Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical High School will open its doors in September with an innovative curriculum with academic rigor as well as special attention to school climate and positive youth development.

The receipt of an Edward S. and Winifred G. Moseley Foundation grant has provided Essex Technical High School and North Shore Community Mediation Center (NSCMC) the means to partner to create an organized approach to prevention, intervention and restorative conflict resolution practices.
North Shore – August 26, 2014 – The merger of three educational communities, Essex Agricultural & Technical High School, North Shore Technical High School, and the three vocational programs from Peabody High School, will create a new school community of 1,440 students from Essex County. While an exciting and unprecedented merger, it does present challenges to create a safe, diverse and open culture. Integrating this diverse population of students who come with unique experiences from all Essex County communities in addition to offering a demanding academic curriculum could be difficult. However, the school personnel recognizes these challenges and has taken unprecedented steps to start the year off with a common mission. As stated by Principal Brad Morgan, “Having the expertise of North Shore Community Mediation Center along with our student support staff will ensure that we establish the policies and procedures, provide consistent training of our staff, and engender a common mission across the school’s culture.”
North Shore Community Mediation Center has a twenty year history of providing mediation, conflict resolution and related training services to the communities and residents of Essex County. Specifically, NSCMC provides peer mediation training and program development to schools throughout Essex County. “We are looking forward to this important collaboration” says NSCMC’s Executive Director, Cynthia McClorey. “Our common goals will be to set consistent norms and expectations for a positive school climate, provide resources for conflict resolution and encourage a common understanding of a code of behavior. The administration of Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical High School should be applauded for recognizing the importance of supporting their students’ positive youth development.”
North Shore Community Mediation Center, Inc. (NSCMC), an independent non-profit corporation begun in 1994, provides alternative dispute resolution and training services to the communities of the North Shore. Volunteer mediators from NSCMC work to promote better understanding and communication by offering high quality mediation services to those in conflict. Contact us for information about our 20th Year Anniversary Celebration in the Fall/2014!
For more information about Peer Mediation call Anya McDavitt, Director of Youth Programs, 978-232-0002 or visit the NSCMC website www.nsmediation.org