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Resolution
The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution & Conflict Management
Issue No. 04-2, 2004
Commissioners and Staff www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/commissn.htm#commissioners
Articles in this Issue
To link to an article, please click on the titles listed below .
Education – K-12 and Higher Education
[1] How to Prevent Bullying at School
Bullying among school children is common. Whether on the school bus, in the classroom, or on the playground, many of us can probably remember a time when we were bullied. It may have involved physical acts such as hitting or kicking or verbal actions such as teasing or taunting. It may even have taken the form of indirect actions such as social isolation or the manipulation of a friendship. Whatever its form, the effects of bullying can be devastating. It can harm both the bully and his or her target. It can negatively affect the climate of schools and indirectly the ability of students to succeed academically. Effective interventions to address this phenomenon are needed, and research demonstrates that comprehensive approaches at multiple levels are most promising. Learn what does and does not work to address school bullying.
[2] Commission Hosts Bullying Prevention Program
To highlight Conflict Management Week 2005 (May 8 th -14 th) the Commission will host a day-long event May 12 th on bullying prevention. Dr. Maurice Elias, a Rutgers University psychologist and co-author of Bullying, Peer Harassment and Victimization in the Schools will be the keynote speaker. Please visit the Commission's Home Web Page for updates on this and other upcoming events.
[3] What Works? Conflict Resolution Education Does!
The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and the Interfaith Center for Peace recently sponsored the first National Conference on Conflict Resolution Education. The conference theme What Works! Innovations in Conflict Resolution Education: Early Childhood to Higher Education brought hundreds of teachers, school administrators, students, college professors, agency professionals, and government officials from 27 states, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, and Australia to Columbus, Ohio, for intensive trainings, workshops, and discussions. To learn more about the 2004 conference and the Commission's plans for the Second Annual Conference on Conflict Resolution in September, 2005 visit: www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov
[4] Springfield City Schools Participate in District-wide Conflict Management Project
It was perhaps the very best three-day training we have ever experienced in all our years of learning to work effectively with youth. All universities with education departments should make this a mandatory course.
Guidance Counselor, Renee Hornsby and her teammates from the Springfield Schools shared the above following their participation in the Commission's three-day training – Creating A Comprehensive School Conflict Management Program. The training is the first phase of a yearlong, district-wide conflict management project being implemented in Springfield City Schools. Read more about this training and the Springfield project.
[5] Regional Workshops Scheduled for 2004-05 School Year
To ensure greater institutionalization of school conflict management programs in Ohio schools, the Commission will sponsor regional staff development workshops during the 2004-05 school year. The workshops focus on conflict management as a classroom management tool and curriculum for classroom teachers. The following is the September/October schedule.
· September 18 th, 25 th, and October 2 nd – Athens, OH in collaboration with the Appalachian Peace and Justice Center.
· September 23 rd and 24 th – Cincinnati, OH in collaboration with The Center for Peace Education.
· September 29 th and 30 th – Poland, OH in collaboration with On-Tasc.
For more information on upcoming trainings, please visit the Commission’s Web site at: www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/professionaldevelopmentscm.htm.
[6] Attendance Rates Rise in Schools with Truancy Mediation Programs
Consistent with prior evaluation reports, an August 2004 program evaluation conducted by Luminesce Consulting demonstrates that in schools where mediation is being offered to address student truancy, attendance has significantly increased. During the 2003-2004 school year evaluation data were collected from over 200 elementary, middle and high schools in 12 Ohio counties. In all of the counties submitting post-mediation data a statistically significant reduction in the number of absences was demonstrated. For a summary of the evaluation results from the Truancy Prevention Through Mediation Program see: www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/courtcommunity.htm
[7] Conflict Resolution in Higher Education
Five years ago, the Commission began a pilot project with the American Association of Health Educators and the Conflict Resolution Education Network to integrate conflict resolution into higher education. Faculty at Ohio's colleges and universities are invited to take part in an annual Conflict Resolution Education Institute. To date 36 Ohio colleges and universities have participated. Learn more about the Commission's Conflict Resolution Education Institute and its efforts in higher education.
[8] Miami University Adopts Conflict Resolution Theme for 2004-05
The Miami University School of Education and Allied Professions along with the Department of Educational Psychology will host a series of activities and events related to the theme of conflict resolution in schools during the 2004-2005 academic year.
Community and Court
[1] Mediation Stories
Read real life stories describing how the hard work of Ohio mediators and community mediation centers is benefiting parties far beyond the mediation table.
[2] Update The Ohio Community Mediation Association(OCMA)
Learn more about the Ohio Community Mediation Association www.ohiocommunitymediation.org-- its mission, goals, membership information, and upcoming events.
[3] Ohio Mediation Association (OMA) Launches New Web Site
The Ohio Mediation Association, a statewide member organization for mediators, has recently launched a new Web site: www.mediate.com/ohio. OMA meetings are held on the first Friday of the even numbered months in at the MCL Cafeteria in Columbus. Its annual conference is scheduled for April 8 th, 2005 in Columbus.
[4] New ABA Guide Provides Tools to Start Mediation Programs
The Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association (ABA) has published a Manual for Legal Services and Pro Bono Mediation Programs. The manual is designed to assist legal services and pro bono community information on the benefits of mediation, the financial resources needed and where to find them, staffing the program, the recruitment of appropriate volunteer mediator service providers, the screening and processing of cases, sample forms and training tools, and ways to handle problems as they arise. The manual is available at no cost on the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Web site at http://wwww.abanet.org/dispute/credits_toc.html
State and Local Government
[1] Elected Officials Learn Effective Tools for Managing Public Disputes
Thirty judges, municipal officials and county commissioners from around the state recently attended the annual Conflict Resolution Services for Government Officials training at Roscoe Village in Coshocton, Ohio. This year’s annual training featuredskill-building workshops in which local elected officials learned basic techniques to manage conflicts that often arise among the judiciary, counties, cities, townships and villages. The training featured the use of collaborative approaches designed address budget disputes and to increase public input into community decision-making.
The Ohio Workplace Mediation Program (WMP) is growing to meet the needs of state employees in northeast and southwest Ohio. The Program, which provides mediation services to address non-contract workplace disputes for all state employees, has operated primarily in the central Ohio area since 1997. Due to interest in and demand for the program, mediation services are now be available to state employees in northeast Ohio and will be available in southwest Ohio later this year.
[3] Commission offers Fall 2004 Workshop Series: Improving Public Policy Through Collaboration
This three-part series is designed to provide participants with an understanding of how appropriate, or alternative, dispute resolution (ADR) techniques such as facilitation and mediation can be used in the public policy arena. Each session will include presentations by seasoned practitioners and will include a mix of lecture, group exercises and hands-on practice.
Who Should Attend?
Mediators and Mediation Program Administrators, Labor Relations and Human Resources Professionals, ADR practitioners interested in public sector applications
To Register please visit
www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov
Contributions
Teaching Mediation in Korea: Composing a Song of Mediation Together
Korea is the land of Morning Calm, of mountains, of the ’88 Olympics, of old and new, of North and South, and now of peer mediation. Learn about teaching mediation in Korea as Deborah Jordon describes her recent trip to Korea to teach mediation at the Seoul Education and Training Institute. Deborah is the Conflict Management Project Coordinator for Butler County Alcohol and Chemical Abuse Council, an adjunct professor at the University, and a conflict resolution trainer for the Center for Peace Education in Cincinnati
Other News
[1] Association for Conflict Resolution 2004 Annual Conference - Sept. 29 th - Oct. 2 nd
The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) will host its annual conference September 29 th-October 2 nd, 2004 in Sacramento, California. The theme of this year's conference is Valuing Peace in the 21 st Century: Expanding the Art and Practice of Conflict Resolution. The conference will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center. John Paul Lederach, Professor of International Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame will deliver the keynote address. For more information, please visit ACR's Web site at: http://www.ACRnet.org
[2] Ohio Conflict Management Week 2005 May 8 th -12 th 2005
Please join us in celebrating Ohio's annual Conflict Management Week – May 8 th -12 th. During this week the Commission and its Ohio partners in the field of ADR are encouraging schools, courts, communities and state and local government to help spread the word about effective approaches to preventing and resolving conflicts. The week is designed to raise public awareness of appropriate dispute resolution (ADR) methods that offer a variety of options for individuals and organizations to prevent and resolve conflict. For more information on Conflict Management Week 2005, please contact the Commission at (614) 752-9595 or visit the Web site at www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov.
[3] Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators Revised
Three organizations that wrote the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators in 1994 – the American Arbitration Association, the American Bar Association, and the Association for Conflict Resolution – are in the process of revising these Standards. A Joint Committee made up of representation from the three organizations hopes to have final revisions completed by 2005. To view the most recent draft of the proposed revisions and to shared your feedback, please visit, http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/dr/phorum/list.php?f=5.
[4] Update Ohio's Uniform Mediation Act
Ohio's Uniform Mediation Act -- House Bill 303 -- was passed by the House of Representatives and is now being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. To view House Bill 303 as passed by the House visit
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=125_HB_303.%20.
[5] To view statewide training opportunities in dispute resolution and conflict management, please visit the Commission's Web site at http://disputeresolution.ohio.gov/trainings.htm
Resolution is published semi-annually by the Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, 77 South High Street, 24 th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108, www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov.
The views expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. If you would like to receive future editions of this newsletter electronically, please send an email with your email address to portia.gray@cdr.state.oh.us.
Copyright 2004, Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management
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