A.I.R. Crew

Overview

 Oftentimes, both difficult and healthy conflicts between peers arise during the school day.  For this reason, and in an effort to increase individual and creative problem solving, student leadership opportunities, and build school-wide community, the Westpark Counseling team is working with students to establish peers as mentors and mediators for conflicts.  Westpark's A.I.R. Crew is a student mediator program designed to both teach specific conflict mediation skills and provide opportunities to practice their skills with younger students.  This opportunity is for our 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade students to take an important leadership role on campus and provide mediation support as well as mentor younger students at Westpark. Over the course of eight weeks, the A.I.R. Crew will be simultaneously learning conflict mediation skills and practice mediating conflicts under the close supervision of the Elementary Resource Counseling Specialist and Guidance Paraprofessional. Students who participate are expected to commit two days, during their lunch, each week for the full eight week program. Those who choose to participate will be expected to attend the instructional sessions during their lunch on Mondays and practice their skills during lunch recess on Wednesdays.  

Schedule

During the first two weeks, students will have a training period where they will be learning specific strategies and tools for working with students in a conflict.  When the training period is over, students will be ready to practice their strategies learned at lunch recess.  The tentative schedule for material covered is as follows:

Week  0  

Introductions, Program Outline

Week 1

Helping another Say the Problem without Blame

Using 2nd STEP's Problem Solving Steps

Week 2

Applying the Problem Solving Steps to Different Situations

Asking Questions, Reducing Assumptions

Week 3 - 8

Monday:  Discuss strategies most often used, difficulties that have come up,  problem solving reoccurring problems 

Wednesday: Mediation during Lunch Recess (approximately 20 minutes)