130 Suspensions Down to 9: Lincoln Elementary’s Story

How a 100% Title I school in a Pittsburgh neighborhood cut suspensions by 93% and created a culture where kids want to show up every day.

This article was written from an interview with Lincoln Elementary’s leadership team in 2018. Watch their story here.

Lincoln Elementary sits in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood, bordering Homewood. It’s a community dealing with violence, high incarceration rates, and families in crisis. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Many arrive without stable home environments, and character education isn’t being reinforced at home or in community institutions the way it once was. When the school’s principal began her work at Lincoln, students were, in her words, “very tough and hardened,” and the school was logging over 130 suspensions a year.

Lincoln Elementary’s Solution

Lincoln adopted The Positivity Project and committed to making it part of the daily routine. Not an add-on, but a consistent, everyday practice. Teachers built close rapport with students by sharing personal stories alongside the character-strength lessons. The entire school adopted a common language around the 24 character strengths, giving students and adults alike a framework for growth. The focus was always on relationships and the belief that Other People Matter.

The Results

Suspensions dropped from over 130 to just 9 in a single school year. That’s a 93% reduction.

Students began carrying P2 lessons home. Parents reported their children reminding them about honesty, love, and kindness. One parent came back to the school and asked, “What are y’all teaching them up there?”

Kindergarteners who entered unable to recognize letters were writing about their own character strengths by year’s end. The school became what its principal describes as “a safe, loving, nurturing environment.” A place kids depend on and want to be.

Watch their story here: 

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.

– Virginia Hill, Principal of Lincoln Elementary

Bring P2 to Your School

Lincoln Elementary’s story started with one decision: put character first, every single day. The Positivity Project partners with 800+ schools across the country to build positive relationships and teach the 24 character strengths — with zero-prep lessons that fit into any classroom. If your school is ready for the same kind of shift, start a free pilot.