37. Restorative Schools without Curriculum w/ Stephanie Sarantos

This Restorative Justice Life

Stephanie Sarantos, RN, PhD (she/they) lives on Coast Salish, Ssduhubr land, now called Bothell (north of Seattle Washington). Stephanie is a founder and current staff member at The Clearwater School, a radical educational community where students direct their own education, share equal rights with adults and have a voice in all decisions influencing their daily lives. She is also a partner with Snohomish County Mutual Aid and a cochair of Anti-racist Communities Bothell. Stephanie’s work in restorative justice is informed through her experience as a staff member at Clearwater, a dancer, an oncology and hospice nurse, a mother, a circle practitioner, and friend of Cuba. She is committed to fighting racism and oppression. She is a strong believer in multiple ways of knowing and learning. Stephanie believes in changing the world through daily practice and action—most often in many small steps.

You will meet Stepanie (0:55), hear how she got started in this work (10:41) and how she got started in abolition and her involvement with the Clearwater school (19:42). She discusses the difficulties of coming back into the social world during the pandemic (27:08) and the values practiced in the Clearwater school (34:26). She imagines abolition in youth spaces with Amplify RJ (45:32) and shares anecdotes about different types of schools (56:56). Finally, she discusses race in these spaces (1:10:14) and answers closing questions (1:18:52).

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