|
WATSONVILLE — Conflict resolution programs, using students as peer mediators, are now in place at three Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) schools.
“The program we’re using has been tested in other places and resulted in a 40-60 percent drop in incidents,” said Linda Perez, director of the Safe Schools/ Healthy Students (SS/HS) program. “The bottom line is that students listen to and respond positively to other students.”
During November and December of last year, 75 students attended a 15-hour Peers Making Peace training, where they were taught listening and guidance skills to lead mediation sessions with other students.
Peers Making Peace is a nationally recognized mediation program that was identified by SS/HS because of its track record of effectiveness, supported by outside evaluation. Currently two high schools — Watsonville High and Pajaro Valley High — and Rolling Hills Middle School are in the first semester of a five-semester implementation that has involved careful coordination and cooperation from the staff at those schools.
Initially, Perez said, most of the referrals for conflict resolution came from administrators dealing with disciplinary issues. But now that the program has been in place for several months, more leads are coming from teachers, campus security officers and students themselves, before disputes turn into disciplinary issues.
“A typical mediation can be resolved in an hour,” Perez said. “Whatever it takes, the objective is to get to the root of the problem and move forward. Usually we find that when peers are mediating the situation, resolutions are not only achieved but sustained.”
The conflict resolution training, which is expected to be extended to three additional schools this year and four next year, is part of a three-year Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative that began last summer.
Other aspects of the SS/HS initiative include school site safety assessments by law enforcement officials, followed by remedial action, and development of an anti-bullying program now getting under way. The initiative also provides training for campus security officers, school yard monitors and counselors, as well as providing funding for a probation officer dedicated to PVUSD students and a school resource officer.
The project has also developed a DVD aimed at addressing the root causes of drug use and gang violence. The DVD is being shown throughout the PVUSD to parents and staff.
Perez said that the conflict resolution program is being established as formal clubs at participating schools. That way, she said, the structure will be in place to keep it going after the grant money runs out.
“Some of these conflicts that start in school can carry on for years, well into adulthood, if nothing is done,” Perez said. “Resolving them early helps make the schools safer for all of our students and contributes to a better learning environment for everyone.”
|
