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M <br />I. Injury Problem to be Addressed /Magnitude of the Problem <br />According to'the Division of Adolescent and School Health, <br />Centers for Disease Control, "Preventing physical fighting <br />among young persons should be an important public health <br />strategy to prevent injuries and deaths from violence." <br />(MMWR, 2/14/92) Many experts recommend that emphasis should <br />be placed on helping schools and other agencies that serve <br />youth to teach conflict resolution as a means of preventing <br />violence. (ibid.) <br />- - - -- - <br />The Report Chapel Hill Task Force on Reducing <br />of the g g -e (Ccober- l4- ;-- I99I�campTEd -- <br />Violent Crime and- �17� <br />community testimony on concern about increased crime, <br />including juvenile violence, and statistics from the Chapel <br />Hill Police Force. Its recommendation, in part, for the <br />prevention of violence among youth, read: "Encourage the <br />School Board and the Dispute Settlement Center to work with <br />each school to expand non - violent dispute resolution education <br />in the schools and in neighborhood associations." <br />Phillips Middle School, in the Chapel Hill /Carrboro <br />system, is reported by administrators and parents to be <br />experiencing inter- student tensions, at times leading to <br />assaultive behavior, in part because of socio- economic <br />differences among the student population. Phillips students <br />come from public housing neighborhoods as well as upper income <br />suburbs. <br />The administrative office will handle an estimated 190 <br />incidents for the sixth grade this school year, with many <br />involving assaultive behaviors such as shoving, hitting, <br />kicking, or use of implements. In the first three quarters of <br />the current school year, there have been 20 suspensions, all <br />for assaultive behavior. According to the administration, <br />these incidents could be prevented if the students had the <br />skills to communicate better and to handle their anger and <br />frustration. <br />Skills training in conflict resolution would lead to 1) a <br />reduction in assaults and attendant injuries and 2) lessened <br />interpersonal and intragroup stress. Working with the 245 <br />sixth graders, we would expose all students to conflict <br />resolution concepts, and develop a cadre of students trained <br />in mediation. By continuing the training, we would have the <br />entire school trained in three years. <br />As part of a separate project, faculty at Phillips will <br />be trained in conflict resolution, thereby enhancing the <br />effectiveness of our work with the students. <br />2 <br />