Posted on: Thursday, August 23, 2001

Office offers help in school disputes

Advertiser Staff and News Reports

PU'UNENE, Maui — A state office to deal with disputes in public schools has opened on Maui.

The Center for Alternative Dispute Resolutions in Education, also known as CADRE, operates from the old Pu'unene schoolhouse. The director is former Maui District Superintendent Paul Brown, who also will be responsible for overall implementation of the state program.

CADRE will operate under the Department of Education's Public Affairs Office to help schools respond more effectively to problems and to help school staffs develop conflict-management skills.

The goals are to reduce time and expense in resolving disputes, as well as to avoid disputes through training and mentoring. Besides providing direct services such as mediation, the center will develop curriculum related to violence prevention and alternative dispute resolution.

Until the center puts together its staff, the DOE will continue hiring private mediators.