How Century Elementary Students Look Out for Each Other

This article was written by Lainie Esquivel, School Psychologist at Century Elementary in the Clovis Unified School District in California. Lainie has been at Century for 10 years and has served as the school’s Positivity Project (P2) Lead for the last five. Century recognizes students weekly through its Caught with Character program and runs a Tiger Challenge activity tied to each week’s character strength.

Themes of kindness and taking care of one another have always been part of the culture at Century Elementary. The Positivity Project (P2) has helped make that part of our school more visible to our families and our community. Two moments from this year show what it looks like when students carry it on their own.

 A Recess Story From One of Our Teachers

One of our special education teachers shared this account.

“Today during the 5 to 6 lunch recess, one of my students, who typically plays near the playground, decided to change up his routine and head over to the basketball courts where we’ve been practicing. Two girls immediately called out to invite him back to the playground. When he didn’t hear them, they and the rest of their friends ran over to meet him at the court. What happened next was completely unprompted by my staff or me. These girls offered him a hug, walked with him to the playground, and even used the playground Communication Board to ask him questions. They knew he enjoys hugs and jumping, so they offered him gentle hugs and jumped around with him in a big circle, always checking in with him using yes-and-no questions he could answer with a nod or head shake. They spent the entire recess with him, sharing joy in his interests, modeling different ways to play, exploring other parts of the playground with him, and even getting him to go down the slide with them multiple times.

This was, without a doubt, the best recess my kiddo has ever had. It is such a powerful reminder that even the smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference. These are the moments I love sharing with my fellow special education teachers, because they show exactly why Century Tigers really are the best. When I shared this encounter with his mom, she cried because she was so touched. It meant the world to her to know her child was included, supported, and celebrated by his peers.”

 What Happened at a Cross-Country Meet

Our cross-country coach has implemented P2 across our athletic programs, and has also noticed some moving moments throughout the year. During a cross-country meet in the fall, four boys noticed a student with exceptional needs was struggling to finish the race. After finishing their own race, all four rushed to his side and encouraged him while running with him to the finish line. That is the Other People Mindset (OPM) in action.

In both examples, our students supported others, cheered them on, and knew their words and actions had the power to make a difference in another person’s life.

How We Recognize Students Each Week

The students in both of these stories were Caught with Character, which is how we recognize students each week. Sometimes we tie those nominations to a particular strength, and sometimes students are nominated for generally demonstrating OPM. That was the case for both of the examples here.

It is hard to pick just one character strength from these stories. The teachers who shared them highlighted how the students showed kindness and did an amazing job of carrying out OPM.

Students learn about the strengths in their classrooms through weekly lessons, and older students in higher grades also have the chance to take part in our Tiger Challenge and complete a short activity tied to that week’s character strength.

Kindness Goes Back a Long Way at Century

Our teachers have done an incredible job of working concepts from OPM into all of their P2 lessons, and this is not new ground for our school. Kindness and taking care of one another run through our history here, from our early days with Character Counts, to concepts from Steve Hartman’s Kindness 101, to our student-led Kindness Committee.

Neither of these moments shared above was prompted by an adult. Our teachers and coaches work OPM into what they do every day, and our students did the rest, and continue to each day.