Welcome!

Resolving conflict through civil conversation and clear, direct problem solving?

This sounds impossible to accomplish among adults, but with a group of teenagers? Forget about it! But yet, that’s exactly what we are aiming to do at Conflict Resolution Center– St. Louis with our pilot peer mediation program. In summer of 2022, we received a grant from the St. Louis Mental Health Board to design and implement a student-led peer mediation program in a few St. Louis city middle and high schools. 

Since early February, we have been in a St. Louis charter middle school and working with a group of nine students to train them to become peer mediators. By the end of the semester, our goal is to empower and teach our students how to lead difficult conversations, helping to resolve issues among their peers. Ultimately, we hope this will reduce suspension rates among the school population and give students a sense of ownership in what resolving conflicts at school can look like.

Our purpose for this blog is to share the ins and outs of peer mediation, and to keep you updated on our journey of lessons we’re learning (and mistakes we’re making) along the way. Stay tuned!