Managing School Conflicts – Student Empowerment for Success

SVIT’s objective is to assist schools suffering of serious student misbehavior, return to normalcy. Additionally, we aim to support educators reframe their reaction to school aggression. As soon as a written school request is received, the team dispatches personnel from SVIT to assist the school. A protocol of practice is followed so that we provide homogeneous and controllable services to all schools. Before arrival, all required research has taken place to detect resources and collect information from other involved partners from within or outside the Ministry. Special care is taken in regard to sensitive personal data and in maintaining confidentiality. Upon arrival, the team collaborates with the School’s Committee on Health Education and with other specialists that work with the school: the school psychologist, the school counselor, the community social worker, mental health professionals, and community officials. In most cases, the families and the students also become members of this team. The end product of the meetings, is an Action Plan with specific measures, time frame, and assigned responsibilities. Usually the Plan contains the following: <br />
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1. Extra counseling support to the student and his/her family.<br />
2. Provision of Teachers-Mentors from the school’s personnel. A training is accordingly provided by SVIT.<br />
3. Provision for on-site trainings to teachers, students, and parents on School Mediation. School Mediation is an official program provided without any further cost to the school. The program runs in various schools in Cyprus with substantial results of positive effect on the school climate and on human relations within the school. By establishing school mediation practices, the school is able to use peaceful resolution techniques instead of just the traditional way of discipline. Teachers, students and teachers become school mediators and provide mediation services to disputants within the school. SVIT has so far provided trainings to 44% of secondary schools and 20% of primary schools. <br />
4. Another unique feature of the Plan of Action is a school-within-the-school approach by establishing an Alternative Schooling Program (ASP). ASP, aims and provides for extra academic, emotional and social support to students at-risk. Students with delinquency problems who are at risk of dropping out, have school adaptation difficulties, and are therefore provided with special support by Mentors that are employed by SVIT as non-permanent schools assistants. Their job is to model the desired behavior to these students and guide them in such a way as to build on new learning, social and emotional skills.<br />
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Further to school assistance, SVIT provides consultation to the Ministry’s officials on necessary policy amendments and suggests improvements on the established practices. Additionally, the team collaborates with governmental and non-governmental services, departments and organizations as to create and maintain a network of support services and evidence based practices to all schools and students, free of charge.