WVU Law ADR Students Lend Skills to Monongalia County Schools’ Grad Nation Initiative

October 29, 2010 – Morgantown, W. Va.  – West Virginia University College of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Society members are working with community volunteers to assist with the Monongaila County Schools’ (MCS) Grad Nation initiative. WVU Law students are facilitating a series of community forums conducted by the MCS Grad Nation initiative to address issues associated with local high school drop-out rates. The students also will assist with consolidating and reporting forum results to the Monongalia County Board of Education and The Education Alliance of West Virginia by Dec. 31, 2010.

In preparation for the forum facilitations, WVU Law professor Tom Patrick instructed a half-day training session Sept. 25 for 12 students and community members who volunteered to assist with the 12 scheduled Grad Nation forums. In attendance were Lauren Turner, Ulysses Jaen, Elizabeth Moore, Marianne Monkam, Michelle Green, Dennis Kittle, Professor Michael Blumenthal, John Hickey, Judy Reckart, Brian Corcoran, Janet Scarcelli and Professor Tom Patrick. The training equipped forum facilitators with skills required to conduct meaningful discussion among forum participants and to encourage participants to share their perspectives on key issues impacting high school students’ decision to leave school before graduation.

MCS is one of four West Virginia school districts awarded $10,000 grants from The Education Alliance to solicit community input on strategies for improving the state’s high school graduation rate. The district’s initiative will conclude with a public Grad Nation forum at Mountaineer Middle School 6-8 p.m. Nov. 17.

“The Monongalia County Schools and several WVU colleges have enjoyed long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships,” said MCS superintendent Dr. Frank Devono. “To my knowledge, the ADR students’ assistance with our Grad Nation initiative is the first collaboration between the public schools and the WVU College of Law. We appreciate the students’ involvement and look forward to future collaborative opportunities.”