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Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 12:49:19 EST
From: carolorm@MIT.EDU (orme-johnson)
To: mediating@MIT.EDU
Subject: interesting opportunity

Mediators --

A public elementary school in Cambridge needs a volunteer mediation 
coordinator, someone to interview parties and set up mediations.  The 
time commitment would be modest and the work interesting and valuable.  
We are looking for a commitment from now to June and offering the option 
of continuing next year.

THE PLACE:  Several 5th-8th graders at the M.L.King Jr. Open School 
(where my twins are in the 2nd grade) have received some mediation 
training.  Some were trained last fall, and some a year or two ago -- so 
they're probably rusty.  I talked to Lynne Moore, the principal.  She is 
thoroughly behind mediation but has no staff person to whom the students 
could talk in confidence to handle the intake.  There are plenty of 
conflicts but have been no mediations.  Though that situation sounds 
familiar, their lack of cases is not for the same reasons as ours.  In 
elementary schools mediation isn't really voluntary -- usually a teacher 
tells the students to go to mediation before they get into serious 
trouble -- so (Lynne and I assume) there would be mediations if there 
were someone to set them up.

THE JOB:  The main job needed is intake.  The coordinator would talk to 
parties after they fill out the mediation request and, in some cases, 
settle the matter at that stage, or else contact mediators and schedule 
a mediation.  That might involve as little as one or two conversations 
every couple of weeks.  There would have to be some preparation before 
you could start intakes:  become familiar with the mediation model the 
students have been taught; get to know the mediators and help them brush 
up their skills (their original trainer could do most of that); and go 
around to the classrooms to remind everybody that mediation is available 
and introduce yourself.

*The really exciting part of the work would be in educating children 
about settling disputes with communication.  (Think what a different 
place MIT will be when most of the students arrive already familiar with 
mediation and ready to try it when in conflict!)*

TIME NEEDED:  Most of the preparatory work could be done right away, 
e.g., during Spring Break.  Once ready, the coordinator would be called 
only when needed, i.e., when students have filled out a mediation 
request, and would then go to the shcool (easily accessible from #1 bus) 
and talk with them and set up the mediation.  The coordinator would have 
to be available to do intakes during the school day, 9:00-3:00, and 
according to Lynne, the best times would be either 9:00-9:45 or 
1:00-1:45.  It is hard to predict now the frequency of intakes, but they 
probably would be minimal at first anyway.

*Ideally two or three people will volunteer, so that if one isn't 
available, another can respond promptly.*

If you're interested, call me, 5-9618, ASAP.
                                             Carol