Baltimore?s public school students in grades three through 12 must take conflict-resolution classes, under a resolution a City Council committee approved Thursday.
The measure comes after student attacks on Baltimore teachers grabbed national media attention.
School officials, including schools chief Andres Alonso, told council members that they believe curricula that teach children how to peacefully solve disputes is just one piece of a larger plan to quash school violence.
“We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Jonathan Brice, director of student support services. “We have to include prevention strategies and build relationships with communities and parents.”
Brice said the school system would allow principals to decide which anti-violence programs they want in their schools and to choose from options that include teacher conflict training, character development curriculum, gang prevention and youth leadership organizations, such as student government.
Alonso also wants to expand community conferencing, in which an outside nonprofit brings together everyone affected by a fight ? students, their families and teachers ? to talk about the underlying problems, agree on a solution and avoid suspensions.
Over the past decade, the mediations have helped settle beefs at more than 100 schools, and 98 percent of the time students comply with their written agreement, said Lauren Abramson, founder of the Community Conferencing Center.
The school system also plans ? pending the school board?s approval this summer ? to ask community-based organizations to work with clusters of schools to engage the surrounding businesses, churches and parents to combine efforts for tutoring, boosting attendance, after-school activities and parent classes.
“The city is very rich in those networks of relationships in neighborhoods,” schools spokesman Michael Sarbanes said, “and there?s a lot of power to support schools but there hasn?t been a connection to it.”
