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Healthy Interactions

General Information

Healthy Interactions is a communications and conflict-resolution program that the Association offers in collaboration with individual school divisions. The program has been successfully implemented in a number of jurisdictions in the province. The Healthy Interactions Program trains all staff in the jurisdiction in the communication and conflict-resolution skills they need to handle parental complaints and other concerns. Participants finish the program with increased confidence in dealing with concerns.

The program also focuses on helping school divisions develop appropriate policy and protocols for addressing issues, and to organize campaigns to inform parents and the public about the program.

The Healthy Interactions Program has four training modules:

  1. Understanding Conflict in Schools: This module will give participants a greater understanding of conflict and conflict resolution. The conflict cycle is discussed, and participants identify factors that increase resolution resistance. Core conflict is separated from complicating factors.

    Interest-based framing is used to define underlying interests, as this often makes it easier to resolve conflict.
     
  2. Communication Skills: This module will reinforce participants’ existing skills and allow them to develop and practise new communication skills to deal with conflict.
     
  3. The Healthy Interactions Process: This module teaches participants how to implement a districtwide template for handling concerns in a consistent, comprehensive and interest-based manner that is fair to everyone. 
     
  4. An Ethos of Good Faith: All community members must know that concerns are resolved in an interest-based manner that is fair to everyone. This module shows participants how to develop a districtwide public relations plan for improving interactions between all parties.

To learn more about the program, call or email Sandy Gillis at 780-447-9400 or 1-800-232-7208 or at sandy.gillis@ata.ab.ca.

Workshops

Healthy Interactions Facilitator Training Workshop—2 day in person workshop.

Understanding Conflict—A Communication Workshop

The concepts taught in this workshop are based on the Healthy Interactions approach, however it is significantly condensed and includes only a few of the individual skill building aspects of the program. This workshop is intended to help individual teachers and principals enhance their personal ability to deal with conflict concerns. 

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