Conflict management institute launches program to help Maplewood High avoid conflict

| 03/13/2008

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Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management (ICM) has launched a new partnership with Maplewood Comprehensive High School to help students learn and implement new methods for handling differences in their schools and neighborhoods.

On Wednesday, March 12, Ron Woodard, assistant principal; Keith Johnston, Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS) Coordinator; and 40 Maplewood High students met with Lipscomb’s ICM team to learn and incorporate conflict management techniques.

Dr. Larry Bridgesmith, Lipscomb’s ICM executive director; Dr. Steve Joiner, ICM associate director with experience in youth-oriented conflict management; and six ICM students (with dedicated internship hours) will meet with students and administrators, conduct onsite research and write a conflict management plan for Maplewood High.

The first step in helping Maplewood High develop a new, proactive approach to school challenges was to meet with Lipscomb’s Institute for Conflict Management team. So Lipscomb University hosted the Maplewood High students and administrators in the Ezell Center to discuss the project. Lipscomb’s ICM team spent time building authentic relationships with the Maplewood students while developing new understandings about how to deal with difficult school situations. During the four-hour session, Maplewood students participated in classroom instruction, small group activities and a tour of Lipscomb’s campus.

In order to learn more about the school’s environment, Lipscomb’s ICM team will visit Maplewood High in April and May. During these visits, the team will tour the facility and meet with students and administrators to further assess the school’s climate.

The Lipscomb ICM team will design a sustainable system for conflict management. Maplewood High plans to launch this pilot program in the fall of 2008.

Established in 2006, Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management is one way Lipscomb seeks to play a greater role in Nashville. In an increasingly diverse society, “difficult moments” are inevitable but handling them in constructive and respectful ways is possible. Helping promote a more advanced approach to conflict and its effective management is a goal that can yield great dividends in commerce, education and faith.

Since ICM’s inception nearly two years ago, Lipscomb has already served the community by offering conflict management training and expertise to the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department, the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center and now Maplewood Comprehensive High School.

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