Mediation/Schools
Schools
Restoring trust in a school community.
Between students, between families and staff, between colleagues. Schools deal with conflict every day, and the usual tools — discipline, complaint, escalation — assign blame without repairing anything. Restorative practices and mediation do the repair.
Sounds familiar?
The situations this page is for.
- Conflict between students that discipline hasn't resolved
- A family and the school at odds over a child
- Staff or leadership conflict affecting a whole team
- An incident that has damaged trust across a class or a community
- Bullying or harm where the people involved still have to share a building
How we'd help
Accountability at the centre, repair as the outcome.
Restorative practices bring together the people affected by an incident — in a structured, facilitated way — to understand what happened, who was affected, and what needs to happen to put it right.
It is not a soft option. Accountability sits at the centre of the process; what changes is that the outcome is repair rather than punishment alone.
Where the dispute is between adults — staff, leadership, families and the school — mediation gives both sides a confidential, neutral way to be heard and to reach an agreement they own.
one paragraph in the mediator's own voice about this kind of matter — experience, and how a session is run.
Common questions
What people ask before they call.
How do we start?
One person gets in touch. You do not need the other party's agreement to make the first call — part of what we do is help bring the other side to the table.
Do students take part directly?
The mediator's approach with students, and any age considerations.
Who at the school do you work with?
Administrators, counselors, teachers, families — who usually makes the call, and who is in the room.
How long does it take?
Typical number of sessions for this kind of matter, and how long each runs.
Is it confidential?
What is said in mediation stays in mediation. Nothing is shared outside the process unless the participants agree to share it.
How much does it cost?
Hourly, per session, or per matter? A range, or "quoted after the first conversation" if fees vary.
Can this be done on site?
On campus, at the Bowie office, or virtual.