As the decision to close or renovate East Junior High School in Turtle Creek is made, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will pay close attention to what happens afterward.

Representatives from the commission were in attendance during the Woodland Hills School Board meeting June 18 to follow up on earlier efforts to address discipline problems in some district schools.

"It is part of the mission of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to help ensure educational equity for Pennsylvania students," wrote PHRC regional director George Simmons in an e-mail. "We felt recent incidents in Woodland Hills were jeopardizing the education of both students who had been involved in violent incidents and those who had not."

Mr. Simmons said he met with former district superintendent Roslynne Wilson in early May, and she followed up with a request for the commission's intervention.

Members of the commission facilitated a meeting between teachers, parents, community leaders, law enforcement officials from all 12 municipalities in the district and the Allegheny County District Attorney on May 9.

That meeting lead to discussions of increased community involvement in responding to school fights, increased teacher training, conflict resolution training for students and efforts to increase funding for community groups that address violence.

One plan the commission hopes to help implement in district schools is the Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together, or SPIRIT, program. The SPIRIT program deals directly with conflict resolution and teaches young people how to deal with peer-to-peer harassment against themselves and others.

"SPIRIT ... was developed by the U.S. Department of Justice to foster communication among different student groups. The 2 1/2-day training puts issues like bullying, fighting and harassment on the table and brings everyone into the conversation with ideas and a plan for solving problems. The same program can be tailored to teachers." wrote Mr. Simmons.

Members of the commission acknowledge that the closure of East Junior High and subsequent transfer of East students to West could cause more of the same problems. However, they say early cooperation between communities and schools can help stop some of those problems before they appear.

"Any time groups of students from different neighborhoods, socioeconomic classes and cultures come together there is potential for tension. But if the school district and community have planned for the merger and addressed student and staff training issues like embracing diversity, conflict resolution, etc., they are prepared to meet change in a positive way," wrote Mr. Simmons.

Woodland Hills' new superintendent, Walter Calinger, would not say for certain that he would implement suggestions made by the commission, but said he was open to partnerships that would help address discipline problems.

"I'm going to look at everything to solve our problems. [But] the greatest partnership I want to be involved in is from parents," he said. "I want involvement from every parent to make the school safe."

The school board is expected to vote at a meeting at 4:30 this afternoon on whether to close East Junior High.