Discovery Elementary Earns Green Shield Status From Positivity Project

Students at Discovery Elementary School (Fruitvale Union School District) are showing what it means to be kind, brave, prudent, and well-rounded individuals with a Green Shield designation from the Positivity Project.

The Positivity Project, also known as P2, is a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) platform designed to teach students positive character traits while supporting their mental health and teaching desired behaviors. Lesson plans are tailored to each grade level and focus on 24 character strengths such as kindness, teamwork, and perseverance. Students learn how to adopt those traits into their everyday lives, building empathy and community.

Discovery Elementary began implementing the P2 curriculum in 2020, introducing lessons to each grade level during the first 15 minutes of instruction each day. Each week focuses on a different Character Strength with videos, activities, and projects for students to work on, as well as questions to get them thinking critically. The students, teachers, and staff all take an assessment to see what their most significant strength is.

“My top one came out as Leadership,” said Discovery’s Principal, Eva Martinez. “My weakest one was Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. “That is probably one of my favorites because it makes me think about those things I need to work on.”

A school can achieve Green Shield status by going above and beyond the implementation of P2 in the classroom and bringing those lessons to the staff, families, and the community at large. There are several criteria a school needs to meet to earn elite status, and only a few schools have achieved this worldwide.

“Achieving Green Shield status in the 2024-25 year among over 800 schools across 25 states is truly outstanding,” said Jeff Bryan, the founder of Positivity Project.

Assistant Principal Kevin Jackson, who helped implement P2, says lessons are not reserved for the first 15 minutes of class time. They can be adapted to any situation inside the classroom and out, and the students can bring those lessons home to their families. During the week of Forgiveness, Jackson said a parent told him their child spotted them modeling forgiveness and started a conversation about what they were learning.

“I’ve seen a huge impact with our students and with our parents, too,” Jackson said. “It’s those little stories that you hear that really remind you of why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

The P2 lessons also extend into the local community. Teachers and students devised class projects to help out with various causes. One fifth-grade classroom put together fleece blankets that they delivered to a nearby retirement home. A schoolwide initiative involved sending a student’s grandparent to Washington, D.C., with Honor Flight Kern County. The school also does annual Thanksgiving food drives. The second-grade class raised funds and supplies to send to a local animal shelter. TK and kindergarten students donated new or gently used plushies to the Bakersfield Fire Department so that firefighters could give them to children in need.

“That was hard to tell a five-year-old, you brought this awesome stuffed animal, and you love it, but you’re going to give it up to someone else,” Martinez said. “But it’s also a lesson, connecting it back to doing something for someone else.”

Kindergarten students donate stuffed animals to the Bakersfield Fire Department.

Bryan said the Green Shield Status is a reflection of the dedication of the entire school community to fostering a positive culture at school and setting a high standard for other schools to aim for.

“Schools like Discovery serve as beacons of excellence, showcasing the transformative power of character strengths education,” Bryan said. “By fostering individual strengths and nurturing positive relationships, they enrich students’ lives and create environments conducive to personal and academic growth.”

Martinez says students who were in kindergarten when P2 was first implemented are now in fifth grade, and the effects of this curriculum have been cumulative, resulting in better outcomes for students in discipline, attendance, and engagement.

“Our discipline record has come down tremendously throughout the past couple of years, and our attendance has gone up,” Martinez explains. “It’s become a part of who we are.”