Philly Catholic schools make strides in behavioral issues

The non-profit Gabrielle's Wings is partnering with Catholic schools to address disruptive students with a new program that keeps them engaged in school.

A new program at Philadelphia’s Independence Mission Schools (IMS) could serve as a model for handling behavioral issues in primary school students. The Peace Corners Program, created by the non-profit organization Gabrielle’s Wings, provides conflict resolution alternatives that help students with behavioral issues.

While traditional methods of punishment for classroom disruptions could see a student in the principal’s office or even sent home, the Peace Corners Program tries to get kids back into the learning mindset, so they can return to class.

Michelle Hord, founder of Gabrielle’s Wings, explained to WHYY that the first step is to identify why the student is acting out:

“Helping to understand and manage emotions — those skills help reduce instances of behavioral issues,” Hord said. “A kid may be hungry or there was an argument at home, they come in, they’re disruptive in the classroom, maybe they get sent to the principal’s office and get sent home.”

Students who are sent to the Peace Corners room are met by a school counselor to talk it out and given some time to “unwind” so that they don’t return to class ready to create another disruption. In this way, students who are feeling the adrenaline from getting in trouble have a chance to calm themselves before they further escalate a situation.

Peace corners

Hord said that sometimes a student just needs a few minutes of play to calm themselves down. In this way, they spend more time in class and they won’t fall behind:

“These peace corners ensure that instead of being sent home or instead of being absent, that children are able to go back into the classroom, be focused and able to really augment their education,” Hord commented.

The program has already been deemed a boon to St. Malachy Catholic School in North Philly, which was the first school to implement the program. In 2024, St. Martin de Porres Catholic School also joined in, after finding that behavioral issues have remained high since the end of the pandemic.

Jessica Lopez, St. Martin de Porres’ principal, noted that some of the biggest behavioral issues have included student conflict, inappropriate or attention seeking behavior, not knowing how to cope with outside trauma, and a lack of social awareness or social skills. She said that the Peace Corners help to improve the students’ drive to achieve, and give students a chance to reflect on a situation to learn the social skills they may lack.

While not all of the 14 IMS schools have initiated the Peace Corners Program, the ones that have reported fewer absentees, fewer exits from school, and all around fewer behavioral issues.

While Gabriel’s Wings is currently only working with schools in Philadelphia, continued success of the program could make it an attractive program for schools across the US.