The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program: how we know it works

Theory Into Practice, Wntr, 2004 by Jennifer Selfridge

After RCCP is in place in a school, many schools and districts embark on establishing a Peer Mediation program. Peer mediation empowers students to make a significant contribution to a positive school environment. Not only do students in RCCP Peer Mediation programs mediate conflicts, they also observe and offer their services to their peers. The RCCP model is proactive. Students identify potential conflict situations and offer their expertise to their schoolmates to resolve their problems peaceably and amicably.

ESR staff train carefully selected representative groups of students to serve their schools as peer mediators. In addition to student training, RCCP also provides coaches with an orientation to the intricacies of establishing effective, sustainable, and successful peer mediation through an on-site workshop and follow-up visits.

In RCCP classrooms across the United States, where teachers have integrated lesson instruction, use effective classroom management strategies, and practice student-centered teaching, children and teachers report feeling safer and more appreciative of one another. Attendance improves not only for students, but for teachers as well (Metis, 1997).

Administrators in RCCP schools encourage and support students and teachers with discipline policies and practices that encourage student self-management and responsibility. They recognize that student academic success can best be achieved in a caring and supportive environment where the entire school community is involved. Administrators value the connection between academic achievement and social and emotional development (Aber, Brown, & Heinrich, 1999).

All of the adults in the school contribute to a positive school culture by modeling positive communication, engaging in mutually respectful interactions and having the ability to de-escalate conflict. In an RCCP school, all of the adults--including office staff, maintenance staff, transportation staff, lunchroom aides, and classroom aides--are familiar with the concepts and practices of RCCP so children consistently experience positive interactions and adult support throughout the school.

RCCP is a school intervention that encourages ongoing two-way communication between parents, caregivers, and the school staff. In an RCCP school, parents and caregivers participate in the school in multiple ways. They understand and appreciate how interactions with their children impact their child's success and healthy development. Parents experience many of the same kinds of activities and learn the skills their children are learning in school.

School and/or district leadership teams sustain and maintain RCCP over time through ongoing assessment, program adjustment where warranted, and continuing professional development.

How Does ESR Help Schools Achieve These Results?

ESR works with school- or district-based leadership to develop a systematic, efficient, and effective plan to implement RCCP elements over time. ESR staff are experienced educators who have helped make RCCP happen in their own districts and facilitated implementation in a wide range of settings across the country. The RCCP model includes a needs/resource assessment process during which ESR staff works with district leaders using data to identify local needs and assess resources currently available to address them. This initial assessment provides baseline data that drives the development of the program. Additionally, this data provides quantitative and qualitative information prior to the implementation of the program so districts can measure the effectiveness of the program in their school in meeting their goals and objectives.