Rochester city schools are putting more energy behind an alternative center for conflict resolution, and a “hub” of mediators is shaping a new district-wide approach to violence prevention.
Deputy Superintendent Ruth Turner said in a school board meeting this week that the ROC Restorative H.U.B ., now located on Costar Street, was a response to a spike in community violence in the wake of pandemic shutdowns — a local and national trend.
“Community violence was entering our schools and schools were becoming greatly overwhelmed by the need for high level mediations, which take a significant amount of time to coordinate and a high level of skill to be able to do them,” Turner said on Tuesday. “So this initiative has been really helpful in helping our community and schools by allowing us to engage in this process with them.”
Mediators at the center work with people involved in a conflict to come up with their own solutions to a problem. The approach is called solution-focused mediation and Turner said it’s also about shifting mindsets to be more “future-oriented.”