NCJ Number
160468
Date Published
Unknown
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the origin, implementation, and benefits of the national Resolving Conflicts Creatively Program (RCCP), which is a school-based peer mediation program intended to reduce juveniles' use of violence to resolve conflicts.
Abstract
The RCCP stemmed from the New York City STOP (Schools Teaching Options for Peace) program, which was begun in 1983. It was launched in response to increased violence among middle school students. Linda Lantieri recently left her post with the New York City Public Schools conflict resolution program to establish the national RCCP, which was spurred by the demand from jurisdictions throughout the Nation to learn from New York City's school conflict resolution program. Developed with the help of classroom teachers, RCCP's elementary and secondary school violence-prevention curricula are used in 225 schools nationwide. The curricula focus on several crucial conflict-resolution skills, including active listening, expressing feelings, cooperation, negotiation, and communication. RCCP staff advise that the key to any conflict resolution/peer mediation program is the involvement and training of teachers. Although the advocates of RCCP in schools acknowledge that this program by itself is not sufficient to address the problem of juvenile violence inside and outside schools, it is believed to have measurable effects, such as a reduction of fighting and verbal putdowns at school, as well as fewer suspensions. Many students report having used their RCCP skills to help resolve disputes between friends and family members. A list of six resources