Peer Mediators for Life

The 2024 school year has ended, which means we recently said, “See you later” to a wonderful cohort of 8th grade peer mediators. 

At CRCSTL, we have the unique opportunity to walk alongside schools as they create peer mediation programs, and to walk alongside students as they navigate what it means to be given the title of “Peer Mediator.” This particular group of mediators is gearing up to start high school next year, and mediating conflicts with their peers as part of a structured school program may soon be a distant memory (as many of us often hope our middle school memories are…).. 

On our last day with the peer mediators, we discussed the worries and the fears of the unknown that come with starting a new high school chapter. We also focused on the impact the students had on their school and within their learning community. We took some intentional time to pause and celebrate the successful mediations and coaching sessions this team completed with their peers during the 2023-2024 school year. Reinforcing their impact, this program’s faculty sponsor has noticed a positive change in the conflict culture at the school, which is an exciting accomplishment to evaluate and celebrate as we close out the school year. The peer mediators contributed significantly as leaders and peacemakers. 

While we hope the students realized the impact they had on their middle school, our biggest hope for them is that the smaller lessons learned throughout their experience with this program become a practice in their daily lives. We hope that the peer mediation program’s impact expands  beyond the amount of cases the students resolved or didn’t resolve, or their ability to memorize the six steps of the mediation process. The impact of serving as a peer mediator is about the empowerment and the life skills that they carry with them. Skills such as active listening, body language, giving someone your full attention without interrupting, taking a pause to understand someone’s point before reacting, or knowing when to just simply walk away. As mediators, we hope the lessons of conflict resolution show up in both significant and insignificant moments in our lives, whether a brief interaction or a formal mediation. 

At the end of the final session, we agreed that whether you are serving a school with a mediation program, or having a difficult conversation with a friend, once you are a peer mediator, you hold that title for life.

KIPP Inspire Peer Mediators preparing to do a roleplay mediation in the school’s peer mediation room.