Committee Chair:

Wendy Miller
wendymiller@comcast.net

C.A.L.M.

Changing Adolescent Life in Mediation

 Press Release:  January 29, 2009 

CALM Hosts 1st Peer Mediator Graduation

One of the new committees in HYLA this bar year is C.A.L.M. (Changing Adolescent Life in Mediation). The C.A.L.M. committee for its premiere year is conducting a peer mediation pilot program at the St. Catherine-Montessori School. 

With the assistance of the C.A.L.M. peer mediation coordinator at St. Catherine (teacher-Norma Santamaria) and the school, the program kicked off in May 2008 with an Introduction to Mediation assembly by HYLA with 6^th - 9^th grade students. Twelve students [seven 8^th graders and five 6^th graders] chosen by their teachers as student leaders participated in the seven-week student mediator training held from the end of August to the end of October in 2008. In addition to incorporating new hands-on activities with the student mediators created by the HYLA committee to reinforce essential mediation elements, the CALM volunteers at this school (Heather Koster and Wendy Miller) were guided by seasoned mediator trainer, Honorable Judge John Coselli (125^th Civil Court), using materials on Peer Mediation provided by the Harris County Department of Education. 

 Graduation for the new peer mediators was held on October 31st with Coselli proudly administering the mediator oath. Miller (CALM committee Chair) returned on November 25th for a follow-up advanced training with the peer mediators on Diversity.

 If you have a background in mediation, are interested in volunteering at an upcoming student mediator session -- or, you simply want to learn more about peer mediation, join the HYLA C.A.L.M. committee by sending an email to wendymiller@comcast.net.