Supporting youth, families and schools.
Our vision of a South Sound community that has and uses healthy communication and conflict resolution skills cannot be complete without our young people. We support kids and youth, as well as parents and schools, in building skills to foster dialogue, deepen understanding, and repair relationships.

Resources for Youth and Families

At a time of unprecedented stress and anxiety, families need conflict resolution and communication skills more than ever. We have compiled some resources, suitable for multiple age groups, around five core concepts that we teach at the DRC:
  • Emotions
  • Needs and Values
  • Listening
  • Conflict
  • Perspectives
Training Opportunities
Understanding Conflict for Kids and Teens by Whatcom County DRC -  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO REGISTER

School Programs and Services

What school looks like is changing rapidly, and we are changing in response.
Training in Restorative Practices

What are restorative practices?
Restorative practices are a fundamental shift in how a school responds to rule violations and misbehavior; they’re a framework for building community through authentic dialogue and collaboration.

Restorative circles offer an alternative to traditional models of discipline by encouraging students to take responsibility for their actions and understand the impact on others.

This work is the linchpin for addressing the “school to prison pipeline,” a national epidemic stemming from school discipline practices that push students out of classrooms and into the criminal justice systems.
Training in Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills: Empowering Students and Staff to Resolve their Disputes

Our training includes: perspectives awareness, needs and values based communication, normalizing anger, conflict styles, reframing verbal attacks, and emotional intelligence taught using interactive exercises, role play, and games.

These tools can be used by educators in their classrooms to foster collaborative conflict resolution, or to support school staff in deepening healthy relationships with their coworkers.

We can also support school staff in conflict with mediation and facilitation.
*Each offering can be modified to meet the needs of staff, faculty, administrative or student participants.
Our counselors, teachers, administrators and students have all participated in restorative circles and the feedback has been extremely positive. I am pleased that the DRC has helped us establish a program that we can sustain and build. We plan to expand our training to students, faculty and staff in the fall so that restorative circles become much more a part of our school system. We are very grateful for the DRC's willingness to work with us and support us throughout the process. The excellent facilitation and training have made a difference in our ability to help our entire school community feel connected.  We are lucky to have such a great resource like the DRC in our community!

Matt Grant, Principal – Olympia High School
To learn more, contact Leah Rietema, Training Manager.
Offered and supported statewide by Resolution Washington. 

Affordable solutions for resolutions.
We empower people to restore and build relationships.