Freire schools are peaceful communities. Our highest priority is making sure that students feel safe and engaged in our classrooms and throughout our schools, and that each of us has the tools and skills we need to resolve conflict peacefully. We work together as a community to create a peaceful environment in which every student can focus on themselves and their education and feel safe to take the emotional and personal risks necessary for learning. We view conflict as an opportunity for learning, growth, and positive change.
Our commitment to peace at all levels of our community means that at Freire Schools, students are free to be themselves and focus on learning. Freire Schools campuses are tight-knit communities where students and staff form genuine connections and support each other as they grow.
In practice, this means supporting students in accessing internal peace through counseling services and other individual supports, as well as teaching strategies for recognizing and resolving interpersonal conflicts. Freire Schools provides emotional support teams at every campus, including academic counselors, peer mediation, and thousands of hours per year of student and family therapy and wellness programming. Every member of the Freire Schools community has access to cost-free individual and family counseling services, group therapy, and school-based social workers. Trained student mediators work with their peers to help resolve budding conflicts and create long-term solutions.