For the CRS Records

CRS Alumni can record history of experiences, great techniques that worked, or words of wisdom for others. For example here is some background on the SPIRIT program developed in request made by the Associate Director Ben Lieu.

From: Stephen Thom [mailto:snthom32@yahoo.com]


Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 09:37 PM

To: Lieu, Ben (CRS)

Subject: Re: FW: Question On CRS' SPIRIT. Program...

I first heard of the SPIRIT concept in 1985 from Julian Klugman, Region 9 Director. He was working with Barbara Huie of Headquarters, Program Support. Barbara asked me to participate in a experimental school race relations program at Stagg High School in Fresno, CA.as a joint agency project. I was not able to participate since I at the time was employed as the Director of Asian Pacific American Concerns Office in the Department of Education and not available. Between 1985 and 1987 Region 9 conducted one or two other High School Race Relations Programs still modifying and adjusting it. In 1987, I came on to the Region 9 staff and worked with Barbara Greenberg, Julian Klugman, Booker Neal, Joel Benavidez and myself to conduct a Race Relations Program at Las Vegas High School. Other Region 9 staff arranged SPIR programs using only CRS staff at High School in Moreno Valley, and Long Beach. Barbara Greenberg former CRS Hqt.Education Specialist and Region 9 Conciliator wrote an article on the SPIR (Student Problem Solving Identification/Resolution) Program in the NASSP Bulletin in 1991. The next big break through took place when Booker Neal, Conciliation Specialist worked with the Asian Advisory Committee to the Oakland Police Department to conduct a SPIR program using community volunteers and police officers as facilitators. This step using other than CRS staff made the program feasible and available lowering the burden on CRS staff. Recognizing the benefits of training community volunteers, I began developing forms and boiler plate guides for conducting the SPIR programs and wrote an article "Building Bridges Among Diverse Students" for the School Safety Magazine in the Fall 1994 in which we changed SPIR to SPIRIT (Student Problem Identifying and Resolving Issues Together) to better describe the involvement of students and community leaders, professional and lay person working together to improve race relations. By this time, the SPIRIT program was packaged and being shared at staff conferences. There is some history in both of the SPIR and SPIRIT articles. If you do not have access to them, I could scan you a copy of each. I received alot of the credit for the SPIRIT program, because I organized and packaged it for easier replication, but all of Region 9 and Barbara Huie played a role and could be considered founders. Including Vermont and Bill Briggs who were not mentioned above. I hope this helps. Please keep it somewhere safe, I won't remember anything in ten years or so.