Legal Prep Charter Academy has a 46-member, student-led restorative justice force known as the Peace Warriors.
From Conflict to Peacebuilding
The program, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, centers on restorative justice at Legal Prep. The report also discusses the school's approach to physical conflict.
Peace Warriors conduct peace circles to mediate disputes, monitor school interactions and even social media conflicts, and mentor students who are struggling. The group also supports students dealing with family sickness or loss, and its members volunteer to de-escalate tense situations among peers and staff both on and off campus, the Tribune reports.
Rooted in a Program Born From Too Many Funerals
The Peace Warriors model traces back to a program at North Lawndale College Prep High School. Chemistry teacher and social-justice advocate Tiffany Childress began that program in 2009, according to the Addie Wyatt Center. The center reports that the program produced a 90% reduction in in-school violence.
The Peace Warriors program uses training rooted in principles of nonviolence. The curriculum includes the Six Principles of Kingian Nonviolence, according to research published through DigitalCommons@URI. Legal Prep's Peace Warriors program is student-led, per the Tribune's account.
Students Say the Role Changed Them
For 18-year-old Jessica Rule, an Illinois State University musical theater major, becoming a Peace Warrior was part of her experience at her school. Javon Phillips, an 18-year-old now studying computer science at Northern Illinois University, also joined the Peace Warriors, according to the same report.
When students do get into altercations, the school's restorative approach addresses conflicts outside traditional discipline, the Tribune reports. That framework fits within a statewide shift in Illinois school discipline: Senate Bill 100, signed into law in 2015, restricted out-of-school suspensions and expulsions in public schools and promoted non-exclusionary restorative justice practices, according to a report from Teach Plus.
Partnerships Beyond the Classroom
Legal Prep's approach to safety extends past its own hallways. The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago describes broader street outreach work. That work has coincided with a 48% decrease in shootings in West Garfield Park since 2016, according to the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago.
The Tribune also reports on the school's Peace Warriors program.
A Wider Context for Chicago Teens
The Tribune's report also provides a wider context for Chicago teens.
That context sits alongside the broader issue of gun violence facing Chicago students. The surrounding West Side judicial system has embraced restorative principles, and the North Lawndale Restorative Justice Community Court is cited as an example.
Legal Prep's Future
Legal Prep is a charter high school in Chicago.
Legal Prep's Chicago campus is part of the broader context surrounding the school.
