Group 7:Rachel Cash Barry DeLong

Blake Hovis Jonathan Fisher

Rakan DiarBakerli

Peer MediationNC Teach Evidence 6

Jordan High School Located in southwest Durham.

Enrollment in 2011-2012 is just over 1,800 in grades 9-12

30% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch

95-96% of graduates in the past three years are attending 2- or 4-year colleges*

School Improvement Team

Source: http://www.jordan.dpsnc.net

Jordan’s Student Population

43% Caucasian

39% African-Amer-ican

12% His-

panic/Latino

6% Asian (approx.)

From Jordan’s SIP: Priority Goal #2, School Goal 1: “Mutually respectful interactions between all school stakeholders [parents, teachers, and students] and increased respect for the school environment.”

Our approach: we will implement a Peer Mediation (PM) program.  

Students act as an impartial third party to facilitate communication and negotiation and promote voluntary decision-making by the parties to the dispute.  

Defining & Implementing Peer Mediation

Constructively resolves student conflictTeaches students personal and 21st

century skillsMotivates students to collaboratively

resolve conflictEmpowers studentsImproves self-esteem

Student Benefits

Preventative Helps lighten administrative and assistant

principles load of write-ups and referralsImproves school climateMeets student and teacher needs93% resolution agreement rate 1

88% participants satisfied with agreements reached during mediation sessions 1

School Benefits

Family Orientation during parent nightStudent FormsParental AgreementStudent Orientation during homeroom.

Student and Family Information

Student Application

I, ______________________________________, parent or guardian to  _______________________________ last name, first

  in grade  ____________________ , give my consent and permission for my

child to enter into Peer Mediation, if s/he also consents, in an effort to resolve situations that might otherwise result in administrative referrals.  I understand that these sessions will be usually held with only visual supervision by an adult member of the school staff.  I also understand that these sessions will be confidential, except in certain cases where legal requirements or school policy supercedes this confidentiality.  I may revoke this permission at any time, and any pending Peer Mediation may be handled through the traditional Administrative Referral process.

   Signature:___________________________ Date:_______/______/_____

Parental Permission Slip

Student & Staff Preparation:What experiences have you had that you think

would qualify you to mediate?Why do you want to become a mediator

Preparation15-20 hours of training.Commitment to focus on skills and

implementation.Role playing, mediation strategies.

Screening

Counselor as lead, AP with general oversight, and 5-6 staff members as coordinators

Mediation room(s) require a viewing window for adult supervision

Adults are required to abide by the American Bar code of conduct for mediators

 Administration and Staff Involvement

Defining PM and its benefitsTopics best handled: race, religion, personal

beliefs, relationships, property, sexual orientationTopics not appropriate: illegal activities, gang

activity, violence etc.Use of request form and how PM can replace

traditional referralsCompleting recommendations for student

mediatorsTalking points for introduction of each class to

PM

Professional Development for Entire Staff

Paper request for mediation forms; this information is added to an Excel sheet for tracking statistics and students who need repeated mediation

Every session is voluntary for both students, so consent is required

Reflections from student participants and the peer mediator are gathered using a Google form for both anonymity and improvement of the process

Record Keeping

Statistics are drawn from student reflections for participant satisfaction and resolution

The Excel sheet will identify topics most often mediated and timeliness of the mediation

These statistics will be combined with traditional referral data to provide a perspective on the overall impact on issue resolution

Student, parent and staff surveys will monitor the ongoing success of the program

Assessment of ProgramSummative

Thank you