Trust And Healing

• Once everyone has arrived and taken a seat around the circle, remove any extra chairs. Late comers may not participate.
• Ask everyone to put everything away. Silence all cell phones, and take everything off your lap.

• Welcome the group: Introduce yourself, and begin by saying, “A Story Circle is a group of people telling personal narratives, while sitting in a circle. The Free Southern Theatre created this process and methodology in 1963, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. They used it to bring people together and talk about important issues, experiences, and reflect on their reality. For us, we will use this as an opportunity to listen intensely, meditatively and to create a space where all voices can be heard and valued equally.”
• If this is being done virtually ask everyone to turn on their cameras and mute themselves when they are not speaking
• Confirm there are no concerns with a notetaker being present.
• Set community agreements: Spend five minutes reminding participants of the expected behaviors and to respect the different perspectives present. By doing this, you help share responsibility for the well-being and direction of the group. The notetaker should post these and keep them visible during the session. Some example agreements include:
1. We listen to each other with compassion and curiosity
2. We ask for what we need and offer what we can
• Share the plan for the Story Circle: “The Story Circle will follow a number of steps. We will begin with a prompt based on your experiences with learning in our community. Once we share the prompt, we will take a moment of silence, until someone is ready to begin speaking. We ask you to share a story that lasts about three to five minutes in response to the prompt. We will also be passing around a voice recorder. Each person may choose to hit record or not; it’s up to you. These recordings will be saved for your community archives, and will remain anonymous.”
• “Once the first person is moved to speak, I will hand them the voice recorder, and you may hit record, or pause the recording. You can pause, or ask the recording to be paused, at any time during your story.”
1. If you are hosting the event virtually, the host may be the only one to record. Ask each participant before they begin speaking if they want to be recorded.
2. If possible, enlarge the speaker’s screen. This helps all guests watch the speaker and listen more deeply to their story.
• “After the person is finished, the person to the left will tell a story that relates to the prompt. After that, the person to that person’s left will tell a story that relates to the prompt and so on.”
• If you are doing a virtual meeting, invite guests to use the “raise hand” feature and pass the spotlight to the first person to do so. If you have multiple volunteers, choose one and record the additional names on your sheet and send the spotlight to them once the next person finishes speaking. Otherwise, the job of the facilitator will be to offer each person a time to speak.
• “Each guest is welcome to pass their turn. Once we have gone around the circle once, we will come back around and offer everyone who passed another chance to tell a story.”
• Introduce a few other guidelines:
1. “Tell a story, not an argument, analysis, opinion, sermon or explanation. A story has a beginning, middle and end.”
2. “You are telling a personal story, one that will contribute to a larger story we are making together in the center of the circle.
3. “Do not think of your story in advance. Listen to the story before you, observe where the story in the middle goes, and tell a story that contributes. Remember, you can take a pause, or pass if you’d like.”
4. “You may hear a story that upsets or bothers you. Remember that these stories are the experiences of your fellow community members.. Listen generously, and when your turn comes, share a story from your perspective.”
• Lastly, here are a final few guidelines:
1. “Just listen. Only talk when it’s your turn to share a story.”
2. “Avoid commenting on others’ stories when telling your own.”
3. “Everyone participates. There are no observers or audience members, including the facilitator.”
4. “No one enters or leaves the room during the story circle, except for emergencies. ”
5. “Participation includes active listening. Don’t interrupt another person’s story. If someone constantly interrupts others and doesn’t allow people to finish their thoughts, the group may ask them to leave."
6. After we have all shared our stories, we will have the chance for open discussion about what was shared.”
• Ask if anyone has any questions.

• Give the prompt. “Tell a personal story about a time when a decision made by your school or school system caused harm to you or your loved ones.”
• If that does not address your purpose, consider these additional prompt ideas: 
1. Tell a story about a time when…
• You felt like you belonged in your school community
• A crisis hit your school community
2. Tell us about your fondest memories of school as a child
• After you have gone around the circle once, go around again to invite those who passed to share.
• After everyone has shared a story, and you have gone around the circle again, facilitate an open dialogue. At this stage, the participants will reflect on the key words and phrases that arose during the stories.
• In this stage, agree as a group that we will share the learnings, not the personal details. We want to protect people’s stories, and seek a shared understanding and collective story. 
• If agreed upon earlier, the notetaker should capture the learnings using the easel and markers.
• If doing this virtually, you may use the chat or whiteboard feature to capture the learnings

• Thank the group for contributing and sharing their stories. Acknowledge the group has been through a lot together, and sharing such personal stories isn't always easy. Remind the group that the conversations held today are confidential. Note that people's names, and faces if recorded virtually, will not be linked to their stories. The themes, key words and phrases will be shared with the project team, but they will not be traced back to any specific community member.
• If these circles are being hosted as part of a series, you can share the upcoming dates or order of the gatherings so that members may be aware, or invite others to join. It also helps to convey the intentionality and inclusivity of the process and build confidence that these circles are meaningful and important to the district.

Organize all materials on an easily accessible table in the front or middle of the room.

Arrange the room to have large work-surfaces shared by 3 or more people. It is best for participants to work side-by-side others to draw inspiration and form connections as they work.

Put scissors, key rings, string, and beads on each of the tables. If you have any other materials, you can consider dispersing those across the tables or keep them in the center for people to access as needed.

Put the polaroid camera somewhere easily accessible, or agree on who will take and later share or print pictures with a phone camera.

Set up the foamcore, frame or display board in the front of the room. As you introduce the activity, you will be able to reference this as the place to set up the finished art.

If you are doing this virtually, set up a virtual whiteboard. This could be done via Google Docs, Google Slides, a whiteboard in Zoom, Miro or Mural. Any collaborative tool will work for this, just make sure that all participants may access and contribute to it as they will be asked to build their art piece in this space.

Keep in mind you may need to facilitate a 10-15 minute training session to familiarize the group with how to use the technology (add text, add images, add icons, move things around, etc.).

In person:

Once everyone arrives, thank them for coming and introduce the activity.

“We will be creating a shared collection of art, one that tells stories of our experiences here in our community.”

“You will each be given a tile (or blank piece of paper or canvas). Use whatever materials we have available to create a reaction to the prompt. Think of this like a page in a scrapbook, or one mosaic tile in a big mural.”

Note: If you plan to display on a mounted wall, ask participants to use keychains or string to create an attachable loop. Alternatively, you can take images of the larger art pieces and mount those.

“The prompt for today’s art project is “Draw, paint or make something that symbolizes something you cherish about your learning experiences in this community.”

“Some of you may have brought artifacts for this project. We encourage you to integrate them into your art project, either using the object directly by attaching it to the page, take a picture of it, or paint it onto the tile.

(If a Polaroid camera is available) “We have a Polaroid camera to take pictures to include in your project when needed.”

“You can use color, shapes, or symbols to represent your experience and story. You don’t have to use exact objects. These symbols can relate to sports, local landmarks, and other meaningful icons.”

“We will hand out title and caption cards. As you finish, caption and describe the images. What do they symbolize and why do they matter to you?”

Pass out a title and caption card to each person. (Each template has two cards on it, so cut along the dotted line to separate the cards.)

DOWNLOAD WORKSHEET

Virtual:

Follow the instructions above, adjusting for the virtual environment. Ask them to create a mural or collage using the images, icons, shapes, drawing tools and colors at their disposal in the platform you have chosen. Participants can use their own images, or collect images online to represent their perspectives.

Allow the group to spend 20 minutes making the artifact.

In person:

As the facilitator, walk around and listen to the conversations. What do you notice? Make note of key quotes or feelings you see or hear during the session. You can ask about these observations during the reflection section. The co-facilitator can use this time to make sure everyone has access to the materials, and ensure that the artifacts are being created in a way that allows them to be pinned to your wall/frame, or displayed within whatever constraints you have for your project.

Virtual:

Remember, if you are doing this virtually, participants may not be comfortable using the technology. You may need to do a quick tutorial to demonstrate how the template works, how to add text, and how to add images. If drawing is possible, show that as well. Be available to answer any questions as they come up.

Place people into smaller breakout sessions if that is available. Allow them to work in their own environment to create their art. As the facilitator, visit each of the breakout sessions to ensure they are engaged and listen to the conversations. What do you notice? Make note of key quotes or feelings you see or hear during the sessions.

The co-facilitator should also troubleshoot technology challenges during this time.

For digital submissions, set up a folder in a shared drive (such as Google Drive or a similar platform) where participants can drop their completed artboard, or a  picture of their art completed at home. Share the link with participants so they know where they can drop their completed project.

Ask for volunteers to share their art with the group. In three minutes or less, volunteers share their title and caption, present their commemorative artifact, and explain what they made and what it symbolizes. Everyone should have a chance to share, but people may choose to pass if they wish.

Once all participants who want to share have done so, discuss as a group:

• What collective story is emerging?
• How did this activity make you feel?
• What learnings did you have from listening to others share their art and experiences?
• Decide on a title that represents the collection of art, stories, and expressed values.

Let the group know where their art will be displayed. If possible, engage the group to discuss an ideal place within their community where you can display this art collection.

Show them where they can find other community art projects (if this is part of a broader collection)

Share how they can stay involved in future discussions to dream about the future of the learning experience together.