Fort Wayne Community Schools celebrated a new batch of peacemakers Friday, graduating students from all five high schools into the program for nonviolence.
The Peacemaker program is a student-first initiative that teaches kids about Martin Luther King Jr’s six principles of nonviolence to discourage violence in schools and the surrounding community.
Orayne Bragg is a soon-to-be senior at Wayne High School who graduated from the three-week peacemaker course. He said the most surprising thing about the program was the connection he was able to make with other students.
“A lot of times, people don’t be open with others that they just met and people there they made me feel comfortable, and I made them feel comfortable," he said. "And I got to learn a lot of things about people that I would never expect.”
Last year, the program expanded to all five FWCS high schools after a successful pilot program at Southside High School. Bragg said the program helps students by bringing them together and offering support.
Participating students learn how to examine the root causes of violence and how to address them. They also help come up with programs to implement during the school year to help cut down on fights in school.
