The news from Philadelphia these days is full of violence, but at Rhoads Elementary School in the west Philadelphia section of the city, peace is breaking out instead of fights. Project PEACE (Peaceful Endings through Attorneys, Children, and Educators) is the peer mediation program co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and it has come to Rhoads thanks to a partnership between the school and the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Public Interest program. Nineteen Rhoads students spent four intense afternoons (three of which were on their own time as school had early dismissal for parent conferences) at the end of March learning the skills of conflict resolution with support from local lawyers, law students and educators.

Following a training model developed especially for Rhoads by Project PEACE creator and PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Trevaskis, who joined the Rhoads students for their first day of training, Rhoads students learned to mediate conflicts involving other students. Since its inception in Pennsylvania in 1999, more than 200 elementary schools throughout the Commonwealth have participated in Project PEACE training. Lawyers, law students and other community leaders work with schools through Project PEACE to bring conflict resolution training and peer mediation education to young people in every corner of the Commonwealth. The PEACE mission has been embraced by Philadelphia School District CEO Paul Vallas who committed in 2004 to bringing Project PEACE to every elementary school in Philadelphia. Though that goal remains a distant reach, every new effort such as the one at Rhoads brings PEACE to more city children.

When teachers, administrators, and parents first observe the results of this program, they are amazed at the ease with which students, who are just reaching double-digit ages, diffuse and resolve conflicts. But conflict management skills are not all they learn. Students in Project PEACE also gain a profound understanding of life—they discover truths that many adults have forgotten. One of the primary benefits of Project PEACE is that it teaches students that conflict is an inevitable part of life that they should not fear. Through their experience, students see how conflict can create opportunities for growth and development. As a fifth grader told his school's attorney partner, "It's good to be in conflict because it helps you learn to solve problems". This attitude is borne out by independent evaluations of the Project PEACE and other similar mediation programs in the schools. Observers find that Project PEACE students feel confident in their ability to handle conflict without resort to violence. How many adults do you know who wish they felt that way?

Teachers will tell you that in the field of education, trends come and go every two or three years. Someone is always promoting the latest and greatest. Measured by that yardstick, Project PEACE, at eight years of age in Pennsylvania, has survived a couple of lifetimes or more. Why? Perhaps it is the program's emphasis on self-determination in resolving conflict. That connects with youth who clamor for greater independence. Students learn that with greater independence comes greater commitment and responsibility.

In a world where violence and disruptive behaviors have become increasingly common, Project PEACE promotes civility and tranquility. Studies of Project PEACE and other peer mediation programs have found that teachers perceived less verbal harassment, physical harassment, and uncooperative behavior among their students after those students had participated in mediation programs generally and Project PEACE specifically. Studies found that students who participated in Project PEACE were able to resolve more problems themselves or through other student intervention. That, in turn, enabled teachers to devote more of their time and energy to teaching rather than disciplining.

This does not mean that Project PEACE is a substitute for discipline. Nothing could be further from the truth. Peer mediation does not replace discipline—it enhances it. Students involved in the program learn firsthand that there are consequences for their behavior and that they must accept responsibility for those consequences. When discipline is doled out, students understand why and accept it. Project PEACE proves that in the shadows of the rebellious, irresponsible youth of The Lord of the Flies, there is a resourceful, compassionate individual who is willing to take ownership for his or her actions.

Lynette Lazarus, a nurse and the Project PEACE coordinator at Sharswood Elementary School in Philadelphia since the program began there in 1999 when it was among the first schools trained in Pennsylvania, has seen "incredible personal growth" in students after they complete peer mediation training. Her students exhibit more self-confidence and pride, as well as a greater awareness of how conflicts are created and how they are resolved. According to Lazurus, we should never underestimate the ability of children to deal effectively with the fundamental challenges of life. The key, she says, is to establish high expectations for the children. They can accomplish far more than we think. Lazurus and her students traveled to Harrisburg in early March to present Project PEACE as a means of maintaining healthy schools at a convention of school nurses.

Before students are ever exposed to the techniques used in Project PEACE, an adult team representing the school is formed. The purpose of this team is to establish the groundwork for setting up a conflict resolution education and peer mediation program in the school. At Rhoads, Principal Gayle D. Daniels and Counselor Marsha S. Weiford were the leaders in bring PEACE to their school. They reviewed Project PEACE methods and materials from the nationally respected Community Boards Program, then worked with PBA staff to develop a program that fit the needs of the school.

The classic school team for Project PEACE consists of representatives from the administration, faculty, and parents, as well as an attorney volunteer. Although the school personnel assume the greatest responsibility for successfully implementing and maintaining the program, the attorney partner is what distinguishes Project PEACE from other educational innovations. Research in why kids and schools succeed, as well as research on school mediation programs, suggests that the partner from the outside community can have a significant impact in improving school climate. The attorney is the key partner from beyond the school community in Project PEACE. Project Peace provides members of the bar with a unique opportunity to nurture and guide the development of our most important resource: our children. The attorney's example teaches students more than just how to resolve problems—it shows them how to conduct their daily activities in a constructive and productive way.

Rhoads was lucky to have a few attorney partners during its PEACE training, including the PBA's Trevaskis, community lawyer Barbara Vetri and Marium Jabyn, a Penn Law graduate student with a law degree from her homeland of India. Additionally, Penn Law Public Interest Coordinator Brad Jacobson helped lead the training and he brought law students from both Penn (Amy Retsinas) and Temple (Trevor Lippman) to Rhoads to support the training.

Lawyers and law students wear many hats—advisor, advocate, scrivener, spokesperson—both at work and with Project PEACE. This versatility allows them to serve the varying needs of participating schools. As a member of the Project PEACE team, the lawyer or law student's job is to fill the gaps the team sees in building its program. A Project PEACE lawyer or law student can, for example, use her or his organizational skills to help set up the program and coordinate activities. He or she can help promote the program within the local community. If a lawyer can educate a jury about some esoteric, technical aspect of the law, lawyers and law students also have the skills to help train faculty and students to use the Project PEACE dispute resolution process. Many lawyer volunteers have helped their schools find speakers for kickoff programs and other meetings or obtain proclamations from local and state elected officials recognizing Project PEACE. Above all else, lawyers and law students can acknowledge the effort of the students and show enthusiastic support for the school effort. In an era when negative reinforcement flows freely, a little bit of spunk and praise goes a long way in lifting the spirits of students, faculty, and administrators.

Although Project PEACE asks its attorney and law student volunteers for some of their time, energy, and knowledge, it does not look to its lawyer partners for financial support, though the Rhoads mediators did win a pizza bet with one of their attorney partners that they enjoyed cashing in on during the final day of training. Many Project PEACE schools seek funds and in-kind contributions (such as pizzas, caps, T-shirts, banners) from civic-minded businesses and organizations. If an attorney or law student is willing to help solicit that kind of support for Project PEACE, that is fine, but the partner is not expected to provide that financial support. The attorney or law student's other contributions have a greater value to the program.

Many lawyers and law students involved in Project PEACE have noted that they learned more from the students than the students learned from them. One lawyer involved in the Rhoads training explained: "Sometimes the students remind us of simple truths we've taken for granted and forgotten. When I asked a fifth grader what he learned during his two years as a Conflict Mediator at one of the other PEACE schools in the city, he said, .To solve other people's problems, you need to solve your own.' True enough, but how many of us regularly put that knowledge into practice?"

The Rhoads Project PEACE training involved the following individuals:

• Pennsylvania Bar participants were:
  • David Trevaskis, Pro Bono Coordinator
  • Chanel Broadus, Pro Bono Intern
• Penn Law participants:
  • Amy Retsinas
  • Marium Jabyn
  • Brad Jacobson
• Temple Law participants:
  • Trevor Lippman
• Rhoads School staff participants:
  • Marsha S. Weiford, Counselor
  • Gayle D. Daniels, Principal
• Community participants:
  • Barbara Vetri, attorney
• Rhoads Students:
  • Cynterria Henderson
  • Rosalind Williams
  • Taneisha Williams
  • Tayonna Dorsey
  • Ciani Mceachin
  • Tessyanna Bush
  • Kamia Fisher
  • LaTesha Sanders
  • Jessica Nixon
  • Russell Davis
  • Eriq Hospedale
  • Quadira McPherson
  • Rehminka Green
  • Ashley Ezekiel
  • Mensah Islamu
  • Philesha Lewis
  • William Anderson
  • Nailah Brogdon
  • Dynil Deloatch
  • Myron Cohen
  • Michael Riley
  • Shaquil Clement
  • Jaydee Morgan
  • Khayri Martin
  • Arthur Benson
  • Basseer Bell
  • Andrea Mack
  • Vishna Counsil