PROJECT  PEACE  FOR  SCHOOLS

Project Peace for schools is a unique, comprehensive approach to peace education and violence prevention that promotes a safe school environment and encourages optimal learning through academic and social growth. Training is offered to administrators, educators, support staff, students and parents with continued follow-up and support over a three to four year period.

Designed as a Training for Trainers model, Project Peace begins with the selection of violence prevention or peace teams composed of teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and students. The teams meet monthly with Peace Center trainers and are empowered to serve as leaders in creating safety for their school. The school will then be self-sufficient in continuing the program.

Project Peace meets the individual needs of your school based on data collected in a needs assessment questionnaire. Peace Center staff and trainers in consultation with Dr. Sandra Bloom, a leading psychiatrist and President of the Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility, developed this comprehensive violence prevention approach. The programs incorporate Dr. Bloom's Model of Public Safety, Deborah Prothrow-Stith 's Public Health Model, and the work of Alan Creighton and Paul Kivel on safety, healing, liberation, and justice.

Based on evaluations in pre and post tests conducted by an independent team of researchers from Lehigh University, Project Peace programs have made a significant difference in reducing school violence. Conflict resolution training creates opportunities for students to develop effective and positive interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, creative thinking, and problem solving strategies. Additionally, it promotes an environment of trust and cooperation, a sense of community, and cultural awareness.

This peace education initiative sends a strong message to the entire community that your school values peaceful resolutions to conflict in collaboration with the safety and well being of teachers and students.

	Leadership  Development  -  Middle/High  School

The goal of this after school program is to empower students to achieve a specific and defined goal (i.e. community project) accomplished through guided, open discussion, facilitated activities and role-plays. This work would all center on conflict resolution themes, specifically geared toward group and community (i.e. middle school, high school, negative/positive leaders). Topics covered are:

• All the 'isms' (adultism, racism, sexism, heterosexism)
• Peer pressure
• Body image
• What it means to be a leader
• Skills to improve leadership abilities

Cost depends on number of weeks and number of hours per week.
The program can be scheduled to run 1 to 2 hours per week.

Mediation is useful in a wide variety of conflicts, particularly in the aftermath of an incident, at the point when emotions have eased enough that the parties can begin to negotiate. The participants resolve problems, let go their sense of grievance, and mend broken relationships. The process helps people find answers to at least some of their concerns and walk away emotionally relieved, with an agreement that they will uphold. These skills are demonstrated through interactive activities and several role-plays in which the students play both mediator and disputant. The training covers:

• The mediation process
• How to make schools safe (physical, psychological, social, and moral safety)
• Exploring conflict
• Communication skills
• Appreciation of similarities and differences in people

Fee includes 15 hours of training with monthly follow-up and a refresher course.

The Peace Center maintains an extensive collection of the most current conflict resolution curricula as well as a library of books and videos on the theory and practice of managing conflict and preventing violence. We are members of the Association for Conflict Resolution, (a merged organization of AFM, CREnet, and SPIDIR) and the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs, to help you evaluate current curricula and programs, and to tailor programs to fit your schedule and budget. We also offer short presentations and thematic overviews for the workshops and trainings offered depending on your school's need.

Teachers and educators will experience activities and curriculum, which will show how to infuse the values and concepts of creating sanctuary in the classroom by implementing:

• How to handle bullying and name-calling
• Classroom Meetings:  group problem solving
• Peace Corners:  creating an appropriate place for students to resolve conflicts
• Check-in's and Check-out's:  a form of identifying feelings

Fee covers a two-day workshop and also explores other problem-solving techniques.

This workshop focuses on activities and skill building for students and teachers in the middle/high school classes. Teachers will learn how to integrate this information into existing curriculum and lesson plans. Topics include:

• Communication skills
• Active listening as a means of de-escalating conflict
• Creative problem solving process in the classroom
• Dealing with difficult people
• Skills and techniques for training students

Fee covers a one day training.

This one-day workshop for teachers demonstrates a unique way of working disruptive students within the classroom setting. This workshop was inspired by the work of Dr. Irwin Hyman, author of School Discipline and School Violence. Topics include:

• Techniques for dealing with disruptive behavior
• Identifying the root cause of disruptive behavior
• Identifying your personal style of discipline and problem solving, and using it to your advantage
• Resources for continued support

Fee covers a one day training.

Teachers and staff will learn strategies and skills to resolve conflicts peacefully and build community, ultimately reducing bullying and teasing. This training focuses on interactive activities that encourage students to express their emotions constructively and develop respect for themselves and others. Skills are developed in the following areas:

• Effective communication
• Empowering youth
• Active listening
• Building trust and respect
• Problem solving
• Conflict Resolution

Fee covers one 8-hour day or two 4-hour days.

Conflict results when students have difficulty understanding one another's differences. Classroom enrichment activities help students understand and benefit from their diversity. This workshop is geared towards students, but can be modified for staff. Topics covered are:

• Cultural awareness
• Reducing prejudice
• Cross-cultural communication
• Exploring assumptions and stereotyping

Fee covers a 4 hour training.

This workshop examines how people can resolve conflicts when angry. The knowledge and skills that students can expect to acquire upon completion of the course are an understanding of where anger comes from and how to deal with anger in a productive and functional manner. Topics will include:

• Roots of anger
• Developing an emotional intelligence
• Reacting vs. responding
• Creative and non-violent alternatives for resolving conflicts
• Basic conflict resolution skills will also be discussed as tools for managing anger

Fee covers a 4 hour training.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs, to help you evaluate current curricula and programs, and to tailor programs to fit your schedule and budget. We also offer short presentations and thematic overviews for the workshops and trainings offered depending on your school's need.