More than 200 elementary and middle school children from Fresno and surrounding communities who have been trained by Fresno State faculty and students to be mediators of conflicts arising in their schools will visit California State University, Fresno on April 1.
The youngsters will participate in the 2nd Annual Mediator Appreciation Day. They will tour the Save Mart Center, attend a Downing Planetarium show, have lunch with university students and faculty and watch an adult mediation demonstration.
The students have been mentored this year by Fresno State students in Teacher Education Credential and Peace and Conflict Studies programs. The mediator program is sponsored in part by the Center for Research, Evaluation, Assessment and Dissemination, housed in the Kremen School of Education (CREAD).
The program, which teaches children to be resolvers of peer conflict, has significantly reduced the discipline referrals at the schools participating and has, in some cases, positively affected the English Language Arts scores on standardized tests, according the Dr. Pamela Lane-Garon of Fresno State, who heads the training and program development.
Participating students are from Fresno, Hanford and Central Unified school districts.
(Editors: Photo opportunities with the children at Fresno State are available. Contact Shirley Armbruster at 593-1815 for the schedule of activities.)
