Building School Culture Through the Positivity Project and Restorative Practices
By Jesse DiMartinoThis article was written by Jesse DiMartino, Dean of Culture and ALC Teacher at Herbert Akins Road Middle School in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. Herbert Akins Road Middle serves nearly 1,200 students as a multi-track, year-round school—meaning its doors stay open all year long. The school is part of the Wake County Public School System, the 14th-largest school district in the country.
The “Breath” of the School: Deeply Integrating P2 Into Herbert Akins Middle School
Our school opened in 2022 with 3 core “Big Sticks” – we are the NightHawks, so there may be many, many avian references – be ready!
Big Sticks:
- Restorative Practices
- Positivity Project (P2)
- Co-Teaching
With P2 being one of these “big” sticks, we have embraced it fully. Within my role, I have had the opportunity to directly impact how the embrace happens and where the Character Strengths of P2 come alive in our school building. One opportunity for visibility is in our school-wide posters titled “Nighthawks Rise” in various spaces around the school. All of these posters have been created with P2 in mind, meaning they are built with “ I demonstrate _____ (P2 Strength) by _____” statements in places like the Restroom, Cafeteria, Library etc.
This helps to embed the language within our entire building and keep it visible. These posters are gentle reminders of the daily effort it takes to demonstrate the Other People Mindset as individuals and as a school community. Lastly, our school follows the P2 Calendar that was created by Andrea Echols to support school-wide implementation of the Positivity Project. That document is housed in our HARMS Positivity Project Guidance, which outlines all things P2. The Character Strengths and OPM’s are strategically placed throughout the year, such as returning from breaks, testing sessions, and so forth, in a meaningful effort to align with the human flow of schooling.
Making Character Visible: How “NightHawks Rise”
Part of my role as the Tier II and III Behavior Interventionist is to support students demonstrating patterns of behavior that impact themselves, classroom instruction, or their peers. One of the methods I use to support the success of these students is a daily goal sheet tracker. This process begins with students outlining which P2 Character Strengths are their strengths and which are their areas of growth. This period of reflection allows us to co-create their goals embedding P2 language. An example of this integration as a goal is stated as, “I demonstrate self-control by using school-appropriate language.” The use of P2 language has helped to embed the core language components of P2 as foundational tools for student support, guidance and reflection.
Integrating P2 with Our Existing Frameworks
Another key method for integrating P2 school-wide blends both tools from Restorative Practices and P2. Every Wednesday, my colleague and I lead a Circle for the students we serve on behavior intervention plans and those who may need the meeting that day. We create guiding questions based on P2 Character Strengths and the OPM for our facilitated dialogue, those are paired with collaborative activities and debrief questions that support the whole person. We provide opportunities for the students to share their connections, struggles and successes infused with P2 terminology. These sessions are crucial to our relationships with students, proactive planning for their long and short term goals and overall well-being.
Bringing Families Into the Circle
Proactively pairing P2 with Restorative Practices has given us tremendous engagement from staff and families. We recently held a Family Engagement Night where we had 8 student leaders facilitate a Circle for other students and their families. The students spent time prior to the event to work on the Agenda, practice facilitation and ask any questions they may have. The day of we held Circle for over 20 family members and the most powerful and heart-felt responses came from the P2 Character Strengths.
Families took time to think and reflect on what strengths and values were instilled, or hoped to instill, and which moments and strengths their children thought of as influential in their lives.
From Rules to Commitments
The Positivity Project has been, to say the least, influential in the work we do here at Herbert Akins Road Middle School. The language from P2 has been supportive of the way we teach routines and expectations, and especially one essential piece of how our classrooms run and self-govern themselves. Many spaces use rules as a way to curb behavior. With a hint of Restorative Practices they may shift to guidelines. With a bit more norms arise. With the last dash you arise at Classroom Commitments.
Commitments are the way we choose to show up for people at our best selves. We want to demonstrate these commitments so that everyone feels valued and heard for the inherent gifts they bring with them everywhere they go. Having created the guidance for this process, I know that this is one of the most important means to leveraging the P2 language in our school.
It becomes the way the space functions and how people treat each other, the teacher, and how they manage conflict. P2 has massively guided how these come to fruition in classrooms each year.
At Herbert Akins Road Middle School, we have been able to graduate students who demonstrate the Other People Mindset in more ways than one and have been continuing to let it live on in their lives. The support that has been provided from P2 as an organization serving people is astounding and we continue to bear the fruit of the work we have taken on year one. We are looking forward to all the dynamic students we are able to support moving through 6th, 7th and 8th grade into the next phase of their development as they merge practice with action.