This document discusses conflict resolution education (CRE) programs in schools and the potential role of a Department of Peace in promoting such programs. It notes high levels of violence, bullying, and disruption in many schools across the US. CRE programs teach skills like conflict management, anger management, and perspective taking, and have been shown to reduce aggression and conflicts while improving social development and creating a safer learning environment. The document proposes that a Department of Peace could help implement CRE programs in schools through teacher training, administrator preparation, direct program provision, and linking schools to community peace initiatives.

1. Making Peace in Our Schools: Conflict Resolution Education and the Department of Peace Presented by Tricia S. Jones, Ph.D. Dept. of Psychological Studies in Education Temple University

2. ‘‘ For our children to learn, our schools must be safe. All American parents want to know they are sending their children to a safe learning environment. And our children deserve schools in which they don’t have to be afraid of violence and can focus on their studies.’’ - Margaret Spellings, US Secretary of Education

9. Conflict Resolution Education:

15. Negotiation Skills After School Programs Bullying Prevention Restorative Justice Peer Mediation Expressive Arts and CRE Classroom and School Wide Foundational Practices Social and Emotional Learning Diversity and Bias Awareness Curriculum Infusion

16. Toward the Vision: The Potential Role of the Department of Peace

21. "I believe that peace is not merely an absence of war but the nurture of human life, and that in time this nurture would do away with war as a natural process." -- Jane Addams