State Attorney General Tom Reilly visited Drury High School on Tuesday to express his appreciation to group of student mediators for their participation in the Student Conflict Resolution Experts Program, or SCORE.

Massachusetts: Attorney general praises Drury mediation program

SCORE is a nationally recognized peer mediation and youth violence prevention program created and funded by the Office of the Attorney General.

Drury High School students, from left, Hannah Macksey, Emily May, Kari Lyden-Fortier and Nicole Dupuis are trained student mediators involved in a state-sponsored conflict resolution program under way at the school. Photo: Photo by Susan Bush / Berkshire Eagle Staff

“Not all the schools have it though, because it's a competitive grant application,” said Anne French, school adjustment counselor. “This is our second year of being funded for the SCORE program, although we've had mediation since 1994.”

Reilly made his way around the room, greeting each of the peer mediators. “This is absolutely wonderful, what you're doing. I want to thank you,” he said. “It is very important. You're making your high school a better place and your community a better place by learning more and more about how conflicts start, and how you can get people working together to work out their problems before it gets out of hand. I really appreciate that.”

Statewide, more than 5,000 students have been trained as peer mediators since the program began nearly 15 years ago. Since then, of the more than 24,000 mediated cases, about 97 percent reached an agreement.

Reilly told the Drury students that, as the state's chief law enforcement officer, he helps people work out conflicts ranging from health insurance issues to environmental matters, like the General Electric plant clean-up in Pittsfield.

“It's a great honor for me to help people, to try to make a difference in their lives,” said Reilly. “When you think of that, that's exactly what you're doing right here at Drury High School.”

Drury's peer mediators help other students work out conflicts such as boyfriend and girlfriend issues, as well as name calling, some racial problems and misunderstandings between members of various school cliques.

“There are so many cliques, and they're the ones who normally get in the fights,” said Sophomore Nicole Dupuis, 15.
“It can be hard because they're antsy or still angry from whatever happened,” said Heather Gerard, 17, a senior at Drury.

However, the mediation sessions are usually successful.

“It works out good. As long as you can talk to them, as long as you can make them feel comfortable, usually they'll be all right to talk, and it will work out,” said 17-year-old Maris Owczarski, who also is a senior.

According to senior Maria Segala, 17, both parties must agree to mediate, and they are free to leave the room at any time during the mediation process. “But people always stay,” she said.

The teens said they like the fact they are able to make a difference.

“And to be able to help by using your point of view and give them to other people so they can use them,” said Maris.

“It's looking at the world through the eyes of the other and it's hard sometimes to see the world they're seeing,” said Reilly. “It's walking in their shoes for a little while, to see how they feel. If all of you can pick up on that, it's a wonderful trait to have and it will take you a long way in life.”

Before arriving at Drury, Reilly met with Mayor John Barrett III. “We sat there in his office and he just told me how proud he is of this school and what's going on, and especially how proud he is of each and every one of you kids, and the opportunities that he wants to make sure that you have,” Reilly said.

“Sometimes we don't say thank you enough for the job that they've done and the great assistance they receive from the attorney general's office, and the financing that's come forward," said Barrett. "I think the kids do a great job. They're involved, they care. ... They have really, really resolved a lot of disputes here and things that could have really been blown up. But by using a little bit of common sense, they were able to diffuse it.”

The local program recently received a $10,000 matching-funds grant from the attorney general's office, which provides for the part-time salary of Drury's SCORE Coordinator Cary Quigley. It is hoped the program soon may be expanded to a full-time endeavor — something Reilly promised the group he will work on.

Quigley works with Jina Ford, the director of Berkshire Mediation Services in Pittsfield, who applied for the grant with Steven Lily-Weber, the Regional Coordinator of Mediation Services at the state attorney general's office.

Ford, who is the lead trainer at Drury, and Lily-Weber also work with Herberg and Reid middle schools in Pittsfield.

About 18 sophomores, juniors and seniors participate in the extra-curricular activity, and are trained mediators. A group of freshmen is expected to be trained and join the program later this year.

By Karen Gardner
19 September 2003

 

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