Community Conferencing in Elementary Schools

There is a relatively new approach to dealing with criminal and harmful activities in Baltimore. It invovles offenders, victims and their supporters participating in a meeting in order to find constructive ways to solve the problem. The people involved design their own solution and if all agree with it, no furth action is taken. This method is called Community Conferencing and is being done more and more in Baltimore and across Maryland. The program is an outlet for rage which allows victims and offenders to express their feelings. The courts keep them away from each other, so there isn't any communication between the parties involved.

Lauren Abramson, executive director of the Community Conference Center in Baltimore, said there is more being done in Baltimore City elementary schools to handle conflicts. Teachers and students are meeting in conferences to work out issues between them, Abramson said. This is reassuring for me. I believe community conferencing in schools will decrease the amount of violence and any issues between students and teachers because the people involved are working together to find a solution.