Character Education for Bronxville Elementary Students

By Michael Ganci

Bronxville Elementary School students are learning how to be safe, responsible and respectful to one another outside of the classrooms. The school has adopted a new approach to character education to ensure each student thrives in a positive learning environment.

The program, called Be3, is promoting three expectations teachers and administrators have throughout the school – be respectful, be responsible, be safe. Each student who demonstrates any of the three valuable qualities receives a “Be3 Bronco” sticker from a faculty member. Children can be rewarded for thanking a cafeteria worker, cleaning up after themselves, quietly waiting in the hallway for their class to begin or helping a friend pick up his or her books, for example.

“The program was researched and developed over the course of last year and throughout the summer by a team of dedicated teachers, administrators and school psychologists,” Bronxville Elementary School Assistant Principal Adrienne Laitman said.

Students were introduced to the Be3 program and its expectations during schoolwide assemblies at the beginning of the year, which included spirited music, a cheer and an appearance by the Bronco mascot. Every day, students are practicing safe, responsible and respectful behavior on the school’s playground, and in its hallways and lunchroom.

“Our goal is for all students to act respectfully and responsibly in all situations because it is the right thing to do and not because they will be rewarded for that behavior,” Bronxville Elementary School Principal Tricia Murray said. “We are focusing on teaching students new positive social skills, primarily during lunch and recess.”

Laitman said the school has already received positive feedback and praise from parents about the program.

“One parent told us that she almost took a picture of her daughter asleep with her ‘Be3 Bronco’ sticker on her PJs,” Laitman said. “Students love to explain why they received a sticker.”

Fifth-grader Catherine Berkery, who received her first sticker for properly using the tire swing at recess, said she wants to continue to follow the Be3 guidelines and hopes to receive more stickers throughout the year.

Alex Davis, also a fifth-grader, received a Bronco card for going above and beyond what is expected of him. He was rewarded for finding a dollar on the school’s playground and giving it to a teacher instead of keeping it for himself. The teacher then returned the money to the child who lost it.

The Be3 program follows the PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support) framework, which is a research-based positive discipline model.

Picture 1: Students demonstrate how to be respectful, responsible and safe while using the tire swing at recess.

Picture 2: Catherine Berkery (left), Danielle Dragoni (middle) and Ava Bruno (right) received stickers for properly using the tire swing during recess.

Picture 3: School psychologist Jillian Tomlin explains to students how they can be respectful, responsible and safe on the school’s playgrounds.

Picture 4: Physical education teacher Jacqueline Frawley tells students what’s expected of them on the school’s playground and how they can be respectful, responsible and safe.

Photo credit: Bronxville Union Free School District