Christi, Britny, Julia, Cheriece, Chris Photo: Kathleen Oweegon

Cheriece Margiotta and Chris Hicks, December 3, 2004

We (Christi Montoya, Cheriece Margiotta, Chris Hicks, Britny Roybal, Julia DePaula, and Rebecca Salazar) are peer mediators at Pojoaque High School. Mediation is basically a type of conflict resolution. When there is a conflict between two students, we step in to help them try to resolve their problems. Through extensive training with Debra Oliver and Kathleen Oweegon, we have learned and developed the skills necessary to perform these services with our fellow students. At the actual mediation, we talk with the two people being mediated until they both realize exactly what the problem is between them and what they will do in order to resolve it. They negotiate with each other about the things they will do in order to resolve their conflict, until they come to an agreement. Even though the agreement might just be that both people will apologize to one another, it is good to allow them to find common ground and agree on at least one thing. At the end of the mediation, an agreement is written up which cements the negotiations of the two people.

Mediation is a voluntary process for those in need of its services, and can only be conducted if both people agree to do it. If we believe two people are in need of mediation, or if we have gotten a referral form from someone (a piece of paper that one must fill out in order for us to know about the problem occurring), then we will confront the individuals about their conflict and ask them whether or not they would volunteer to be mediated. We are prepared to handle all cases that come our way, including even the most extreme cases. As far as the location, we will be mediating in the conference room located near the counselor’s office, because it is a private place where the students participating in mediation can feel secure. We will have four boxes placed throughout the school: the office, the library, the security office, and the counselor’s office. That way, they are in a secluded place where people will feel comfortable knowing that they are not being watched or judged. Each box will have referral forms attached to it, for the students or anyone concerned to fill out. After it is

filled out, the form can be put into the box through a small opening at the top, so that nobody else can read it. Each staff member will be receiving a set of referral forms so that they may fill them out if they see or believe that two people are in need of mediation. The boxes will be checked daily by one of the mediators or the adult support people to insure that all cases will be looked at as soon as possible. An adult support person is someone such as a staff member like Ms. Lola Medina or Ms. Julie Bird who have devoted time and have also been through mediation training to help during the mediations. In most cases the adult support person is in the mediation area, although not inside the room (to avoid intimidating the people being mediated), to be available in case their help is required.

Mediation will begin after we get back from our winter break, which ends on January 3, 2005. As for the actual mediations, they will take place after school; however, the dates of the mediation are not yet decided. We encourage all of the staff members to help us spread the word about mediation to your classes, and we will be sending a message to all students through the intercom at a later date. We believe that the mediation process, as outlined above, will provide a positive method for students at Pojoaque High School to deal with and resolve their conflicts in a structured fashion before they can escalate into more serious issues.