NAHANT — Johnson Elementary School has spearheaded a new initiative to help students reach both personal and academic success. To accomplish such, the students have drafted their own sets of positive principles and goals to help them get there.
With classes collaborating and pinpointing how they want to shape their academic careers, a huge whiteboard filled with different rules and goals hangs in the hallway of the school for teachers and students to see.
Principal Heather Castonguay explained the background of the initiative.
“Superintendent of Schools Rob Liebow and I laid out a plan so that we could build a strong school culture, where we would show three golden rules that we collaborated with teachers on,” Castonguay said. “We came up with ‘Be respectful,’ ‘Be responsible,’ and ‘Be safe.’
“From there, Mr. Liebow and I talked about how we could make those rules come to life, so students felt some sense of ownership to what they want the school to be,” she added.
Castonguay continued, saying that “they need to feel respected, and they need to have the opportunity to be a part of the community.”
“So that they don’t have things happen to them, but happen with them,” Castonguay said. “It’s their space, and I’m their leader to make sure that they can get to that level.”
Catonguay explained the project ties into Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which is an evidence-based framework to improve school environments by focusing on proactive support for all students, with the goal of helping them reach both personal and academic success.
“Our class wrote ‘Be respectful,’ to respect everyone how they want to be treated, not just how you want to be treated,” 5th-grade student Amelia Lauck said, focusing on being fair and kind.
“Because when you’re kind and unique, you can work better with the people around you,” 6th-grade student Destiny Martinez Almonte said. “You can make friends better, and people will understand when you have a problem. … Because, when you talk to people in a nicer way, they’ll understand you better, and they’ll think what you think about them.”
Sixth grader James Marsh added he felt that “it’s really changed our school.”
“I feel like everyone’s acting differently, and better,” Marsh said. “This year, I think we really improved, listening to the teachers and respecting everyone.”
Student Madelyn Roberts from grade 3 said she “really likes how everybody’s name can be on the banner to follow the rules, and everyone can be respectful.”
School Nurse Cheryl DeLisio mentioned that she’s seen a real impact since the initiative was launched this school year.
“I have definitely seen a difference this year in how people show up, and what they’re doing when they’re here. Both students and staff, I can feel the positive vibe, and everything that brings a lot of positivity to the school culture,” DeLisio said.
Looking at the situation from a nursing standpoint, DeLisio always felt that “being proactive is better than being reactive.”
“Knowing ahead of time and having those clear expectations, guidelines, and strategies just fosters being proactive, I think, lessens the amount of reactive things that we have to address,” she said.
