What It Takes to Become a P2 Peep at Lawrence Avenue Elementary

This article was written by Sean Scordo, K-4 Physical Education Teacher at Lawrence Avenue Elementary in the Potsdam Central School District, located in New York. Sean has taught physical education in the district for 10 years and has been working on The Positivity Project (P2) implementation in his building for more than eight years. He leads the P2 Peeps, the school’s 4th grade student council group.

At Lawrence Avenue Elementary, leadership starts in fourth grade. The P2 Peeps, our 4th grade student council group, consistently demonstrate the 24 character strengths from The Positivity Project (P2). We choose these students for how they show up every day with kindness, leadership, integrity, teamwork, and perseverance.

The P2 Peeps serve as role models within our building, and they bring character education to life in visible ways.

How Students Become a P2 Peep

Once a student shows interest in becoming a P2 Peep, they fill out a contract that explains the role to the student and their family. Both the student and a family member must sign the contract.

Students also need a recommendation from their classroom teacher. We poll special area teachers, administrators, transportation workers, and service providers to make sure a student’s behavior meets our standards across the whole building, not just in one classroom.

Everyone from P2 Peeps to administrators works on all 24 character strengths throughout the year, focusing heavily on leadership, kindness, and gratitude through our community service projects.

What the P2 Peeps Do Each Day

The Peeps take on three roles in the building:

• Morning Announcements. Students read announcements to the entire school, practicing leadership and communication skills.
• Safety Patrol. Each morning, they help keep the bus circle and hallways safe and organized, modeling responsibility and awareness.
• Pre-K Helpers. Our fourth graders assist Pre-K students during dismissal, offering guidance and patience to our youngest learners.

Forty-Five Minutes Before School, Once a Month

The Peeps meet once a month before school for about 45 minutes, and that’s where they work together on their assignments. Students build scripts for announcements, define roles and expectations for safety patrol, and learn their schedule and job as Pre-K helpers.

Learning to Speak in Front of the School

Bravery is the strength that comes to mind when I think about what these students take on. Public speaking is one of the skills the Peeps work on most. They take a speaking role at most of our assemblies and deliver information to classrooms with short elevator pitches.

Most students are nervous about doing the announcements at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year, those same students are speaking at assemblies in front of the entire school.

Service Projects Around the Community

The P2 Peeps understand that leadership means service. Throughout the year, they organize and support service projects, including:

• Treats for Troops. Around Halloween, students collect candy donations to send to overseas military members, which teaches gratitude and a sense of the wider world.
• Animal Shelter Fundraising. They raise money to support local animal shelters.
• Staff Appreciation Day. The Peeps serve lunch to staff members, recognizing the adults who help make school a positive place every day.

Through these projects, we encourage our Peeps to get out into the community and see the effects of their kindness. They visited our local animal shelter and got to see and play with the animals. They hand-delivered cards to our local nursing homes. They made individual connections, virtually, with soldiers from local families who received some of the donated candy.

That opened their eyes to seeing the world in terms of how they can help other people rather than only what benefits them.

What Younger Students See

Our Pre-K students love having the Peeps walk them to and from class. Students throughout the building are well aware that this opportunity comes when you reach fourth grade, and there is a lot of excitement as students move up through the grades, knowing they will eventually have that chance.

What makes the P2 Peeps special is that their influence extends past their titles. Younger students look up to them. Staff members rely on them. Families see the pride they take in their school.

By recognizing students who model character strengths and giving them real responsibility, we are creating a culture where leadership is defined by kindness, responsibility, and service.