Peace Circle Training Application

 

To address the need for professional development in restorative justice for its members, NEA is co-hosting a series of monthly peace circle trainings as part of our ongoing partnership with Advancement Project. This experiential training will provide attendees with an understanding of the circle process and its potential for building relationships within the school community; promoting healthy communication; preventing and resolving conflicts; developing social emotional learning and youth competencies; and creating safe spaces to address difficult issues, trauma, and healing. Participants will learn the stages and flow of the circle and practice the fundamental elements of the peace circle process, including ritual, storytelling, establishing shared values, building trust, and consensus decision-making. At the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to facilitate peace circles; however, participants will not be able to train others. This is not a Training of Trainers.

 

The training will be facilitated by Chicago’s Community Justice for Youth Institute (CJYI). Trainers from CJYI each have over 20 years of experience facilitating circles within the community, schools, and court systems. They also have a strong racial analysis that is consistent with NEA’s work to address institutional racism. Trainings will include up to 20 individuals and will take place over the course of four days. Attendance during all four days is mandatory. If your professional responsibilities are not transferable and/or will not allow you to commit to being fully present during the entire training (seven hours per day for four days), please designate someone else to attend in your stead.

 

In order to ensure that these trainings are having the largest impact possible, we are requiring participants to attend in school or district teams. Teams can include educators, students, family members, administrators, community stakeholders, and central office staff. At a minimum, teams must include at least one educator and at least one community representative (student, family member, or community stakeholder). If you are unable to identify a community representative in your area, you may contact Dwanna Nicole from Advancement Project at dnicole@advancementproject.org for recommendations. Teams may not be comprised of more than four individuals.

The training is free, but requires a commitment to:   

• Attend all four days of the training;
• Implement the practice in your setting;
• Become a spokesperson for the effectiveness of the practice within your school buildings and districts;
• Agree to author op-eds, blog posts, and articles if necessary to highlight educators that support this philosophy; and
• Join and participate in an EdCommunities Group on www.MyNEA360.org that will serve as a learning community for current and future participants.

Please carefully read and complete the application below in its entirety. If accepted to the training, you will receive a follow up email with additional instructions. If you have questions, please contact Harry Lawson at HLawson@nea.org or Dwanna Nicole dnicole@advancementproject.org or 301-404-5995.