Educator & Parent Testimonials

Dwayne Peace first came to our school in November 2016.  At the time, we were struggling with the mental health of our students.  In the first three months of the school year, we had eight students hospitalized due to suicidal ideation.  Dwayne’s school assembly presentation “Life’s Challenges in Secondary School” had a huge impact on the student body and the mental health of our school.  The three hour presentation captivated the entire audience, and allowed students and homeroom classes to identify areas that they need to work on in the weeks and months to follow.  Students overwhelmingly agreed that all high school students need to hear this message!  The presentation was well suited for grade 7-12 students.  In the following days, all of our students took part in a small group session which I would recommend to all grade 9-12 students.  Students strongly agreed that the small groups had an impact on how they view themselves, their friends, and all the other students in the school.  The level of empathy in the school increased dramatically.  As an administrator, I was pleasantly surprised with the impact staff taking part in the small groups had on improving the positive relationships between staff and students.  Overall, Dwayne’s presentation substantially contributed to the change in our school culture from being on the edge and being reactive to being proactive with various mental health programs.  Dwayne continues to work with the school and parents in our community.

Thanks Dwayne!
Saskatchewan Principal

Dear Dwayne,

I want to thank you for the time you spent with our school this past week. Working with our junior high students, our grade 4-6’s, our parents and staff, you’ve given us much to think about!

Your sessions were powerful, intense, very practical and deeply motivating. We’ve already seen that your time with our junior high students has ‘struck home’ with many of them … inspiring visible attitude changes within days of the session.

Our parents found the evening parent session to be very valuable and want to have your message made available to their other children who are not in our school. I’m hoping that we can repeat the parent session and get more parents the second time around!

The Professional Development day you spent with our staff was conceivably the best session we’ve ever had in terms of building relationships and personal development. I believe that the vulnerability and honesty that day will lead our staff to personal and relational growth which can have profound, positive impacts for our students!

I’m so glad that one of our parents had heard about your work and pointed us in your direction. Your message is one we needed at this time and we appreciate how you’ve made yourself available to our staff and parents on an ongoing basis. We’ll be looking forward to continuing to partner with you in service of our students and their families!

Until next time, please accept my personal thanks for what you’ve given us through your presentations and workshops!

Steve Mumert
Principal
Valhalla Community School

Signed Letterhead can be viewed here

Good afternoon Dwayne, I was at the parent evening last night. My daughter (grade 11) was in your group session and my son (grade nine) also listened to you speak. I wanted to say thank you. Such a powerful message and so simple to understand.  In today’s society it is very easy to get caught up in negativity.

After the session yesterday a girl spoke to my daughter and said very kind words in regards to what she shared in the small group session. It also opened up a path of conversation between her and a friend who had gone there separate ways. Such a positive impact in such a short amount of time. She was glowing with inspiration last night.

I am not entirely sure why I feel the need to share this with you.(I am not a big sharer outside our family) I left your session thinking; we are on the right track…but how can we do better? These thoughts are in a positive manner. If a person can take some of your information and put it to use in everyday life….what a different world we would live in.

I have emailed the principle as well thanking him for having you speak at our school and encouraged more of this interaction would be wonderful.

Thank you again for taking the time with the students/parents. You are very inspiring.
(Mom of two participants)

When you came to the school a few months ago to speak with the students, my daughter didn’t want to go to the small group in the afternoon because she thought it was going to be just another boring lecture from some ‘old person’. It seems you made quite an impression on her, enough that, I got a phone call at work begging for permission to attend the afternoon small group! I’m so very glad that she did. I was intrigued and had to go to the parent session in the evening to find out who this person was that could get my teen daughter to sit up, listen and participate in a discussion. It didn’t take long to understand. For those who don’t know what you’re about I simple say “Dwayne Peace has a way of connecting with people that’s honest, relevant, and meaningful on a variety of life’s often difficult situations. If you ever have the opportunity to go listen to him, it’s time well spent.”

I lingered after most people left to tidy up and, I thought, to give you a hand packing up.  We chatted about a few things and then you said if I ever needed anything to please contact you. I didn’t think anything of it other than, pleasant conversation and well wishes upon parting ways.  Six days ago my 14 year old daughter attempted suicide. A few days after that I recalled our parting conversation and sent an email to you. In less than a week you were sitting at my kitchen table. You drove 3 hours out of your way just to see her.

I don’t know how I can adequately express the profound gratitude I feel that you came to see my daughter, personally, after her suicide attempt. There are few people in the world who care so much for others, who are wiling to go out of their way to help others in need, and do it with passion. Thank you for investing your efforts in my daughter. Your encouraging words have made a difference to each of us. I intend to keep you informed of her progress  so that you may know how you have helped this life.

Sincerely,
Mother of. Grade 8 female student

The Dwayne Peace small group session was definitely one of the most powerful and eye-opening experiences I have been through in my teaching career. Being exposed to each student’s personal story was truly an amazing opportunity, which allowed me to grow both personally and professionally. As I enter the school each morning, the small group sessions act as a constant reminder that each and every student has their own story to bring to the table, and as an educator, that recognition, has the potential to move mountains.

December 8, 2015

To anyone considering having Dwayne Peace work for their organization:

Over the past six years Dwayne Peace has been part of a school improvement process at Cold lake High School in northern Alberta, Canada. He has presented to the full school of 600 students on two occasions, to our full Grade 9 cohort five times, to two groups of parents, and over eighteen workshop groups. All of the sessions, with the exception of the parent nights, were a half day in length. As you can see his involvement has been extensive at CLHS.

Our purpose for having Dwayne work to this extent at CLHS was to provide a basis for the school-wide culture change we were looking for. We wanted common language and action among students and staff, and Dwayne delivered. His experience, insight, courage and skill with kids results in close engagement for every minute that he is working with groups large and small. They hear his message, and we know this because we hear it from them months after he has presented. His message that ‘everyone has a story’ really hits home with kids who have ‘tough stories’.

Our high school has come a long way in the last five and a half years; we have undergone some fundamental changes in how we work with students. It has been a careful, thoughtful, and sometimes difficult process that has had several important parts. After the first year we decided that as a grade 9 – 12 school we needed to build strong bones at the bottom, and so we redesigned how grade 9 was done at CLHS. We wanted kids to have a great start so we created a ‘grade 9 only’ teaching team who focussed on building relationships with students and with each other. They also became specialists in grade 9 curriculum and needs. With each year that has gone by we have narrowed Dwayne’s scope from full school and at risk students to all the Grade 9 students. This year we had him do half-day, small group, intensive workshops with over 80% of the grade nine students.

We were also very intentional about making logical changes to our timetable that placed students first. Grade 9 students and many other students in our high school struggled to stay engaged for during the full 84 minute blocks.  Four years ago we changed to a 5 times 67 minute block system. At the same time we did a lot of work on changes to how (and why) we assessed student outcomes, and found that this had a huge impact on student achievement. We also vastly increased our option class selection to find out what kids wanted because we know that they had to be motivated to be here.

Attendance rates have increased significantly, and suspension/expulsions are only a fraction of what they were 5 years ago.

We also developed a cohesive Student Services Department that consists of a Special Education Coordinator, a Personal Counsellor, who is also a Social Worker. and an Academic Counsellor. While these positions existed before, they did not function as the cohesive unit they are now. This department has become the first stop for most student concerns. Dwayne works closely with them when he is in our building as many of the issues he deals with bring serious student issues to the surface.

CLHS has seen an improvement in academic results that is nothing, if not remarkable. Five years ago just over 56% of our Grade 9 students were reaching the acceptable standard on our Provincial Achievement Tests. Now over 75% reach this level. We have also doubled the number of students who reach the Level of Excellence. Five years ago 23% of aboriginal students reached acceptable–last year 64% percent reached this mark. Only 1 student out of 161 students who wrote a grade 12 English PDE (30-1 or 30-2) which is graduation requirement did not pass the exam! In 9 out of 10 Provincial Diploma Exams CLHS students beat the provincial average. We have many statistics that show that what we have been doing is working. A full presentation is available at the Cold Lake High School website.

We know that kids who feel safe at school, who feel like they belong, who feel like they have support from their friends and from staff, will be more successful than those who do not. This is part of Dwayne’s message. His expertise rests with helping kids understand how they feel, helping kids understand how others feel, and helping kids to deal with the feelings that scare them, and that prevent them from doing well in life. This idea has been central to all that we have done at CLHS for the past 5 and a half years. We have tackled the tough structural issues at the school, we always working on the instructional improvements, and Dwayne has helped us build strong bones at Grade 9 to carry the school cultural changes into the high school grades. These strategies have all worked together, combined with great staff and a common purpose to help kids get the results they are now getting at CLHS. Dwayne Peace has been an important part of this journey. We have made a long-term commitment to Dwayne and he has returned that commitment to the students of our school. We appreciate that year after year he has shown up ready to deliver the same passion and wisdom that makes a difference for kids, and on a larger scale, for CLHS.
Please do not hesitate to call me if you would like more information.
Sincerely,

Mr. Dustan Walker
Principal