Revamped program aims to teach good behaviors at Hunt Elementary School

A revamped program aimed at teaching and reinforcing good behaviors among students is being rolled out at New Kensington-Arnold’s Roy A. Hunt Elementary School.

As part of the program’s debut on Monday, the school’s 620 students will get to cheer on teachers and staff in volleyball games, first with third and fourth grades and then for fifth and sixth grades.

The program, formally known as “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports,” has been around in some form for more than eight years, said Dana Fularz, the district’s federal programs liaison. A team of teachers created it at H.D. Berkey Elementary School, also in Arnold, when it housed fourth and fifth grades before a reconfiguration of the district.

“We’re making some changes to it to make it better,” she said.

The idea, however, is the same, with a focus on prevention, not punishment.

“It is a nationally recognized model,” Fularz said. “It is meant to create a positive culture, increase academic learning time and foster connectiveness within the school community. We’re teaching them character traits and expected behaviors for a positive and safe learning environment.”

Using the district’s Valley Vikings mascot, the program will focus on three main areas: that students are safe, respectful and responsible.

“We expect them to act this way everywhere — the classroom, the hallway, restrooms, cafeteria and buses,” she said. “We want them to show they are Vikings at all times.”

That could be shown through conduct such as students using indoor voices in the cafeteria and staying in their seats on the bus.

“These sound like very simple things, but it’s something that has to be taught,” Fularz said. “They have to be taught this is what we expect.”

The program has not been held at Hunt since the 2017-18 school year, said school counselor Devon Fiore, who had been with the district for a decade before going on leave in 2018. He was hired back in October.

“With the kids being remote and at home for so long, they didn’t have a lot of that social interaction. They weren’t using their social skills and things like that every day,” Fiore said. “My hope and our hope is that this program helps to identify those basic skills and behavior skills not just in the schools, but (they) will transition into the community and help the students grow.”

By demonstrating good behaviors, students can earn tickets that they can turn in for prizes and other rewards.

“I try to bring everything back to growth. What may work for one student may not work for another student,” Fiore said. “As long as that student is learning something and growing personally for them, there’s a benefit to that.

“Our students, they’re kind and they want to earn rewards, and I think the program will help lead them in that direction.”

Information about the program will be sent home to parents.

In future school years, students will be introduced to or reminded of the program at the start of the school year, Fularz said.