By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

Crosby Elementary students (from left) Tyler Eichstadt, 10; Hailey Rolfes, 9; and Leslie Biggs, 9, rehearse a skit Thursday on classroom survival skills for fellow members of the CAPS (Children Are Peacemakers) Club, a program on conflict resolution. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

HARRISON - With an eye on the future and world peace, teachers at Crosby Elementary are helping students learn how to resolve problems peacefully through skits and role-playing.

The lessons are part of a second-year after-school program called Children Are Peacemakers (CAPS), which will be showcased 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Harrison Branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 10398 New Haven Road.

"The goal is to internalize behaviors that are indicative of people who choose peace rather than solving problems through conflict," said sixth-grade teacher Jill Overton. "We just want them to be peaceful leaders."

This year's CAPS program, which kicked off in February, continues through May. CAPS is headed by Overton and fourth-grade teacher Carrie Hursh.

"The skits are short - about seven minutes," Hursh said. "But they teach skills, like how to express your feelings, understanding another's feelings, concentrating in school and saying thank you."

EDUCATIONAL CD

Cincinnati singer/songwriter and peace educator Paulette Meier has a CD called "Come Join the Circle, Lesson Songs for Peacemaking." The CD is available at Joseph-Beth Booksellers or at Web site.

Crosby is a K-6 elementary school in the Southwest Local District, enrollment 350.

Paulette Meier, a singer and peace educator who helped launch the CAPS program, has worked for years with Tristate schools in providing instruction on conflict resolution.

"Children are our future and they need all the tools and modeling they can get to help learn alternatives to violence and working out problems," Meier said.

Twentystudents are in the CAPS club, which started the skits as part of a split in programming geared to the different age levels.

"We're hoping the skits will help to keep the older kids more interested and keep them positive," Overton said.

Fifth-grader Marina Annunziata,11, of Harrison, joined CAPS last year.

"I'm learning to be nice to others and to respect other people for who they are," Marina said. Her younger sister, Kylie, a third-grader at Crosby, also is in CAPS. "Before this program, we used to fight a lot more about a lot of things," Marina said. "We would tease each other and call each other bad names."

Last month's CAPS event drew more than 80 children and adults at the Harrison branch library.

"We're excited about the series, because one of our goals here is to strengthen the library's ties with the schools and the community in general," children's librarian Maria Bach said.

E-mail annag1129@cs.com