The Appalachian Peace and Justice Network received two grants for $16,000 to provide the Comprehensive Conflict Management Program to schools within 30 miles of Athens.
All Athens County schools, plus Logan and McArthur schools, could benefit from the program said Mara Giglio, the network's program and training coordinator.
Appalachian Peace and Justice Network program coordinator Christie Truly said the grants would be used to train teachers to deal with conflict resolution in classrooms, making it the first conflict-management program in southeastern Ohio.
The most important thing (the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network) tries to do is build capacity for working through conflicts really well and social and justice issues
Giglio said.
One two-year grant, for $10,000, came from the national group Presbyterian Women. It will be used to start the Comprehensive Conflict Management Program in either elementary or middle schools in the Appalachia area. The schools have not yet been selected for the program because applications are not due until Oct. 20.
In the past four years we have been able to offer programs to about 20 schools either for teachers or students Truly said.
The two-year program will instruct students, parents, and faculty members to deal with conflict resolution in class, Truly said.
The congregation of St. Joseph in Cleveland awarded the second grant for $6,000 to partially fund teacher training in conflict management. Truly said it offers a great overview of techniques in the classroom to about 24 teachers on in-service days.
The Appalachian Peace and Justice Network received the grants because most schools in Appalachia cannot afford to complete the programs with their own funding.
In a lot of suburban schools
the conflict management programs are ongoing
Truly said. But our schools (in Appalachia) can't pay for them out here
so we offer them for free.
The network had to propose the process of the program to the organizations that gave out the grants. The application process is competitive for schools in the area, Truly said.
They have to tell us what they have been doing so far and what to do to improve (conflict resolution in class).
Last spring, the network received a grant to complete a similar program from the Blessings Fund for $1,000. It provided free peer mediation training to children in classrooms, Truly said.
Coolville Elementary, one of the schools that received the grant, completed the program in September in a two-day training session. Coolville Elementary's guidance counselor Bob Avery said the training was very well handled.
The peer mediators are fourth- and fifth-graders who go out at recess for younger kids in kindergarten
first-
and second-graders. They help kids having problems on the playground
Avery said.
With 24 peer mediators at Coolville Elementary, Avery said the children got a lot out of the program.
They learned what conflict was and how to deal with it
he said.
Parties interested in applying for the Comprehensive Conflict Management Program, should contact Christie Truly or Mara Giglio at (740) 592-2608.
peer mediation training
20 hours of conflict management training
co-ordination of school-wide programs
on site consultation and support
Source: Appalachian Peace and Justice Network
