Building 21’s Community Council is a student-led initiative that empowers youth to redefine school culture by replacing punitive disciplinary systems with restorative justice practices. The council’s Philly Service Award project, “Every Conversation Counts", is a comprehensive, student-created multimedia toolkit designed to give schools across Philadelphia a practical, peer-to-peer starting point for transitioning to a community-first model. A team of 16 dedicated students conducted extensive research, drafted scripts, and directed high-quality videos. To expand their systemic understanding, students partnered with the Philadelphia Community Youth Court, collaborated with middle schoolers at Feltonville School of Arts & Sciences, and engaged directly with the School District of Philadelphia’s Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Department.

The project achieved immediate results while establishing an expansive blueprint for city-wide and national scalability. Throughout the 2025–2026 academic year, the Building 21 Community Council successfully facilitated the restorative resolution of over 650 school conflicts, keeping students in the classroom and actively repairing community relationships. Using their $1,000 community improvement fund, students upgraded recording equipment and funded cross-school collaboration. They transitioned from local practitioners to regional leaders, even facilitating a professional session for national educators at Educon 2026. The impact of "Every Conversation Counts" will extend far beyond this service year; the School District of Philadelphia is integrating the toolkit to support climate initiatives across its 200+ schools, and the Learning Innovation Network will host the resource in an open-source library that reaches 50 schools nationwide.