Peace First aims to create a generation of morally engaged young people with the ability and inclination to create positive change in their schools and neighborhoods. Delivered by AmeriCorps members in partnership with classroom teachers, Peace First’s curriculum focuses on establishing norms of peaceful behavior for students at each developmental level from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. Students receive weekly experiential classroom lessons to build their peacemaking skills of communication, cooperation, conflict resolution, empathy and civic engagement using a cooperative learning approach. We also coach principals and lead teachers on how to effectively support the creation of a healthy school culture. Peace First brings its unique program model to schools in Boston,Los Angeles and New York.

Because Peace First works with both students and school staff to create healthy learning environments, we have been highly effective in fostering positive change in our partner schools. Our students learn how to be creative problem solvers; teachers become effective in creating positive classroom environments; and schools build healthy and vibrant cultures that support high-levels of learning and interpersonal success.

For over 19 years, Peace First has delivered successful and consistent outcomes for over 40,000 students who, in turn, have generated over 3,500 Community Service Learning projects that have transformed schools and neighborhoods into more peaceful places. We have seen remarkable changes in each of our schools including: an average 60 percent reduction in incidences of violence, and, more importantly, a 70-80 percent increase in instances of peacemaking - children breaking up fights, including others, and helping one another.

Peace First received a national AmeriCorps award in 2010, placing 39 Corps members as lead teachers of our curriculum across our three regions. Peace First has benefitted greatly from our partnership with AmeriCorps: we now serve 6,300 students nationally (more than double the number we served the previous year), we have lengthened our curriculum from 20 weeks to 30 weeks, and we can deliver a more consistent level of quality in our programming.

In Peace First’s 2011 mid-year evaluation, teachers and principals at our partner schools praised the quality of instruction that our AmeriCorps members have provided and the impact the program model has made in their classrooms and schools. For example, 92 percent ranked the ability of AmeriCorps members to meet the lesson objectives as good or very good; 70 percent of teachers cited student skill gains and behavior shifts as a result of our work, including reduction in conflicts, fewer fights, use of kinder language, and increased inclusion; and approximately 75 percent of principals have diligently engaged in the Peace First process by establishing high expectations about the importance of our work, increasing our program’s traction in these schools.

As bullying and more acute forms of youth violence continue to be a national problem, Peace First makes an impact on the social-emotional development of young people teaching them to be leaders in their community. We believe young people have the power and responsibility to create positive change.