The Dispute Resolution Section Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association, in collaboration with the Trial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution, celebrated Conflict Resolution Week on Oct. 15, 2024, by presenting a program on peer mediation in schools.
The program during Conflict Resolution Week 2024 honored peer mediation training programs in local middle and secondary schools in Essex County by formally administering the mediation oath to newly trained students.
Twenty-one students from Lawrence High School, Amesbury High School and Amesbury Middle School attended the program to officially receive, administer and recite the mediation oath as newly trained peer mediators.
The program was held at the Newburyport District Court. First Justice Peter Doyle and Clerk-Magistrate Rachel Hickey of the Ipswich Division opened the program and welcomed the students.
Judge Doyle recounted the quote from Abraham Lincoln about litigation to start the event: “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time.”
The chair of the Dispute Resolution Section Council of the MBA and the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) coordinator for the Trial Court, Tim Linnehan, moderated the program and described Conflict Resolution Week.
Conflict Resolution Week was created by the American Bar Association in collaboration with the Association of Conflict Resolution in 2005. Conflict Resolution Week is celebrated annually during the third week of October. Further, Conflict Resolution Week promotes awareness of mediation and other peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.
The Dispute Resolution Section of the MBA and the Trial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution have sponsored Conflict Resolution Week programs to promote peaceful resolution of disputes since 2017.
The chair of Trial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution, Judge David Donnelly, spoke to the group about the importance of using mediation in different settings. Judge Donnelly echoed the quote from Professor Frank Sander, a founder of ADR, to “let the forum fit the fuss.” Or, in the case of school mediation, let the “forum fit the fight.” Judge Donnelly congratulated the students for being peacemakers and spoke to the parents in the audience on how they should be proud of these student mediators.
After Judge Donnelly, Hannah Bowen, the executive director of The Resolution Center, a North Shore community mediation program, described her organization’s conflict resolution work with local schools and its operation as a mediation program serving the Essex Division of the Juvenile Court.
Next, Judge Kathryn Phelan-Brown of the Essex Division of the Juvenile Court Department addressed the group on the benefits of having mediation as an option for cases in the Juvenile Court. Judge Phelan-Brown thanked the students for their work in resolving conflicts in school and described how, without settling these school-based conflicts, they may escalate and otherwise end up in court.
At that point, Anya McDavitt, the director of youth programs at The Resolution Center, assisted the students in performing the mediation oath. The mediation oath is administered to trained student peer mediators at the end of their 18-hour peer mediation training program.
The mediation oath states: “As a peer mediator, I promise to help the students at this school settle their differences peacefully. I understand the importance of confidentiality, and I promise to keep everything that I learn in mediation sessions confidential. I understand that I will be a leader in the school. I will act in a way that is worthy of this responsibility. Finally, I will always try to improve my skills and become a better mediator.”
After the mediation oath, former Chief Justice Amy Nechtem of the Juvenile Court Department provided remarks about the use of mediation in the Juvenile Court Department. Chief Justice Nechtem described her work of expanding mediation for harassment prevention orders and care and protection cases as appropriate options to resolve some of these cases. Judge Nechtem congratulated the group on being peer mediators and asked the students what they learned from their peer mediation training. Several students responded with what they learned, and Chief Justice Nechtem described how these students are the leaders of tomorrow and how they will positively impact society.
The program concluded with students taking pictures with court officials and enjoying some refreshments. The Dispute Resolution Section of the MBA and the Trial Court Standing Committee look forward to convening similar peer mediation events annually as part of Conflict Resolution Week.
Top photo: First row, left to right: Judge Kathryn Phelan-Brown, Essex Juvenile Court; retired Chief Justice Amy Nechtem, Juvenile Court Department.; Mary Mitchell, peer coordinator, Amesbury Middle School; 12 students from Amesbury; Emily Little, peer coordinator, Amesbury High School; and Judge David Donnelly, chair, Trial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution.
Second row, left to right: Judge Peter Doyle, first justice, Newburyport District Court; and Clerk-Magistrate Rachel Hickey, Ipswich District Court.
Bottom photo: First row, left to right: Chief Justice Amy Nechtem (ret.), Juvenile Court Department; Judge Kathryn Phelan-Brown, Essex Juvenile Court; nine students from Lawrence; Judge David Donnelly, chair, Trial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution.
Standing behind this group: Quin Gonell, peer coordinator, Lawrence High School.
Second row, left to right: Judge Peter Doyle, first justice, Newburyport District Court; and Clerk-Magistrate Rachel Hickey, Ipswich District Court.
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Timothy M. Linnehan is the alternative dispute resolution coordinator for the Trial Court and the current chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section Council.