National Student Leadership Conference

conflict resolution
team

Every school has a need at some point to resolve issues that arise among its students. There are many disturbances that not only challenge the faculty and staff of a school, but also cause hardship and/or frustration for other students. Fighting, theft, vandalism, sexual harassment, cheating, and other inappropriate behavior are just a few of the many ways in which students cause problems in an educational environment. There are several benefiting results when students are involved in the process of resolving a specific grievance between students and various disturbances at school. An obvious benefit is that the students who are responsible for making a fair decision on a situation regarding their peers experience a new level of responsibility and growth. Secondly, they develop listening and decision making skills while making a difference with their fellow students. And finally, they also obtain a new sense of respect for the sometimes difficult process of dispute resolution. This type of work is excellent training for anyone interested in a career in law or government, not to mention that it adds value to anyone's résumé.

CREATE YOUR OWN

Develop a Conflict Resolution Plan that is best suited to work within the internal structure of your school. Think of it as a Mission Statement. You may want to focus on one particular need of your school, such as minor disputes between students or students with failing grades or poor attendance. Some schools have a major problem with students being tardy to class or skipping school while other schools have more serious problems such as fighting, drugs, or gang violence. The more serious the disturbances, the more time it's going to take to create change and have responsible, mature students involved in the resolution process. Your plan should include specific requirements for students to be chosen for the team as well as a training process for those students before they actually begin resolving disputes.

Find out which school official is the person primarily responsible for student discipline and/or settling student disputes, and share your idea and plan for a Student Conflict Resolution Team. This tells them that you are serious about the idea and have already given thought to how the plan will benefit the school – even before you get the approval to do it (“If you build it, they will come”). Usually, in a heavily populated school, the Assistant Principals or Deans handle discipline issues, while Guidance Counselors handle other less serious disputes. Every school is unique, and may take some thorough investigation to determine who is the best person to answer your questions and approve your idea. If you stumble upon road blocks, seek the support of the school principal.

Create a team. Speak to the students at your school who stand out as leaders in some way, and share your idea. Persuade them of the benefits they'll experience which are explained above. The number of students on the team should be outlined in your plan, and again, should be based on what will work best for your specific school. You want to avoid a “cookie cutter” type of team where everyone looks, acts, and thinks the same way. Impartial fairness in decision-making is a key ingredient to the make-up of this team.

At your first team meeting, vote on Team Officers who will have specific responsibilities. There should be an organized chain of command similar to any school club. Also, establish a set of guidelines by which the team members must adhere to remain on the team, and outline a procedure for dismissing and adding new team members.

Keep accurate and thorough records of all disputes or conflicts that the team addresses. This record keeping will benefit all the members when verifying their participation on the team