INDIANAPOLIS — Reducing violence in schools is the goal of the Peace Learning Center on the city's northwest side. From team-building activities to tough conversations, the organization says it has seen success in the schools it works with.
Students at Circle City Prep have been coming to Peace Learning Center for years, and teachers say they used the skills all year long.
"The positive relationships that this specific trip builds is something that I then see translated later in the school year when we have had other issues, like so and so is talking about me, just normal middle school social stuff,” Rebah Ginn, an Educator at Circle City Prep, said.
The Peace Learning Center works with 60 schools all across Indianapolis. It was organized in 1999, and the group says it has seen measurable results.
"At Harshman Middle School, we were able to reduce incidents of violence by 65% over a year and out-of-school suspensions by 60%,” Tim Nation, the Executive Director of Peace Learning Center, said.
The work may be needed now more than ever. The state released the Indiana School Employee Injury Report for 2024-25 and found that more than 4,000 injury incidents were reported, a 36% increase from the previous school year. Those numbers were a surprise to Peace Learning Center, but it is a problem the group is committed to addressing.
"Unfortunately, so much of the violence that happens in schools comes from the homes and the neighborhoods, so we are trying to help parents too. Learn alternative ways to traditional ways of punishment,” Nation said.
As for teachers, they hope the lessons become a permanent fixture in schools across Indiana.
"If kids were getting this kind of content at this part in their development, we would see a lot more adults with stronger emotional regulation than we do right now,” Ginn said.
Peace Learning Center also has in-school programs where staff work with students who have been suspended or have behavioral problems. They also work with young people involved in the juvenile justice system. For more information about the organization, visit the Peace Learning Center website.
