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September 14, 2008

School leaders make peace pledge

By Michelle Martin

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Leaders of several Catholic elementary and high schools gathered with Dominican Sister Mary Paul McCaughey Sept. 3 to publicly pledge their efforts to work for peace in their schools and communities.

The “Pledge for Peace” gathering, to which reporters were invited, was held at Children of Peace School, 1900 W. Taylor St.

The principals began discussing ways to respond to a wave of violence in Chicago last spring, Mc- Caughey said. This pledge — signed by the principals or presidents of all 258 Catholic schools in the archdiocese — is an outgrowth of those discussions.

According to media reports, 39 Chicago Public School students were killed during the 2007-08 school year. Asked how many Chicago Catholic school students have been killed in that time, Mc- Caughey said that none had been killed, but all were affected by the violence.

“Some of them have lost family members, friends, cousins,” she said. “It affects everyone, because it’s in our communities.”

After reciting the pledge, three principals shared ways they are working to encourage peace in their schools.

Peace circles

At Maria High School in Marquette Park, the students — all girls — and staff have been trained in using “peace circles” to resolve conflicts and learn to understand others’ perspectives.

The circles are also used by the Community Justice for Youth Initiative run by Precious Blood Father David Kelly, said Maria High School Principal Linda Casey.

Last year, a peace circle helped stop what could have turned into a racial conflict before it started. The issue apparently involved seats saved on a school bus returning from a field trip. When African- American students, who had called “dibs” on the same seats they had on the way to the field trip, told Hispanic students they could not sit there, the Hispanic students thought they were being told to move because of their race.

The peace circle resolved the misunderstanding, Casey said.

After the incident, one of the students involved wrote in the school newspaper, “Finding a resolution to conflicts that afflict us takes courage and having an actual conversation. … Towards the end of the meeting, we all felt relieved.”

At St. Bede the Venerable School on the Southwest Side, students are encouraged to “Take 10” — that is, take time to cool off before reacting to a potential conflict, said principal Richard Guerin.

At St. Andrew School on the North Side, students are taught to “Think, Act and Rise Above.” Last year, in response to requests from parents, a psychologist spent time at the school, meeting with all classes, as well as staff and parents, to discuss the consequences of bullying and how to handle incidents when they do occur, said principal Jack Percival.

“We can’t live in a society where we solve our problems with — it used to be fists, now it’s guns,” Percival said.

The peace pledge is not a oneday thing, McCaughey said, and it is a commitment Catholic schools are passing on to their students.

“Peace is communal, but it’s also individual,” she said. “It’s the decisions you make for a lifetime.”

Pledge for Peace

“We, the principals and presidents of the Catholic elementary and high schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago, wish to express our abhorrence of the escalating violence on our streets. Young adults and children are suffering and dying before our eyes. “We wholeheartedly condemn these actions and express sincere sympathy to the families who have painfully faced the horrors of gun violence and attacks on family members. “We pledge our solidarity with the entire educational community by praying for peace and by working for a consistent non-violent approach to resolving conflicts within our schools and neighborhoods. “We resolve with our parents, staffs and students to create peaceful educational environments that respect and honor the dignity of every person.”

— Presidents and principals in the Archdiocese of Chicago