Take a look inside the curriculum

Free character education lessons

Start with a free week of The Positivity Project's Perseverance Tier 1 lessons

Get a free week of Pre-K–12 Perseverance lessons, differentiated by grade level and ready to teach in 10–15 minutes. Includes videos, activities, discussion prompts, a family newsletter, and a morning announcement script. Trusted by 800+ schools.

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How a P2 lesson is designed

Understand. Engage. Reflect.

Every P2 week follows the same three-phase architecture. It's the design that makes a 15-minute daily lesson teachable across Pre-K–12, sustainable across a school year, and consistent across every classroom in a building.

Understand

Students build a shared vocabulary for the character strength. They learn what it means and what it looks like in action. The goal at this phase isn't application — it's a clear, age-appropriate understanding every student can hold.

Engage

Students move from learning about the strength to working with it. The engagement phase asks them to create, evaluate, and connect the strength to people and situations they recognize. This is where the concept starts becoming personal.

Reflect

Reflection is what turns a week of lessons into something students carry. The final phase gives them space to connect the strength to who they are — to move from "I learned about perseverance this week" to "I see myself as someone who perseveres."

Teacher proof

The model behind the results

In peer-reviewed research at the University of Vermont, P2 teachers reached 93–94% implementation fidelity — the technical term for the lesson actually getting taught the way it was designed. Hear from Julianne Riedle, a teacher at Franklin Fine Arts Center in Chicago Public Schools, on why she loves P2:

"From day one, new people, they could not make this easier on you."

- Julianne Riedle, Franklin Fine Arts Center
  • “The vocabulary is the same in a 2nd grade classroom as it is in a 5th grade classroom. That consistency is what makes the difference at a schoolwide level.”
    Nathan Madrigal
    Teacher on Special Assignment / Guidance Instructional Specialist at Red Bank Elementary, Clovis Unified School District
  • “If you have good character, you're going to make it — regardless of if you're not the best speller, or the best mathematician, or the best reader. You have good character. You're going to make it in life.”
    Dr. Virginia Hill
    Principal at Lincoln Elementary, Pittsburgh Public Schools
  • “We have watched kids transform again and again, from disrespectful to respectful, from challenging to cooperative, and from ungrateful to grateful, just by modeling appropriate behavior, sharing learning experiences, and using character strengths to build relationships.”
    Peggy Gordon
    Administrator and Teacher at Loudoun County Juvenile Detention Center, Virginia State Operated Programs
  • “A student who hears about gratitude in a morning meeting, sees it celebrated on our bulletin board, practices it in my lesson, and talks about it at dinner has met that strength four times in a month. That is what a shared language does.”
    Henry Chase
    School Counselor at Carl A. Furr Elementary, Cabarrus County Schools
  • “This shared vocabulary has improved our school climate, leading to fewer behavioral issues.”
    Sharon Batuyios
    School Counselor at St. Mary Catholic School, Diocese of Raleigh

  • This is an intentional approach to connect students through character strength understanding and education, which positively impacts overall culture and climate.

    Karen Hollar
    Director of Student Health and Wellness at Cabarrus County Schools
  • “We're not waiting for a situation to arise to have a teachable moment. We're teaching concepts like integrity before problems happen. It's woven throughout the school year.”
    Donelle Kellom
    Principal at Clovis Elementary, Clovis Unified School District
  • “Many students who previously struggled with behavior or peer relationships have made real progress because they now have tools and vocabulary to reflect, reset, and try again.”
    Angela Rucks & Nicole Calderwood
    Principal & Vice Principal at Columbia Elementary, Fruitvale School District
  • “P2 matters to us because it helps students become better learners and better people. Academics are important, but students need strong character and positive relationships to truly succeed. Without P2, our school culture would feel less connected and more reactive. P2 gives us a shared language, a common goal, and a way to intentionally build a positive school community.”
    Olivia Holmberg
    2nd Grade Teacher at W.M. Irvin Elementary, Cabarrus County Schools
  • “Students are increasingly able to identify which character strength they need to build to improve a situation, which reflects both their understanding of the language of character and their willingness to apply it in moments that require reflection and accountability. When a student can name the strength that would have helped, the conversation surrounding the situation has somewhere to go next. That student can start thinking about what they want to do differently, and now they have the vocabulary to move forward.”
    Ashley Wiele
    Assistant Principal at Harvest Elementary, Kerman Unified School District
  • “For us, it is a framework that shapes how students, faculty, and staff operate daily. What started as implementation has become our school culture.”
    Ed Waskiewicz
    Principal at Clinton High School, Clinton Central School District