Monday, November 23, 2009

21st Century Peer Mediation Students Sworn-in


The 21st Century Preparatory School introduced, for the first time, on November 10,, 2009, the Peer Mediation Program to a group of parents, board members and staff.
Judge Faye Flancher in her circuit court chambers, located in the County Court building, swore in the selected peer mediators.
Mediation is a process for resolving disputes and conflicts in which a neutral third party (parties) acts as a moderator for the process. In mediation, the goal is to work out differences constructively. Mediation provides the school with an alternative to traditional disciplinary practices. Students involved in this process, either as mediator or disputants, learn a new way of handling conflict.
In mediation, trained students help their classmates identify the problems behind the conflicts and to find solutions. Peer mediation is not about finding who is right or wrong. Instead, students are encouraged to move beyond the immediate conflict and learn how to get along with each other, which is an important skill for kids to learn in today’s world.
Not every kind of problem is suitable for peer mediation. For example, assault or other criminal activities are usually not referred to the school’s mediation program. Common situation involving name-calling, rumors, bumping into students in the hallways and bullying can be successfully resolved through peer mediation.
When students are involved in a nonphysical dispute, they may request to solve their problem through the peer mediation program. If the disputants agree, trained elementary and middle student peer mediators help them to clarify the nature of the dispute, and using a structured problem-solving process to reach a solution to all disputants.
The students who were selected to be peer mediators attended a two-day training (12 hours) that provided students and advisors with basic conflict management skills, problem-solving strategies, and intensive instruction in the peer mediation process. Active listening, dealing with feelings, effective questioning techniques, and building workable agreements are highlighted.

The students selected to be peer mediators for the school-year 2009/2010 are:
Ahmad Qawi – 7th grade, Sierra Hogard – 5th grade, Brianna Smith – 6th grade,
Jackson Tracy – 5th grade, Etaly Perkins – 5th grade, Isabella Huizar – 5th grade,
Caitlin Obernberger – 7th grade, Jada Colbert – 6th grade, Marissa Dyess – 6th grade, Fernando Huerta – 6th grade, Emma Graves – 5th grade, DeAysa Riley – 7th grade, Ashley Coutts-Heaney – 7th grade and MaKayla LaRue – 5th grade