Pasadena Unified School District 2026 ABCs of Conflict

Why | What | Who | When & Where | Registration

WJC is excited to train PUSD teachers and administrators in Restorative Practices and Conflict Resolution Education for Year Four of our partnership. WJC equips young people with tools to manage conflict, reduce violence, navigate complexity, and embrace their differences to positively affect their future – and ours. This is why we believe in implementing circle practice and peer mediation in the classroom and throughout the whole school to create long-lasting change.

If you're not part of PUSD and would like to attend ABCs of Conflict, please click here.

Why ABCs of Conflict Matters?

When students are equipped with the skills to resolve conflict peacefully, to listen with empathy, and to lead their communities—they don’t just feel safer at school. They learn more. They show up more. They become more. Our framework builds belonging, raises grades, and reduces absenteeism.

This 3-day PUSD specialized training will focus on building restorative ecosystems in our schools. Participants will develop their skills in community building and Conflict Resolution in schools through Community Circles, Restorative Communication, Circles responding to harm and conflict, and utilizing student leadership in these processes.

What is ABCs of Conflict?

ABCs of Conflict is a 3-day training where educators will:

• Understand Conflict Resolution Education and Restorative Justice philosophy and practices. 

• Run and create restorative community-building and harm-healing circles

• Be prepared to create Restorative Classrooms and school-based environments.

Who It’s For

ABC's of Conflict PUSD is designed for K-12 teachers, counselors, administrators, school board members, after-school providers, parent-teacher organization leaders, youth development professionals, and others interested in bringing conflict resolution education to their school communities. 

Reasons to Attend:

• Learn to increase the ability to positively impact your students and their social-emotional learning environment.

• Equip your school community with these practices so individuals can engage in new forms of dialogue and feel empowered when conflict arises. 

• Establish more infrastructure for building community on campus.

We are building capacity at each school site, so this training is for first-time participants. If you attended ABCs last year and are a key person in school-wide implementation [Principal, AP, Coach, etc.], you are encouraged to join on June 18th for our closing planning day to work with your school's team. Please confirm with Randel Johnson (johnson.randel@pusd.us) regarding your attendance.

What’s New This Year

This year, we will be focusing on building restorative ecosystems within our roles and classrooms. This means we will split into three simultaneous groups- Elementary, Middle, and High School levels to support in developing the most relevant and focused learning for each participant [including circles for community building, responsive circles, and conflict resolution tools within the classroom environment].

We will be spending time focusing on “Co-Leadership” with students as a restorative approach and will be joined on the last day by PUSD students who have been trained as Peer Mediators or gained other Conflict Resolution Education to work alongside participants to plan for the coming year.

When & Where

Event Name: Pasadena Unified School District 2026 ABCs of Conflict (Download Flyer)
When: June 16-18, 2026 (Monday through Wednesday), 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Where: Maxwell House, 55 Grand Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
Compensation: You will be compensated for your participation in the training through PUSD (more information to be shared soon)
Schedule: Coming Soon!

Registration

Ready to build a more just and empowered school community? Submit your registration to join our 3-day training; space is limited! We review each application and tailor the experience to your needs.

We can only accept 3 staff members per school. Registrants have been recommended by school-site leadership. If you’re interested in attending but have not spoken with leadership, please email Anthony Ayala (anthony@westernjustice.org) and Randel Johnson (johnson.randel@pusd.us), along with your site leadership, to let us know your interest so we can determine what we can accommodate.

Application Deadline: May 21, 2026

For general inquiries, please contact anthony@westernjustice.org.