For two decades, Principal Paul Jacobsen was known as a no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase, hard-nosed school administrator who didn't hesitate to dole out strict punishment when students broke the rules.

Then the San Francisco principal learned about something called the restorative justice approach.

The restorative model, which the school board has encouraged schools to adopt, focuses on getting offenders and victims to talk about their feelings, to address what they were thinking when the incident occurred, and to work together on what could make things "as right as possible."

The first time Jacobsen tried it he saw an immediate positive response. He was also able to identify the causes of the bad behavior, something that wasn't evident when he simply doled out punishment without asking questions.

"It was unbelievable," he said. "The process of taking the time to give students a full opportunity to speak their minds ... was eye-opening."

Not a far-out idea

Jacobsen knows how all that might sound to outsiders.

"I'm not hippie-dippie," the Rosa Parks Elementary School principal said.

It was just that after 20 years in the business, he had learned this: Suspensions and expulsions don't stop rule-breaking students from breaking rules again and again.

"It's not that we've suddenly become lenient," Jacobsen said of the new approach. "We just recognize we aren't going to be able to punish away the problems."

State and federal education officials agreed last week after a national study addressed high rates of suspension and expulsion, especially among African American students.

In response to the report by the federal Department of Education, state Superintendent Tom Torlakson urged districts to find ways to address student behavior that don't require keeping children away from school.

In addition, two state legislators have proposed measures requiring schools to limit suspensions and expulsions. Assembly Bill 2242 would eliminate "willful defiance" as a reason for suspending or expelling a student. Senate Bill 1235 would require alternative behavioral and intervention programs in schools with high rates of suspension or expulsion.

State law would still require suspension and recommended expulsion for students who bring a gun or explosive to school, brandish a knife, sell drugs or commit a sexual assault.

San Francisco is a few years ahead of those state efforts to rein in suspensions and expulsions while addressing behavior problems.

In 2009, the school board adopted a policy to promote restorative practices, "an emerging field of study that enables people to restore and build community in an increasingly disconnected world," according to the International Institute for Restorative Practices in Pennsylvania.

Mending relationships

Jacobsen said the process involves asking offenders and victims a set of questions that allow them to reflect on the incident and to determine what might have prompted it and what consequences need to take place to repair the damage to relationships.

He asks students to recall what they were thinking, reflect on who was affected by their actions, express what they believed had been the hardest part in dealing with the situation, and suggest what needs to be done to make things right.

"The difference is really giving students that voice," he said. "The students were more open, they were more honest, they were eager to find a solution."

Last year, the elementary principal suspended more than 20 students. So far this year, he has suspended only three.

The district began the restorative practices program at Rosa Parks and two other schools last year using a $670,000 grant to fund coaches and district training sessions.

In addition, about 700 district teachers and staff members have been trained in the practice.

With a disproportionate number of suspensions and expulsions in the district, "we recognized we had to come up with a different approach," said Claudia Anderson, district executive director of Student, Family and Community Support.

Last year, the district had 1,807 suspensions (not including special education students), down from 2,270 the year before.

Reflecting on actions

Anderson offered a recent example of a teen who was facing expulsion for bringing a bag of marijuana to school.

Working with school officials, Anderson met with the student and his family to talk about who was harmed by his actions. The student realized he had harmed not only the school's reputation but the people he cared about most.

The student had started the process with a shrug and the explanation that "it was just a bag of weed," but during the restorative process "this kid started to sob," Anderson said. "We actually let him squirm and cry."

He got to remain at the school, where he was required to participate in substance-abuse counseling, work in the Wellness Center, write a letter of apology to a student he had involved in the situation, do community service, and work with a tutor to catch up on schoolwork.

"For a lot of students, they never get that choice," Anderson said. "They just kind of harden up. Their hatred for the institution grows deeper."

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. jtucker@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle