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Educators that train with School Mediation Associates receive:
- Training curricula designed to address their specific needs
- Dynamic, experiential training sessions that engage students and
staff
- High trainer-to-trainee ratios that enable trainees to receive the
individual feedback necessary for mastering mediation and conflict
resolution skills
- Comprehensive, field-tested materials for both training and
implementation
Trainings run from 3 to 35 hours, depending upon the program.
All programs are delivered to contracted schools, school systems, or
organizations. SMA does not conduct open enrollment programs.
SMA's Programs Include:
- Peer Mediation Training and Program Implementation
Audience: Fourth grade though university
In this popular program pioneered by SMA, a diverse group of
student leaders are trained to help their peers resolve a range of
interpersonal conflicts including name-calling, gossip, prejudice,
and boyfriend/girlfriend tensions. Mediation sessions are voluntary
and confidential. In addition to numerous benefits to school climate
and to the students involved, close to 90% of mediation sessions
result in agreements that resolve the conflict.
- Restorative Practices
Audience: All levels
Developed in part as a response to juvenile crime, Restorative Practices (RP) in schools offers processes both to prevent conflict and to make things right when wrongdoing does occur. The RP approach questions the fundamental assumption that punishment works to hold wrongdoers accountable. Instead, it stresses repairing harm, developing personal responsibility, empowering victims, and creating community. Though this systemic approach – applicable to classroom management, school discipline, and faculty and community relations – is still relatively unknown in the U.S., Restorative Practices are widely used in many other countries.
- Conflict
Resolution Theater
Audience: Fourth grade though university
Developed by accomplished actor and mediator Court Dorsey, Conflict
Resolution Theater employs peer leaders to ?inoculate? the
student body against destructive behaviors.
After learning conflict resolution skills, student leaders
create and perform dramatic sketches about the real-life
issues (racism, drugs, harassment, cliques, etc.) that most
concern them, and then facilitate follow-up discussions
among their peers. An extremely powerful intervention.
- Appreciating Differences Workshops
Audience: Sixth grade though adult
Students and educators explore, and learn to appreciate, their
differences on all levels (gender, race, religion, clique, class,
ethnic, sexual orientation, etc.). These workshops can be
life-changing experiences for participants, who are inspired to work
with their peers to erase intolerance and build a safe and caring
school community.
- Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training for Educators
Ideally, teachers model effective methods of conflict resolution
as well as teach them directly to their students. SMA's workshops
and training sessions, ranging from two hour in-service
presentations to week-long workshops, help educators integrate
conflict resolution skills into their professional practice and
their personal lives.
- Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training for Parents
Parents know all too well that conflict can lead to either growth
or frustration. SMA's workshop series for parents (usually sponsored
by the school) help parents learn skills to resolve conflicts
creatively and constructively.
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