TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary: The Why, What, Who, and How

3

Guiding Principles: Vision, Mission, and Core Values

6

Conflict Resolution Education: Benefits and Barriers

7

Program Model: Opportunities, Assets, and Innovations

10

The Path to 2023: Goals, Milestones, and Metrics

15

Goal 1: Implementing Our New Program Model

15

Goal 2: Strengthening Our Leadership

19

Goal 3: Diversifying and Expanding Our Revenue

20

Goal 4: Caring for Our People and Finances

21

Goal 5: Sustaining Our Campus

22

Appendix: Glossary of Terms, Planning Process, and WJC Team

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Western Justice Center (WJC) was founded in 1987 by a group of judges, lawyers, and civic leaders led
by the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
WJC’s founding members sought out innovative ways to handle conflict and by supporting the use ofalternative dispute resolution techniques in and beyond the court system. Their aim was for WJC toserve as a thought leader, convener, and capacity builder in the field of conflict resolution education.
Conflict resolution education and practices are like preventative health care – an investment we make inour collective well-being that prevents problems from becoming acute and helps address them when
they do. Conflict resolution education empowers people to resolve differences constructively; manage
the expression of their emotions; de-escalate potentially explosive situations without violence; and,create opportunities for reconciliation. Conflict resolution practices like peer mediation and restorative
circles create neutral space where empathy and collaborative problem solving can flourish.
In recent decades, WJC has created a range of programs designed to reduce violence threatening
students in school and community settings. These activities include: running and supporting peer
mediation programs throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area, teaching conflict resolution skills toyoung parents through First 5 LA, facilitating community forums with local law enforcement, convening a
Youth Mediation Summit for the City of Los Angeles, and creating School Tools, an interactive online
resource for conflict resolution education geared toward grades 4-12.
In 2020, WJC enters a transformational new chapter of our history in which we will build on our roots inconflict resolution. We commit to advancing the use of restorative practices in our schools and toempowering youth to become agents of change in our communities. Through that work, we commit toaddressing the disparate impact that traditional school disciplinary methods have on students of color;the increasing propensity of youth to respond to bullying, bias, and neglect by harming themselves orothers; and, the negative impact of these combined ills on long-term behavioral and mental healthoutcomes. We make this decision with respect and humility for our place in a larger movement that is
striving to move our society away from destructive methods of punishment and toward constructive
investments in youth and community development.

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WHAT WE WILL DO
Over the next four years, WJC will train and mobilize 1,000 students, educators, and volunteers withthe conflict resolution skills they need to transform school culture and climate for more than 15,000
youth by building conflict resolution leadership teams at 30 schools across the Greater Los Angeles
Area. We will continue to improve and enhance our conflict resolution education programs by adding
opportunities for civic engagement and leadership development for youth and by adding curriculum
responsive to the issues of our time for youth and adults. We will launch a first-of-its-kind in the nation
five-year pilot project to study the impact of conflict resolution education on an entire school district.
And, we will share what we learn in all these efforts in order to catalyze changes in how our region andstate approach student discipline and engagement.

WHO WE WILL SERVEWJC believes that the road to a more just and equitablesociety starts with youth and the culture around conflict
we create in our schools. In addition to supporting local
schools with existing peer mediation programs thatanchor our field, we will expand equitable access toconflict resolution education and restorative practices
by focusing on: (1) schools where the prevalence ofmulti-generational poverty and structural inequities leadto higher levels of trauma, and familial and/or
communal dysfunction; and (2) schools where a mix ofstudents from a diverse set of backgrounds (socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, gender
identity, national origin, and abilities) frequently leads toincreased interpersonal and intergroup conflict.
Together, these two types of schools represent a crosssection of socio-economic, racial, and ethnic
communities in our region that, when unified, will havethe power to make the kind of change that efforts in ourfield have heretofore failed to achieve.

HOW WE WILL OPERATE

We will strive for excellence in the design, execution, study, and improvement of our conflict resolution
education programs. We will look for opportunities to expand the impact of our work throughcollaboration with community partners, data collection, storytelling, and the use of digital platforms. We
will use principles of equity and inclusion to guide how we recruit people for our staff, programs, andorganizational leadership. We will combine the connections and energy of our organizational leadership(Board of Directors, Program Advisory Council, Leadership Council), with the demonstrated impact of
our work to diversify and expand support for our efforts. We will leverage and sustain the use of the
WJC Campus to advance our mission and programs. And, we will develop and maintain an operational
infrastructure to maximize the efficient use of our resources and plan for the future.
5

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Vision, Mission, and Core Values

The guiding principles of WJC – our Vision, Mission, and Core Values – reflect our aspirations for the
future and the unique perspectives we bring to the field of conflict resolution. They center us, guide us,
and allow us to respond proactively to changing circumstances and opportunities.

VISIONWJC envisions a world in which
communities are healed, united, andtransformed through conflict resolution
education and practices rooted inequity, justice, and opportunity.

MISSIONWJC empowers people to strengthen theircommunities by growing the conflict
resolution skills and capacity of youth,
educators, schools, and community partners.

CORE VALUES
Empathy: We listen with open hearts and minds, willing to be moved to action.
Empowerment: We believe in and support the power of people acting individually andcollectively to shape their lives and communities.
Equity: We dedicate ourselves to fair treatment, opportunity and advancement for
all, because every person deserves the chance to pursue their innate human potential.
Inclusion: We actively seek out, embrace, and elevate the perspectives and life
experience of people of diverse backgrounds.
Impact: We hold ourselves accountable for making a difference, and we do itwith integrity.

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CONFLICT RESOLUTION EDUCATION
Benefits and Barriers"[M]ediation's greatest value lies in its potential not only to find solutions to people's problems but tochange people themselves for the better in the very midst of conflict.” - Bush & Fogel
In the Executive Summary, we laid out the case for why WJC’s work to support, study, and expand theuse of conflict resolution education and practices with youth matters.
Now we ask: What if we taught young people how to navigate conflict constructively so they could
avoid being removed from the classroom or campus? What if we empowered students to de-escalate
explosive situations without violence and without the involvement of campus police? What if students
had the skills, support and adult buy-in needed to drive transformative change in their school culture
and climate? What if the skills they honed on campus became a gateway to opportunities forcommunity-wide leadership or career advancement?

BENEFITS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION EDUCATION
Conflict resolution education and practices are likepreventative health care – an investment we make in ourcollective well-being that prevents problems from becoming
acute and helps address them when they do. As with publichealth, they also achieve their full effect when deployedequitably and on a systemic level.
The power and impact of conflict resolution practices, such as
peer mediation and restorative circles, are well documented.
(See appendix.) These practices create neutral space where
empathy and collaborative problem solving can flourish. They
foster Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and empower students
to transform their school culture and climate. They are evenregarded as critical interventions for addressing widespread
racial injustice and educational inequity.

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Restorative circles bring together those who instigated a conflict, those who were impacted by it, andthe wider community affected by the conflict to dialogue voluntarily and as equals. Restorative circles
create a culture of respect that teaches students to honor the dignity and experiences of their fellows
while learning how to become proactive self-advocates. Restorative circles can even shift adult attitudes
from a punitive philosophy to one grounded in principles of restoration.
Peer mediation affords students a private confidential setting to resolve their conflict, led by a trained
peer. For participants, it reduces removals from classrooms for behavioral citations, physical aggression
and altercations (before and after mediation), suspensions, and expulsions, while improving
communication skills and academic performance. For mediators, it creates greater empathy for others
and increased connection to school; improves academic performance in English Language Arts;
contributes to a more peaceful home life; and, increases social and emotional competency. Teachersreport that strong peer mediation programs increase their trust in the administration, students andparents, and contribute to an overall positive school climate.

BARRIERS TO WIDESPREAD ADOPTION
The questions WJC asked during this stage of the strategic planning process were: If conflict resolution
education and practices are so effective, why are they not used more widely? What are the barriers totheir widespread adoption? What is needed to overcome them?
To answer this question, we talked with student peer mediators and their faculty advisors.
We listened to teachers on special assignment with expertise in restorative justice, anti-bullying, andsocial and emotional learning. We heard from district and county-level administrators in charge ofchild welfare and attendance. We spoke with and researched organizations working to shift resourcesaway from youth incarceration and toward investment in diversion and youth development services.
Here is what we learned.

Leadership Matters
Conflict resolution and restorative practices fail unlessthey are supported by leaders at the school and districtlevel, including those with child welfare, discipline andattendance portfolios. Success depends on leaders to
support peer mediation program and restorative circle
faculty advisors with professional development, auxiliary
pay, and certification opportunities, and to make sure
instruction time, mediation space, and case referrals
systems are available. Effective leaders also elevate
restorative efforts by tracking and reporting outcomes to
district, school board, and parent-teacher organization
leaders, which helps them to overcome resistance to nonpunitive methods of discipline.
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People & Partnerships Matter
Conflict resolution and restorative practices fail when they
rely on a single individual at a school. Schools with teambased approaches have more student participation, better
outcomes, and more longevity. The strongest teams
include classroom teachers, counselors, and administrators
led by an early adopter or champion with the support ofnon-profit partners, particularly those using retired
professional volunteers. Teams also help to create
accountability and shared responsibility, foster continuous
learning, reduce burnout, and support continuity during
faculty transitions.

Resources & Equity Matter
Schools with conflict resolution programs that survive
boom/bust school funding cycles are in predominantly
wealthier communities. In structurally under-resourced
communities with higher numbers of students facing
multiple traumas like homelessness, single parent
households, high rates of incarceration, gang violence,drug addiction, investments in restorative practices are
made after litigation or through coordinated philanthropic
responses to racial injustice and then later eliminated bybudget cuts. The greatest shift in culture occurs when
government and philanthropy support a dedicatednetwork of participating schools and non-profits.

Youth Empowerment & Recognition Matter
Schools with the strongest conflict resolution programs
make student empowerment a priority. They give student
leaders a role in selecting the next class of peer mediators,
support elective classes in social justice and conflict
resolution, and facilitate student-led, school-wide
initiatives, such as anti-bullying days and voter registration
drives. They also elevate mediators’ profile on campus withspecial gear or videos highlighting their achievements, andthey send students to WJC’s Peer Mediation Invitational.
The missing piece is leadership opportunities for students
in civic engagement and professional development thatwould put mediation on par with programs like Model UN
or Speech and Debate.
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PROGRAM MODEL

Opportunities, Assets, and Innovations

Having identified benefits and barriers, WJC next asked: What new conditions and/or opportunities
make this moment ripe for conflict resolution and restorative practices? What assets does WJC bringto the table? What innovations can we implement with existing and modestly expanded resources?

IN EVERY CRISIS THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES
Post-Pandemic Recovery: Psychologists predict that it may take years for students to recover fromthe impacts of pandemic-related traumas, such as increased exposure to domestic violence; increased
alcohol and drug use; loss of access to food, housing, and other essentials; family separation; loss oflearning time due to the digital divide; prolonged social isolation from peers; increased cyber-bullying
and bias incidents; and, increased feelings of grief, loss, anxiety, and depression. WJC has a key role toplay in preparing schools for these social and emotional impacts given the effectiveness of restorative
practices in helping to channel “acting out,” social aggression, and other behavioral issues.
Investments in Youth Development: Before the pandemic hit, LA County was already in the
midst of a multi-year campaign to shift government funding away from youth incarceration and into prediversion, diversion, post-incarceration, and general youth development services. As that effort
accelerates and is further spurred by social protests against systemic racism, WJC has a key role to playin deploying conflict resolution as a critical pre-diversion intervention strategy. In addition, WJC’s
unique legal, business, and civic connections present us with a chance to create jobs and leadershipexperiences for advanced student mediators that could serve as bridges to higher education, civic
engagement, and economic opportunity.
Data Driven Funding and Policy: New state accountability standards have added data collection
requirements for “social and emotional learning” and “school culture and climate” to prior reporting
requirements around academic achievement, attendance, and disciplinary outcomes. These reporting
requirements are driving investments in information systems and professional development at the local
level, which can be leveraged to demonstrate the impact of conflict resolution programs and practices.
WJC has a key role to play in collecting data that could be used to increase resources for, and equitable
access to, those programs and practices.
10From left to right: Hon. Terry J. Hatter Jr., Max Factor III, Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson, WJC Executive Director Elissa Barrett, Hon. Barry Russell

Connections: Through our Board of Directors and Leadership Council, WJC has a unique set ofconnections to the legal community through the judiciary, law firms, corporate counsel offices,
commercial arbitration firms, and solo/group mediation practices. We also have strong connections to
top regional civic, business, and labor leadership that is unparalleled in our field. And, WJC has a baseof more than 300 program alumni – educators, counselors, administrators, and mediators – trained to
implement youth-focused conflict resolution programs and practices, many of whom have advanced topositions of leadership in their school districts and communities.
Campus: WJC manages and sustains a fourbuilding Campus in Pasadena adjacent to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Three buildings serve as home for more than adozen non-profit organizations, many of which
focus on youth development, welfare, andeducation. The fourth building serves as WJC’s
headquarters and as a nationally recognized,
highly inclusive, small-to-mid sized event rental
venue. While requiring substantial resources torun, the Campus also generates critical cash
flow for WJC’s programs and connects us to
our local community.

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INVITATION TO INNOVATE
Based on the particular challenges and opportunities of thismoment and the assets that WJC brings to the table, here are
the innovations we will pursue.
Empowering Youth: We all need goals to strive for; yet,student mediators have few options for recognition outside theirschools, and no known options for translating their peer mediation
experience into opportunities for community leadership, access tocollege, or career advancement. To fill that gap, WJC will serve as theengine for an annual cycle of youth learning and leadership development.
The cycle will start in the fall with a regional event that gives new and returning
student mediators a chance to acquire basic conflict resolution skills and to meet their peers fromother schools. The cycle will continue with a more in-depth, multi-week conflict resolution training
program that WJC staff and volunteers will deliver directly on school campuses and/or virtually.
In the spring, students with intermediate skills will be invited to attend the Peer Mediation Invitational(PMI) where they will participate in mock mediations, have a chance to dialogue with judicial, legal, civic
business, and community leaders, and explore advanced conflict resolution and restorative justice
topics suggested, selected, and led by the students themselves. Using our digital platforms, WJC will
highlight student achievements, including any school-wide engagement projects student mediators lead.
In the summer, students will have a chance to apply for paid internships with civic, legal, business, andcommunity leaders. Internships will be reserved for students from socio-economic groups without
independent access to such opportunities. Interns will be supported by WJC staff and volunteers, aswell as their peers, with space to reflect on what they are learning and experiencing. Interns will also beable to join the planning team and lead discussions at PMI the following spring.
Building a Community of Practice: Even
though there are dedicated conflict resolution
champions in our schools, many of them lack inschool team or leadership support for their efforts.
They also lack a communal space where they cancontinue to advance their skills and share theirchallenges, innovations, and ideas. Without that
network, data collection and other efforts neededto drive changes in funding and policy are also
impeded. To fill that gap, WJC will serve as theengine for an annual cycle of adult learning andleadership development.

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The learning cycle will start in the summer with ABCs of Conflict. WJC will recruit cohort-based
teams from schools that want to start new conflict resolution programs or sustain existing ones.
Teams may include a mix of conflict resolution program faculty advisors, school administrators,
counselors, and staff involved in school reporting related data collection, as well as district staff,
parents, school board members, community school initiative coordinators, and after school programproviders. Local probation officers and/or campus police might be included as well.
During the school year, WJC will work with these teams to deliver conflict resolution training tostudents. We will also provide mentoring on how to start or expand peer mediation programs andthe use of other restorative practices, collect data on conflict resolution outcomes, and engage
students in WJC’s youth learning and leadership development cycle. At the end of the school year,
teams will join our program alumni network giving them access to continuing education and support.
We will collaborate with alumni in order to elevate their accomplishments, share collective impact
data, enhance conflict resolution education curricula, and harness innovative ideas and solutions.
Bringing the Boomers on Board: Even before thepandemic, school age children from under-served communities
faced widening inequalities and diminishing opportunities. People
entering retirement represent a relatively untapped and growing
resource for meeting this crisis. Many have also lived throughdecades of struggle for racial and economic justice in ourcountry, giving them a unique and rich perspective to share with
the next generation. Consequently, WJC will create a volunteer
program that trains retired teachers, counselors, school
administrators, judges, lawyers, mediators, and other qualified
individuals to provide conflict resolution education to students.
Their efforts will be supported by WJC staff, fellows, and interns.

Leveraging Data: Pioneering work in the field of educational
equity and youth justice has shown us how effective themarshalling of data can be in driving government andphilanthropic funding priorities. Conflict resolution advocateshave found it particularly difficult to collect data that
demonstrates the impact of their work; but now, many school
districts have data systems they use to meet state accountability
standard reporting requirements. To determine how thosesystems could be used to track and report data for conflict
resolution related outcomes, WJC will enter into a multi-year
pilot project with Azusa Unified School District and will shareresults from the project with influential decision-makers at theregional and state level. Azusa will be included in all of our youth
and adult learning and leadership development efforts.
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15,000

10,000

5,000

0

AY1

AY2

AY3

AY4

750

500

250

0

Volunteers

Educators

Mediators

PILOT PROJECT: AZUSA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTIn 2019, WJC and AUSD started to plan a five-year pilot project to study the impact of conflict
resolution education on an entire school district. Azusa is a community that has fought to overcome
multi-generational poverty and gang violence. It is a diverse community with 64% of its 49,000 residents
identifying as Hispanic and more than 30% as immigrants. Recently, an influx of refugees fleeing violencein Central America has caused tensions with longer term residents in the community.
WJC and AUSD launched Phase One of the pilot in 2019-2020 by integrating an AUSD team, which
included an assistant principal from Foothill Middle School (student population, 500), into ABCs of
Conflict. In the fall of 2019, Foothill started AUSD’s first peer mediation program, training a dozen 8th
grade students as mediators. They conducted 30+ mediations involving 75+ students. The impact on
Foothill’s 500 students was immediate: physical altercations during lunch and recess dropped to zero.
Phase Two will launch in the fall of 2020 and conclude in the spring of 2025. It will start with 2-3 AUSD
schools and expand each year until at least 75% of AUSD schools are using conflict resolution andrestorative practices. In each year, the non-participating schools will serve as a control group. AUSD
school teams will join our program alumni network as they graduate, and AUSD students will
participate in all of our fall, spring, and summer youth learning and leadership development offerings.
During Phase Two, WJC and AUSD will collect qualitative and quantitative data using the AERIES
Student Information System and the process AUSD follows for its annual School Accountability Report
Card (SARC), which includes measurements for SEL and “school culture and climate.” We will seek tosecure University of California Curriculum Integration accreditation for WJC’s conflict resolution
education training program. As feasible, we will integrate AUSD’s district-wide after school program
partner, Think Together, and other community partners.
WJC and AUSD will work with a major research university to conduct an effective program evaluation
process throughout Phase Two. WJC will share what it learns during Phase Two to enhance its workwith participating schools outside of Azusa and with our program alumni. WJC will seek to share what
we learn through the pilot in order to catalyze changes in how our region and state approach student
discipline and youth empowerment in our schools.

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GOAL 2: STRENGTHENING OUR LEADERSHIP
In order to realize our ambitious goals by 2023, WJC must diversify and expand our base of support.
That starts with our Board of Directors and other volunteer leadership bodies.

To strengthen and diversify that leadership, we will:
Implement a board recruitment strategy thatprioritizes equity, inclusion, and diversity inpersonal backgrounds, professional backgrounds,
and social and professional networks. Use theGala Committee, Program Advisory Council, andother organizational leadership opportunities tocultivate candidates and explore their ability toactively support WJC's Vision, Mission, Core
Values, and Programs.
Update our By-Laws to provide for a 40-person
maximum Board of Directors with a compositionof 60-70% General Members (significant give/get
capacity); 10-20% Community Members (subject
matter experts); and, 10-20% Judicial Members(federal and state courts).
Clarify the give / get / engage requirements andterms for each Board membership category.
Foster an active Board culture by developing aleadership pipeline for the Executive Committee;
creating clear mandates and annual objectives for
all Board committees; evaluating board
performance annually; and, providing more
opportunities for Board members to engage
directly with our programs.
Transform our current Advisory Board into a
Leadership Council that sustains and nourishes
the connection between WJC and key
stakeholders, such as former Board members.

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GOAL 4: CARING FOR OUR PEOPLE AND FINANCES
Reaching our program goals by 2023 will require us to maintain an operational infrastructure that will
help us to use our resources most effectively, retain talent, and plan for the future.
To support our team and ensure their success, we will:
Provide competitive compensation and benefit packages that include an annual cost of living
increase and that allow us to retain talented staff while operating within our means. Invest in our
team by dedicating resources for professional development and training.
Foster a culture that rewards teamwork, creativity, collegiality, mutual respect, and constructive
candor. Make time for exploration and learning, individually and collectively. Reward intelligent risktaking and innovation.
Support professional and personal growth through the development and evaluation of individual
and team-based annual performance plans. Maintain clear and regularly updated employment
policies and procedures.
Expand staff capacity by recruiting students from a variety of fields to serve as interns, externs, postgraduate fellows, and work-study program participants.
To effectively manage our financial resources, we will:
Follow best practices for the regular review of monthly financials, construction of annual budgets,annual audit, annual tax filings, maintenance of accounts payable, tracking of restricted funding,coding of expenses, and other finance-related functions.
Work with the highest quality professionals within our price range for accounting, audit, IT, andinvestment portfolio management services, the latter being appropriate for designated donor funds,
including through our endowment.
Follow best practices for the use of our cloud-based systems, including Bloomerang, Xero, Gusto,
Bill.com, Box, Microsoft Office, Google Drive, Zoom, and Gather, among others.·
Develop an independent cash reserve that can sustain WJC operations for at least 3 months. Be
militant in the management of our expenses to ensure that we direct the maximum possible dollars
toward our programs.

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GOAL 5: SUSTAINING OUR CAMPUS
WJC is unique in that we have two main sets of programs.
One advances our primary mission. The other provides
space for non-profits that make the WJC Campus theirhome. That Campus consists of four historic buildings
located at 55, 65, 75, and 85 S. Grand Avenue in Pasadena,adjacent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Our tenants occupy Buildings 65, 75, and 85. WJC occupies
Building 55, known locally as The Maxwell House and used
regularly as an event rental venue.
To ensure that WJC is able to sustain our Campus, we will:
Fill all vacancies and move tenants into multi-year leases
with annual rent increases. Raise and set aside funds
needed to address deferred repairs. And, form a board
task force to explore alternative leasing options thatwould allow WJC to maintain the Campus more
efficiently. Implement the most feasible option.
Sustain the reputation of the Maxwell House as apremiere small wedding rental venue. Invest in necessary
upgrades. Return wedding revenues to pre-pandemic
levels and grow beyond that target by 10-20%. Leveragerelationships with partner vendors to secure programrelated in-kind donations. Expand weekday rentals to
include corporate gatherings and film/TV shoots. Add
donor recognition elements for the endowment
campaign.
Upgrade WJC HQ office space to facilitate collaborative
teamwork and accommodate volunteers. Transform
under-utilized meeting space into the Neutral Ground
Learning Lab, a state-of-the-art, multi-functional, creative
space for WJC participating schools and community
partners. Make repairs needed to weatherize andimprove the building’s energy efficiency.

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APPENDIX
Glossary of Terms
CONFLICT RESOLUTION EDUCATION includes a wide range of training techniques and methodologies,
such as restorative practices, social and emotional learning, peer mediation, and the exploration of how bias,
discrimination, bullying, trauma, and other factors can drive conflict. More broadly, conflict resolution refers
to methods and processes that facilitate the constructive ending of incidents or cycles of conflict, retribution,and revenge through collective, collaborative negotiation.
Conflict resolution education empowers people to analyze conflict, become aware of and manage theiremotions, explore how our personal experiences and perspectives contribute to conflict, learn how todevelop strategies for constructively resolving conflicts, and develop the communication and negotiation skills
to resolve conflict. It also invites us to explore how systems around power and identity influence or drive
conflict.
Our conception of conflict resolution is influenced by the seminal work of Professors Robert A. Baruch Bushand Joseph P. Folger, The Promise of Mediation: The Transformative Approach to Conflict (pub. 1994, rev.
2004). For more information, see Beyond Intractability. We are also influenced by those who haveincorporated the study of non-violence into their teachings around conflict, confrontation, and social change.
See Strive Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1958); Pedagogy of the
Oppressed, Paulo Freire (1968); and, How to Survive A Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens andScience Tamed AIDS, David France (2012).
RESTORATIVE CIRCLES are a versatile practice “that can be used proactively to development relationships
and build community, or reactively to respond to wrongdoing, conflicts, and problems. Circles give people an
opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety, decorum, and equality. [They are
an alternative to group structures] that often rely on hierarchy, win-lose positioning, and argument.”
For more information, see Defining Restorative Circles.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders throughreconciliation with the victim and the community at large. It is a theory of justice that emphasizes repair overpunishment. For more information, see Segregation, Violence, and Restorative Justice: Restoring Our
Communities, 50 J. Marshall L. Rev. 487 (2017); and Discipline in California Schools: Legal Requirements andPositive School Environments (ACLU Educational Equity and Racial Justice Project).
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understandand manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish andmaintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” SEL includes five core competencies:
self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision
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making. For more information, see What is SEL?

APPENDIX
Strategic Planning Process
WJC followed a customized strategic planning process facilitated by Envision Consulting.
The process began in April 2019 and concluded in June 2020. It included:
1. Meetings with the WJC Board Strategic Planning Committee; facilitation of a two-day retreat with
WJC staff; four half-day meetings with WJC staff; two half-day WJC Board retreats; and discussion ofstrategic planning at a combined eight Board Executive Committee and general Board meetings,
culminating with presentation of the full strategic plan for Board approval. These meetings, retreats,and discussions delved into vision, mission, core values, theory of change, organizational goals andstrategies, board governance and development, and financial resources needed for implementation, as
well as design of new program models and metrics.
2. A written survey of the Board of Directors, staff, and other key stakeholders was used to construct
a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threat), and to gather input on vision,
mission, core values, and strategic priorities for use with WJC Board and staff.
3. Landscape research and analysis based on:a. Conversations with WJC funders and other leaders in philanthropy.
b. Focus groups with peer mediation program faculty advisors and students at elementary, middle,
and high schools throughout Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties.
c. Focus groups and conversations with students, teachers, district leaders, and school board
members in the Azusa Unified School District.
d. Conversations with leadership staff in government, including for example the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors, Superior Court, County Human Relations Commission, and Officeof Education, as well as the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
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e. Conversations with mediation experts working in schools, communities, courts, andcommercial arbitration, including for example WJC Founder Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Richard Chernick, former WJC Board member andManager of International Commercial Arbitration at JAMS, and Southern California Mediation
Association (SCMA) past president Jason Harper.
f. Conversations with non-profit organizations working in conflict resolution education and relatedareas such as anti-racism, educational equity, human relations, restorative justice, and youth
justice, including Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution (APADRC), Advancement Project
California, California Conference for Equity and Justice (CCEJ), Centinela Youth Services (CYS),
Institute for Non-Violence Los Angeles (INVLA), Kids Managing Conflict (KMC), Learning Rights
Law Center, Liberty Hill Foundation Youth Justice Initiative, Los Angeles Education Partnership(LAEP), Loyola Law School Center for Conflict Resolution, Loyola Marymount University Centerfor Conflict Resolution, and Public Council.
g. Review of programs and materials produced by other non-profit organizations working in the
aforementioned areas including for example ACLU Educational Equity & Racial Justice Division,
Alliance for Children’s Rights, Association for Conflict Resolution (ARC), Justice LA Coalition,
National Association of Peer Program Professionals (NAPPP) Online Peer Mediation Platform,
Peace Education Foundation, Public Counsel, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and the Whitaker
Peace and Development Initiative.
4. Review of resources produced by academic institutions, field experts, and journalists covering awide variety of related topics. A sampling of those resources includes:
a. Articles addressing political divisions and divisiveness in American society, such as A Divided
America, The Associated Press; Why Has America Become So Divided? Psychology Today, Sept.
5, 2018; Hostile Political Climate Ensnaring U.S. Schools, National Education Association Today,
April 18, 2019; Ten Years of School Shootings, CNN, 2019; and More American Young People
Are Dying by Suicide and Homicide, CDC Reports, CBS News, Oct. 17, 2019.
b. Articles addressing the impact of Covid-19 on school age children, such as Uncertainty and
Loss: The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Mental Health, The State News, April 16, 2020; andSupporting Children’s Mental Health During Covid-19 School Closures, New England Journal of
Medicine Watch, May 8, 2020; and The Fight for Youth Justice Accelerates Amid Covid-19,
Liberty Hill Foundation, May 8, 2020.
c. Articles addressing the potential impact of inter-generational collaboration and learning, such as
Let’s Make this Crisis the (Grand)mother of Invention, The Chronicle of Philanthropy,
May 20, 2020.

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d. Articles addressing the benefits of conflict resolution education and restorative practices inschool settings, such as:i. A school-based prevention program for reducing violence among urban adolescents. Journalof Clinical Child Psychology, 30(4), 451–463.
ii. Mediators and Mentors: Partners in Conflict Resolution and Peace Education. Journal of
Peace Education, 2(2), 183–193.
iii. DeVoogd, K., Lane-Garon, P., & Kralowec, C. A. (2016). Direct Instruction and Guided
Practice Matter in Conflict Resolution and Social-Emotional Learning. Perspectives in Peer
Programs, 27(1), 23–37.
iv. Farrell, A. D., Meyer, A. L., & White, K. S. (2001). Evaluation of Responding in Peaceful andPositive Ways (RIPP).
v. Graves, K. N., Frabutt, J. M., & Vigliano, D. (2007). Teaching Conflict Resolution Skills to
Middle and High School Students Through Interactive Drama and Role Play, Journal of School
Violence, 6(4), 57–79.
vi. Jones, T. S. (2004). Conflict Resolution Education: The Field, the Findings, and the Future.
Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 22(1-2). doi: 10.1002/(issn)1541-1508.
vii. Ortega, L., Lyubansky, M., Nettles, S., & Espelage, D. L. (2016). Outcomes of a restorative
circles program in a high school setting, Psychology of Violence, 6(3), 459–468.
viii. Pranis, K. (2005). The little book of circle processes: a new/old approach topeacemaking. Intercourse, PA: Good Books. See also High, A. J. (2017); Using Restorative
Practices to Teach and Uphold Dignity in an American School District, McGill Journal of
Education, 52(2), 525–534.
ix. Tschannen-Moran, M. (2001). The effects of a state-wide conflict management initiative inschools. American Secondary Education, 29(3), 2–32.
x. Educational Opportunity Project, Stanford University, 2020.
xi. School Discipline and Disparate Impact, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2011.

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