On October 30th over 200 students and parents gathered at Glendale High School for the “Flock Together” public dialogue session, coordinated by high school staff and The Center for Dispute Resolution (CDR) at Missouri State University. This student-initiated event was convened to bring awareness to issues facing high school students, including drugs, alcohol, bullying, and suicide. Students trained by the CDR facilitated small group discussions as attendees shared their perspectives and brainstormed options to address these issues of concern.
Dialogue Process
The CDR worked closely with administrators, faculty, and peer mediation students at Glendale to develop a public dialogue process that would encourage students and parents to share their experiences and explore what resources are needed to address several common issues of concern for high school students: substance abuse, bullying, and mental health. Discussion questions were drafted to focus the conversation on the key issues, and parents and students were invited to attend the “Flock Together” dialogue evening (named partly as a reflection of Glendale’s mascot, the falcon).
Student Training
To prepare for the dialogue, the CDR provided facilitation training to 30 Missouri State and Glendale High School students. This training included an overview of the dialogue process and skill development focused on helping dialogue participants remain focused while going in-depth in discussions of challenging issues. Students also learned how to use ground rules to guide the conversation and how to manage common challenges that can arise in small group facilitation. Through this training students were prepared to lead small group discussions the evening of the “Flock Together” dialogue, and they developed skills that are applicable not just to this volunteer project, but in a wide variety of professional settings as well.
Kristen Hoffner, a student in the Psychology program and Undergraduate Certificate in Conflict and Dispute Resolution, was one of Missouri State’s students who volunteered as a facilitator. She shared that, “This experience with facilitation has helped me to develop my confidence and skill in communicating to groups. As a student who hopes to become a school counselor one day, the practice that I have gained has been invaluable.”
Communication student Claudonneson Vilme also reflected on how the experience impacted him. “The most rewarding part about this experience was knowing that I helped people reach a sense of unity and understanding. All of the participants felt much better about the situation after our facilitated dialogue, and it felt great knowing that I assisted with that.”
Dialogue Participation and Response
Nearly 130 students and parents RSVPed to attend the “Flock Together” public dialogue event, and on the evening of October 30th over 200 arrived to take part in the facilitated discussions. After a brief presentation participants spent over an hour in small group discussions led by student facilitators and CDR staff. At the end of the evening note-takers from each small group gave a brief “report out” of the key discussions points from their groups. A final report summarizing the ideas generated from the small group dialogues, complied by the CDR, was shared with Glendale.
Surveys collected from attendees at the end of the evening revealed that participants overwhelmingly felt the public dialogue was a positive experience. As one student expressed in their ending survey, “I enjoyed this experience; I wish it was possible for an entire school communication.” Another student echoed this sentiment in their ending survey, writing “I felt like this was an amazing experience that should be done again to help solve and lessen these problems and others! Brainstorming in this way is very valuable.” Another student shared how the process was effective in drawing in students and encouraging them to participate, writing, “I really enjoyed these talks. I think if students are able to feel more involved in solving these issues and sharing their opinions, a lot of these issues will be addressed in a substantial way.”
Parents also noted expressed how much the valued the opportunity. As one parent shared in their ending survey, “It was nice to hear other parents’ views and concerns about these issues. I feel further group meetings like this would be nice, quarterly.” Another parent offered praise for Glendale, which was echoed by many participants, writing “Very positive intervention – this is the beginning of change – to create a new culture at Glendale that fosters positive healthy behaviors in a safe, nurturing environment.”
Future Facilitation Projects
The CDR is available to work with a variety of groups to develop and facilitate similar discussions in the future. The CDR is pleased to help fulfill its public affairs mission by supporting these types of programs and offering invaluable experiential learning opportunities for the students who are trained to volunteer with these projects. For more information, please contact the CDR at 417-836-8831 or CDR@MissouriState.edu, or visit www.MissouriState.edu .