On-Site Program Models

Conflict resolution among staff and parents

• overview training of concepts, skills and processes of conflict resolution for staff and parents, including skill practice and program overview and ways for staff to support it
• development of staff agreement of effective interpersonal and inter-group communication
• overview presentation for parents
• specialized training for paraprofessionals

Curriculum infusion and integration

• sequence of classroom lessons
• strategies and ideas for integrating it into content areas

Classroom conflict resolution processes and teaching strategies

• peace places/talk it out corners
• classroom mediation
• class meetings
• teacher as mediator of knowledge
• cooperative learning groups

Peer mediation program

• training for coordinators
• student training
• follow up and weekly meeting support
• coordination with discipline policy

Dispute resolution systems design

• discussion of the school’s discipline philosophy
• consensus on a definition of violence and implementing a consistent policy
• definition of what’s mediable and what’s not
• consideration of creating a restorative justice philosophy and practice

• Conflicts are Driven by Needs
  
  We believe that to resolve a conflict productively, it is important to understand and address the needs and interests of each disputant. When one person in a dispute forces his/her own solution on another, the conflict is almost certain to erupt again in a more serious form. Lasting solutions are built on respect for each person’s point of view.
  
  
• Modeling is Key
  
  We believe that all of us - students and teachers - need to develop conflict resolution skills. As these skills are introduced to students, we encourage staff to learn along with them and to practice the skills in their own life wherever and whenever possible. By modeling the skills in one’s own interactions with one’s students and also with other adults (parents, administrators, and other teachers) staff will have an impact far beyond their own classroom.
  
  
• Learning Takes Time
  
  We believe that learning conflict resolution skills, and especially integrating them solidly at a personal level, is a long-term process that takes ongoing practice and feedback for both children and adults. Instituting a conflict resolution curriculum is not a short-term "fix" for school conflict. It requires being patient with oneself and one’s students. Don’t expect to master skills in a single session, and plan to return to previous lessons from time to time to review and reinforce skills. (To facilitate this review, we’ve included suggestions for "follow up" activities to each lesson that will help you extend it to other subjects and other times of the day.)

• Diversity Enriches Conflicts and their Resolutions
  
  We take a multicultural approach to conflict resolution - that is, we believe that diversity enriches our lives, and that our differences need to be understood and taken into consideration when we deal with conflict. In your teaching, we encourage you to draw on examples of conflicts that arise from cultural differences or racial tension, especially if these conflicts are common in your classroom. We also encourage you to examine your own attitudes and behaviors to ensure that you express an open and positive acceptance of differences.
  
  
• Students are Resources in a Democratic Classroom
  
  We see students as resources, not just as recipients. We encourage them to teach this material to themselves, to students in other grades, and to their parents.
  
  
• Mastering our Thoughts is a Part of Conflict Resolution
  
  We believe it is important to address the underlying causes of conflict and violence - both the internal processes of unreflective and impulsive thinking, and also the external processes of oppression and injustice. To resolve conflict and prevent violence, we need to change external conditions, but we also need to recognize the role that our internal thought processes play in sustaining the cycle of conflict and violence. We can move beyond being victims of our thinking and come to master our thoughts and behaviors.
  
  
• Integrating the Curriculum Improves Learning
  
  We believe that conflict resolution is best learned when students can personalize the concepts and integrate them with other learning. We encourage teachers to use literature, poetry, and historical examples to help students apply their new skills in both fictional and real-life situations. Journals or portfolios also provide students with a personal medium to express themselves creatively and to further develop concepts in a meaningful way.

Five Basic Goals:

• to empower students and teachers with the skills necessary to resolve conflicts productively - without resorting to violence or perpetual estrangement
• to further develop emotional intelligence
• to create and uphold social justice
• to aid in the development of responsible citizenship
• to create a caring and cooperative school environment