COURSE DESCRIPTION
You will learn that truancy mediation is a systematic, interactive process where a neutral third party or school district personnel helps disputing parties(school vs. parent and child) resolve an attendance dispute using specialized communication and negotiation strategies. You will become a skilled, unbiased person who serves as a mediator to oversee this procedure. The mediator's peaceful, supportive presence and skill are critical to the success of the dispute resolution process. Attendance mediation is a process that brings a student, their family, and a school personnel official together to discuss absenteeism, tardiness, and the underlying concerns. After finishing this course, you will be able to facilitate the meeting, focusing on polite listening, sharing, and, finally, issue solving. You will learn to collaborate, improve understanding, brainstorm potential solutions, and devise mutually acceptable answers.
You will learn the critical approach of non-judgmental and non-punitive, which aids in developing an agreed attendance plan. The process describes the importance of the truancy mediator ensuring all issues raised by the attendees are addressed appropriately. This mediation process allows the identification of the underlying issues that require addressing. Learning this process will help students avoid more significant problems arising from school absenteeism.
The underlying causes of absenteeism are discovered and explored, and solutions to unravel them are found and documented. You will learn to write an agreement stating the agreed-upon remedies that will guide the attendees to carry out their obligations and track the student's attendance.
Objective
This course will provide advanced truancy mediation training and practice. This course will expand a facilitators/mediators skill set, attendance laws knowledge, and ability to assist others in truancy mediation. We train on dealing with emotions, complicated situations, bargaining styles, setting goals, and keeping the process focused.
- Advanced concepts and approaches for resolving disputes
- Advanced negotiating abilities
- Processes and methods for advanced mediation
- Superior communication abilities
- Theories for determining the parties' areas of agreement
- Concerns about diversity
- A practical role play in truancy mediation is included in this course. ( Role play scenarios will require a written response)
- State Attendance Laws
Curriculum course outline
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT A TRUANCY MEDIATION?
This interactive Absenteeism/Truancy Mediation Facilitation COURSE delves into advanced innovative skills and techniques for single and multiparty mediations. This course connects the most recent theoretical ideas and international best practices in mediation. Students who complete this course will have a solid understanding of advanced processes and tactics that will allow them to seamlessly guide mediations.
Certificate awarded after completion of course.
INSTRUCTOR BIO
Jerome Thompson
Jerome Thompson has over twenty years of experience working with dropout-prone students and their families for a Texas school district. He has been responsible for alternative, middle, and high school students. One of his primary responsibilities is facilitating attendance/truancy meetings between the school, parent, and student. In the role of an Attendance meeting facilitator for the school district, he has mediated hundreds of attendance/truancy issues, finding a solution to help families get their students to school and avoid legal intervention. Jerome's skills in working with schools and families come from family mediation and truancy mediation and being a member of the National Association of Certified Mediators as a trainer.
Jerome Thompson:
- Retired Attendance Officer
- Licensed Social Worker
- Master's Degree in Criminal Justice
- Certified Domestic Violence Counselor
- Basic Mediation
- Family Mediation
- Truancy Mediation
- Child Custody Mediation
- Texas Association Of Mediators
- Train theTrainer
- National Association of Certified Mediators trainer
Over his twenty years of experience working truancy cases, Jerome recognized the need for more structured training for district staff, attendance officers, outreach specialists, and others. Jerome helped create a training program for current and new attendance officers, ensuring the skills and knowledge needed to do the job.
Mr. Thompson spent over 11 years working with Texas Children Protective Services families were he facilitated meetings with familiy member to help determine best temporary palcement for children.
Below is the summary results of of 21 evaluations from August 2022 to December 2022 from Victoria Tx. ISD and Fort Worth ISD.
