The Journey to Restorative Practice in Special Education — A Reflection by Dawn Molitor

At Why Restorative Justice (WhyRJ), we’re honored to collaborate with facilitators whose lived experience and professional insight deepen the field of restorative work. Dawn Molitor – a special educator of 24 years, founder of Molitor Consultation, and a facilitator with WhyRJ – recently published a powerful reflection on her journey toward restorative justice practice in special education.

Learn more about Dawn’s background on her WhyRJ bio page.

In her piece, Dawn traces her early desire to work with learners who experience the world differently and how her own late-in-life understanding of her neurodivergence helped her see behaviors as communication rather than defiance. She shares the limits of compliance-based approaches and the possibility restorative justice practices create when we slow down and listen with curiosity.

A pivotal moment in Dawn’s career came when she was sent—somewhat reluctantly—to a four-day restorative justice training. What began as skepticism quickly became conviction. She describes a defining day in her classroom when a student called out “Circle up!” during a moment of crisis, transforming conflict into connection and shifting her understanding of restorative justice practice from a strategy to a way of being.

In the full post, Dawn explores how restorative justice practices naturally support neuroaffirming and trauma-informed teaching, even for non-speaking students and those with complex support needs.

Her reflection is a reminder that restorative practice in education is not about control or compliance - it’s about community, belonging, and honoring each student’s humanity.

Dawn also facilitates the WhyRJ training Restorative Justice in Neuro-affirming Spaces, which supports educators, clinicians, and organizations in integrating restorative approaches with neuroaffirming practice. Learn more about the training here.

Read Dawn’s full blog post on her website: https://molitorconsultation.com/