Commissioner Patricia L. Gatling and the Department of Education Chancellor Joel I. Klein swore in 17 students as Peer Mediators in a ceremony at Washington Irving High School held in March. The Peer Mediation graduation, one of many held by the Commission throughout the school year, marked the completion of a rigorous ten-week after-school training program the students voluntarily undertook to become Peer Mediators.

A $52,000 grant from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation enabled CCHR to expand its Peer Mediation training in selected middle and high schools. Emile St. Cyr, Program Director, reports that in less than a year, the Peer Mediators have successfully mediated many student conflicts. In one school, mediation has been so successful that it expanded the meeting locations and hours within the school.

CCHR’s approach to teaching young students how to resolve conflicts among their peers is grounded in the principals that shape the NYC Human Rights Law – tolerance, human dignity, empathy and understanding. The Program also teaches young students valuable life skills such as patience, persistence, active listening and problem solving – showing them that there are alternatives to threats and violence.

Once the students graduate from the program and become Peer Mediators in their schools, they mediate conflicts referred to them by teachers, counselors, or administrators. CCHR remains in an advisory role. The Program is offered at no cost to the schools. By the end of the school year, CCHR certified 119 students as Peer Mediators in eight schools.

Brooklyn Deputy Director Edwidge Menard guides young students during a Peer Mediation training session at Samuel J. Tilden High School in Brooklyn.

Commissioner Gatling and Schools Chancellor Klein address students at Washington Irving High School during Peer Mediation graduation.