Cal Prep's Peacemaker: Ms. Trish

Interview by Rabina and Axel

Text Transcription by Datu, Audio by Jonah

Ms. Trish is not only Cal Prep's Restorative Practices Coordinator, she also is a collector of Van shoes!

Rabina and Axel: Who is Ms. Trish?

Ms. Trish: My title is "Restorative Practices Coordinator." When I say that, people usually ask, "What's that?" I answer that restorative practice is the idea that when things happen in the classroom or a student is asked out of the classroom there are feelings. This may feel like, "this isn't fair", or "I didn't do anything" or, "they put me out". And none of those feel good. Educators may also have feelings. When students come back to class, they or even educators may still have negative feelings.

A big part of my work is sitting down with those parties involved and giving them both an opportunity to share what happened from their perspectives. We then talk about how we move forward now that this thing has happened?

Sometimes there are agreements made between the student and the teacher, like the teacher saying, "I'm gonna give you a new seat." Or maybe, " While I'm giving instruction, if you have a question, write it on a post it. We try and some up with ways to prevent whatever happened that led to the send out, from happening again.

The walls of the Wellness Center speak of Ms. Trish and her cherished memories of students, family and staff.

Some of the other work I do is when there's conflict, arguments, beef, or rumors happening between students, I sit down with them together. Each party gets to say, how they experienced things. A student may say, "Yes, that's exactly how I experienced it", or they may feel very differently. And so we get to kind of talk things out with the hope we can resolve the issue and they can move on. I guess that's who Ms. Trish is.

Rabina and Axel: That is great. What do you think would happen if we didn't have you playing that role here at Cal Prep?

Ms. Trish: Not a lot of schools have this role in their community. I think when this is the case, it can be hard to build and repair relationships when harm occurs. It can also be hard to build a strong sense of community because when things happen, there's no consistent process to make things right. There's no way to make sure that we don't go back to where we were before.

Ms. Trish: Not a lot of schools have that role. And I think when that's the case, it's harder to build relationships and to have a strong sense of community. Because when things occur, there's no one to kind of make things right. There's no one to make sure that we don't go back to where we were before.

Axel and Rabina: Where were you born?

Ms. Trish: In Oakland, California. I'm in Oaklander.

Axel and Rabina: How can you let people know that it's okay to come and talk to you about stuff, get your trust?

Ms. Trish: Usually, if there's some sort of conflict or problem and students come to me, I try to remind them that I'm always here to help. If there's a problem, they can come and talk to me about it. Students that I have strong relationships with and their friends may be having problems, will sometimes say, "You need to go tell Ms. Trish, or you need to go talk to Ms. Trish". So, many times it's word of mouth. Even teachers will sometimes ask, "Hey, it seems like maybe you're having a hard time . Did you want to go check in with Ms. Trish?" So I think it happens all kinds of ways.

Axel and Rabina: What is something you struggle with?

Ms. Trish: I definitely struggle with disrespect. I try to be as respectful as I possibly can. And so that's my expectation for students. I don't disrespect you, don't disrespect me. However, if you do, I struggle with not being able to not meet that energy. If someone snaps at me, I sometimes struggle with not snapping back. I don't want to but, I am feeling, "who are you talking to?" That's how I feel...it's like "Hold on!" So I struggle with that.

Axel and Rabina: What would be your biggest pet peeve?

Ms. Trish: When you're in this role, you have a lot of pet peeves. ( laughs) No I'm kidding. My biggest pet peeve? Well. If I see someone and I make eye contact, I usually say "Hello". I hate it when people don't speak back, like they don't hear me? I bet you I won't speak again. That's like where I get petty. So that's kind of my pet peeve. I don't like it when people don't reply to me.

Axel and Rabina: How long have you been teaching?

Ms. Trish: I don't teach in the classroom. I've been in this role for 10 years. And before that I was the campus supervisor, the person that walks around the halls.

Axel and Rabina: How long have you been teaching?

Ms. Trish: I don't teach in the classroom. I've been in this role for 10 years. And before that I was the campus supervisor, the person that walks around the halls.

Axel and Rabina: What do you enjoy most about this school?

Ms. Trish: I like the strong sense of community that we really try to create. Both of my daughters graduated from here. So I really believe in what we're doing. I love the people I work with.

Axel and Rabina: What is something you wish that could change at Cal Prep?

Axel and Rabina: How many kids will appear in your office each day?

Ms. Trish: Oh, a lot! In a day I feel like it could be as little as maybe twenty? Or it can be a lot more because I check in with students who are sent out, people who are sick, people who just don't feel well, or are just overwhelmed. Also, when teachers send students out who disrupt the learning environment, they often want to restore and have restorative conversations. Then there is the collection of phones. I gotta get the phones, and students come for bathroom passes. So quite a few people pass through my office daily.

Axel and Rabina: What would you like to say to kids to get them motivated to work harder and not just slack off?

Ms. Trish: I think that when you choose not to do your work in the beginning, you only delay having to do it later, having a lot of make-up work, or not passing. If you hate a class, why not do the work so you can pass it instead of not passing it and having to take it again?

Axel and Rabina: What are your hobbies?

Ms. Trish: I love to binge watch TV shows. I like to read, I like to spend time with people that I love. And I'm going to be a grandmother soon! So I'm waiting anxiously and excitedly for my grandson so I can play with him!