Students at Lovinggood Middle School began utilizing restorative circles last year to build community and understanding within their student body. Assistant Principal Ebbie Julkes facilitates the program, along with a student committee of 60 students. The program helps to allow all students to speak openly on various topics chosen by the committee.

"Circles give the students an opportunity to talk about topics and gain different perspectives from others," AP Julkes said. "They can address academic, social and emotional, cultural, or other issues that affect them."

The program began last year with a core group meeting once a month but expanded by the end of the 2022-23 school year to being school-wide twice a month. Each class is led by their teacher in a time of talking and listening to each other, answering questions based on the day's chosen topic.

Although the teacher leads the Circle, the one holding the talking piece is the only one speaking at any given time. Gathering into a circle means everyone faces one another and can see each others' faces. It is designed to be a time of openness and honesty.

Rising eighth-graders Kaitlyn Brathwaite and Abigail Wnek are two of the students on the committee, and both are strong advocates of the program. Kaitlyn likes that it gives everyone a voice and that students get to know each other better. 

Abigail agreed and said she also likes that the topics are relevant and important to their day-to-day lives. "Keeping the topics interesting is one way we try to involve everyone in the Circle," she said.

They both acknowledged that while not every student is a fan of speaking publicly, having Circles regularly as part of their Enrichment block has increased participation. "Since the student committee is coming up with the topics and not the teachers, most students are more interested and willing to voice their opinion," Kaitlyn said.

The Circles Student Committee also observes different classroom circles occurring around the school and provides helpful feedback to the teachers in order to be even more effective in building community at the school. 

"We don't want students to think this is just another assignment," AP Julkes said. "We encourage them to go outside or to the media center or move furniture around in their classroom to change the feel of their space or environment. We want to remove any barriers, physical or mental, that would prevent kids from speaking openly. Circles is meant to be a proactive approach in giving the students a voice and promoting mutual respect."

"Mrs. Julkes saw the power in building community through conversation where everyone has the opportunity to share," said Cobb Schools Wellness Specialist Joslin Maxwell. "The students I spoke with on my last visit to the school shared how much they thought that Circles made a difference in their classrooms. They said that they feel like their teachers know them better and they know their teachers better because of these intentional conversations."