My students who are apart of the Peace and Leadership Council (PLC) rangeS from 5th through 8th grade at Marquette School of Excellence discovered that young people and police on the Southwest side of Chicago have a strained relationship. The students explored the root causes of the issue and concluded that the lack of trust is what's causing the gap in the relationship. Last year, they decided to host a basketball game aimed at restoring the trust between the police and the young people in the community. Not only did they host a basketball game, but they also hosted two breakout workshops where young people and police both participated in. During one workshop, the students facilitated team teambuilding activities such as minefield and balloon tower. During the other workshop, the students in the PLC facilitated a discussion using questions they brainstormed a week before to get to the root cause of the lack of trust between young people and police.

The event was successful. We had 8 police officers show up and 30 young people. This year, we are thinking of continuing the project but change it up a bit.