A Common Language for Character at Columbia Elementary

This article was written by Angela Rucks, Principal, and Nicole Calderwood, Vice Principal at Columbia Elementary in the Fruitvale School District in Bakersfield, California. Together they lead a K–6 campus of about 600 students, one of five schools in a district serving northwest Bakersfield. They have worked to build a school culture rooted in The Positivity Project (P2) by reinforcing the character strengths that help students grow as learners and as people.

Since implementing The Positivity Project (P2) at Columbia Elementary, we have seen a clear shift in the way our students, staff, and families connect. P2 has given our campus a common language for character strengths. That shared language has strengthened relationships, improved school culture, and created more consistency in how we support students academically and socially. Our shared language shows up in regular moments throughout the school day. When a conflict happens at recess, or a student gets stuck on an assignment, the adult who steps in is using the same words the teacher used that morning, helping create familiarity.

How Students Use the Character Strengths

For students, P2 has helped them better understand who they are and how their choices affect others. That connects directly to the Other People Mindset (OPM), which asks students to notice the good in the people around them and to recognize that their words and actions affect others.

In classrooms, students are naming strengths like kindness, self-control, perseverance, and teamwork and applying them in real situations. We see students encouraging classmates during challenging tasks, using self-control during conflicts, and showing perseverance when learning feels hard. These character strengths give them something specific to work with or think back on. A student who can say they are working on self-control has a way to describe what they are doing in a hard moment, and a student who knows the word kindness can point it out when a classmate shows it.

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. Our classrooms feel more supportive, and students are learning that character and academics go hand in hand. For example, a student who can work through frustration is a student who can keep pushing forward through a hard math problem.

What Changed for Our Staff

The adults in our building also benefit from the same positive results of P2. For staff, P2 has strengthened collaboration and brought greater unity to our campus. Teachers and support staff are using the same character strength language across grade levels, creating consistency for students. A student who learns these words in kindergarten hears the same ones in 6th grade, from classroom teachers, office staff, and everyone in between.

P2 has also supported our adult culture by encouraging staff to recognize strengths in one another, celebrate growth, and problem-solve together. It has helped reinforce the “why” behind our work and has given us a positive framework for building community, even during stressful seasons of the school year.

What Families Tell Us

Families have also felt the impact, and parents regularly share that their children talk about character strengths at home and use that language with siblings and family members. Parents do not need to know the P2 character education curriculum to notice it. They hear their children name or talk about a strength at home and report back. If they have more than one child at Columbia, they can hear the same vocabulary being used among them.

P2 has opened the door for more conversations at home about choices, responsibility, and perseverance. When families and school share the same focus, students receive a consistent message: you are capable, you are valued, and your character matters.

Hands, Hearts, Minds

Overall, P2 has helped Columbia Elementary become a more connected, respectful, and supportive community where students can thrive and relationships are at the center of everything we do. P2 embodies our school motto: Hands, Hearts, Minds.

We had that motto before we had P2. What P2 added was a shared set of words behind it, used the same way in every classroom, in every grade level, and by every adult on campus.