Wednesday, October 30, 2002
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Wednesday, October 30, 2002 |
Program makes a positive impact on Fayette's schoolsAnother Fayette school has proclaimed itself as a "positive words only" zone and is the second in Fayette to become positive label certified through a national program created by Peachtree City resident Margaret Ross. East Fayette Elementary just completed its four-week certification process to become Kamaron Concept III (KC3) by participating in a variety of activities designed to help students learn about the power of words and the feelings they evoke. Last year Braelinn Elementary became the first positive label certified school in Fayette and the nation. Ross, president of the Kamaron Institute whose initiative is to help schools, businesses, organizations and homes become a safe haven where only positive labels or words are used, developed the certification process. In order to become a positive label certified school, each classroom must have a minimum of two activities per week focusing on the effects of labeling. One activity that everyone must participate in is reading Ross' book, "Casey and the Amazing, Giant, Green Shirt." The story centers on a young boy named Casey who finds his grandfather's old Army shirt and notices that a badge is missing from it. He asks his mother to make him a badge to fill the space and she gives him the task of deciding what the badge should say. Casey takes a whole week, choosing a different word each day: special, brave, smart, nice, fast, patriotic and loved. Through his journey to find the perfect word for his badge, he learns about the joy of positive words and the pain of unkind ones. Throughout the school, teachers, students, parents and staff members are seeing a noticeable difference in attitudes and increased in acts of kindness toward each other. Perhaps the best component of the program is that it requires the participation of students in addition to teachers, staff and parents. "Motivation here at East Fayette has always been high but in my 30 years of teaching I've never seen it soar to the heights it has after completing the Casey program," commented principal Faith Hardnett. "It has brought about such unity among teachers, students and parents. The program teaches our children life skills that parents and teachers have taught them. If we can build on that foundation and nothing else, then we will be giving our children skills that will carry them through life." Even people who are not at the school on a regular basis report having noticed a positive difference in attitudes after implementation of the program. One substitute teacher says she wishes more schools would adopt the Casey program. "I have noticed that the students at East Fayette are in general kind and considerate to one another. I credit 'Casey's Amazing Green Shirt' for their good attitude. As a substitute teacher, I wish more elementary schools would share this program with their students," said Bona Gray. In honor of East Fayette becoming KC3 certified, Ross presented the school with an engraved plaque and awarded the first ever Outstanding Service Award to the school's counselor Leslie Fear who was instrumental in bringing the program to the school. Additionally, Ross presented Lynn Gunter (first grade teacher), Glenda Martinez (kindergarten teacher), and Carolyn Morris (third grade teacher) with a creativity award for developing unique positive label activities for their classrooms. Each teacher received a gift certificate from Peachtree Education Station in Peachtree City. Positive label certification for Fayette schools is being provided under the CARE (Children at Risk in Education) umbrella of programs. The certification program is also included in the official character education resources of the National Museum of Patriotism.
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