Peacemaker Academy

What is Peacemaker Academy?

Peacemaker Academy is our intensive nonviolent leadership formation experience for high school students. What begins as a three-week summer immersion becomes a year-long commitment to shaping school culture from within.

Rooted in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Kingian nonviolence, students are equipped not simply to avoid violence — but to analyze its root causes, mediate conflict, and lead meaningful change in their schools and community.

What do students learn?

During the Academy and throughout the school year, students develop the mindset and skills to lead change, including:

• The principles and steps of Kingian nonviolence

• How to identify root causes and systems that produce violence

• Conflict de-escalation and peer mediation strategies

• How to organize and lead peaceful campaigns

• Practices that cultivate internal resilience and emotional regulation

Students engage real issues affecting their schools and community — learning how to apply nonviolence not as theory, but as daily practice.

Measurable Growth

Peacemaker Academy measures student growth through a pre/post evaluation administered at the start of the Academy and again approximately six months later during the school year. The 2025 results demonstrate sustained, identity-level development in student leadership, conflict resolution capacity, and ethical awareness.

Six months after participation, students demonstrated:

• A shift from passive to active nonviolence — moving beyond “not fighting” to intentionally creating justice and inclusion

• Increased confidence mediating peer conflict and addressing root causes rather than surface disagreements

• Greater empathy and dignity-centered accountability — holding others responsible without dehumanization

• A strengthened sense of moral purpose and responsibility for shaping school culture

Most notably, 100% of participants reported increased leadership capacity and engagement in navigating conflict and helping to create a safer school.

This is not short-term behavior modification.

It is sustained formation — shaping young leaders prepared to build beloved community.

“Nonviolence isn’t just not fighting. It’s protecting your peace and helping others find peace.”

— Su, Northrop High School
“Through this program, I explored the root causes of injustice and learned how choosing peace over destruction builds a stronger world.”

— My’lonni, South Side High School
“Before the Academy, I assumed people were angry for no reason. Then I learned anger doesn’t come from nowhere.”

—Jonatan, Snider High School
“The best part of the Academy was being vulnerable with people that I didn’t really know, and not feeling judged. It was a safe place.”

— Arayha, Wayne High School
“The best part was learning how to communicate, by not immediately assuming and learning how to stay calm and be more open with people.”

— Latrice, South Side High School
“I loved learning about Beloved Community and learning that when you become friends with people who are different than you, you have a great opportunity to learn from each other.”

— Trec, South Side High School
"The Peacemaker Academy opened my eyes to the struggles others face, both internally and externally, and has made me more of an open-minded individual."

— Raydin, North Side High School