The city must start investing in healing, not harm.
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The time for action is now.
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Thank you.