How WR Odell Elementary Reduced Playground Referrals
By Sara BrownThis article was written by Sara Brown, a Principal Intern at WR Odell Elementary with over 10 years of experience in education, including service as a school counselor. WR Odell Elementary is located in Cabarrus County, North Carolina and has been a P2 Partner School for four years.
From Classroom to Playground
At our school, we look for opportunities to extend The Positivity Project beyond classroom lessons and into students’ daily experiences. To reinforce character strengths in an engaging and student-centered way, we created a P2 Character Strengths Hopscotch Board on our playground.
Staff and community members painted P2 character strengths inside each square of a hopscotch board, turning a familiar recess activity into an opportunity for reflection, movement, and conversation. As students play, they encounter strengths such as kindness, teamwork, perseverance, fairness, and self-control, prompting natural discussions about how these strengths are demonstrated during recess.
Building a Shared Language Through Play
Students frequently share examples of strengths they used while playing or recognize strengths they see in their peers. This shared language has supported positive peer interactions, encouraged inclusive play, and helped students apply character strengths in real-world situations.
The hopscotch board has increased student ownership of our P2 work by making character strengths visible and accessible outside the classroom. Recess has become another space where students actively practice building relationships and demonstrating positive character.
The Impact of The Positivity Project
This simple addition to our playground has strengthened students’ understanding of character strengths and reinforced our school’s positive culture by embedding P2 into everyday play. We have also reduced our playground office referrals from 36 to 21 since March of the last school year.
Advice for Other Schools
Incorporate character strengths into existing playground spaces or activities. Small, visible reminders can create meaningful opportunities for students to practice character strengths throughout the school day.
