{"id":1127,"date":"2026-03-02T14:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/?post_type=article&p=1127"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:04:53","slug":"building-a-culture-of-peace-at-emes-peacebuilding-the-heartbeat","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/building-a-culture-of-peace-at-emes-peacebuilding-the-heartbeat\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Culture of Peace at Emes: Peacebuilding \u2013 the Heartbeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Ms. Maria Archer, EMES Principal <\/em><\/p>\n

At Eastern Mennonite Elementary School (EMES), peacebuilding isn\u2019t just a class\u2014it\u2019s the heartbeat of the community. Principal Maria Archer, who has led this school for over 20 years, describes the culture as one where \u201cevery student is known and seen, safe to be who they are, and safe to make mistakes.\u201d It\u2019s a place where children learn to live in community and to grow as confident, compassionate individuals. \u201cKids have so much power within themselves and so much knowledge and ability to do the right thing,\u201d Archer says. \u201cIf we give them a safe environment and some guidance, they will figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT<\/h3>\n

The belief that students can \u201cfigure it out\u201d shapes every interaction at EMES. When playground conflicts arise, Archer invites students into her office to talk it through. \u201cI hold my tongue,\u201d she admits. \u201cI have an idea of what I think should happen, but the kids come up with their own solutions\u2014and they\u2019re often different, sometimes better, than what I imagined. That\u2019s what peacebuilding is.\u201d Sometimes the students initiate conflict resolution on their own using STORY steps, an acronym used to guide them through a conflict: Set the guidelines, Tell your side of the story, Offer solutions, Reach an Agreement, and Yay! Celebrate. Not only do they practice at school, they bring it home too. One parent recalled, \u201cI overheard my two EMES students arguing outside and then one said, \u2018I know, let\u2019s do STORY steps!\u2019\u201d These skills build and they transform.<\/p>\n

FORMING THE CULTURE<\/h3>\n

A fundamental principle of EMES\u2019 philosophy, guided by Peacebuilding teacher Becky Long, is the Peace Pledge. Students and teachers sign the pledge, which emphasizes listening to each other, considering others\u2019 perspectives, playing creatively, and caring for the environment. Archer recalls when, years ago, a group of students noticed trash on the playground. \u201cThey came to me, very passionate about it. I asked, \u2018What do you think we should do?\u2019 They created a cleanup club, gathered the bags, made announcements, and really owned the project. I didn\u2019t initiate that\u2014 they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

One way we put the pledge into action in the classroom is the Circle process\u2014a way for students to share feelings, solve problems, and build understanding. Recently, third graders used a Circle to address frustrations over fort-building in the woods. Stu- dents expressed how hard they worked every day to make cool structures, only to have their forts disrupted by other classes. Together, their teacher Ms. Byler helped them reflect on how other grades might feel the same way. \u201cThis is the good, hard stuff of life,\u201d Archer says. \u201cStudents learned that no one owns the forts, other kids aren\u2019t the enemy, and we can all learn to live in community together.\u201d For Archer, peacebuilding is also about encouraging a culture that allows mistakes, especially in academics. \u201cYou want noisy classrooms,\u201d she insists. \u201cIf kids are afraid to be wrong, they won\u2019t contribute. When a child answers a math problem incorrectly, we affirm their thinking and then explore why it didn\u2019t work. That builds confi- dence and curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal is clear: to teach children not just curriculum, but to also build empathy, grow together, and give them tools to shape their world. As Archer reflects, \u201cWe are teachers of kids, first and foremost. Developing who they are and will be is not just our skillset\u2014it\u2019s our calling. We love our work, and we love our children.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Ms. Maria Archer, EMES Principal At Eastern Mennonite Elementary School (EMES), peacebuilding isn\u2019t just a class\u2014it\u2019s the heartbeat of the community. Principal Maria Archer, who has led this school for over 20 years, describes the culture as one where \u201cevery student is known and seen, safe to be who they are, and safe to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1128,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"issuem_issue":[43],"issuem_issue_categories":[],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"class_list":["post-1127","article","type-article","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issuem_issue-winter-2026"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1129,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1127\/revisions\/1129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=1127"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=1127"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=1127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}