Calvert High School is starting a new program this school year, which will influence positive behavior and leadership skills among students. 

The program involves student representatives who will lead schoolwide lessons through Positive Behavior Interventions and Support, or PBIS. 

“The purpose of this program is to spread qualities of a good leader in school,” said PBIS Student Leaders co-founder Angela Somers, who teaches American Sign Language at Calvert High, “and create a support system among staff and students.” 

There are two branches of PBIS Student Leaders, including representatives who lead lessons and those on the peer mediation team. The students leading lessons will be teaching a “Believe In You” program that challenges students to reflect on ways they can become leaders and make a difference in their community. Each lesson will take place once a month while Student Leader representatives will be stimulating the discussions. 

“I joined PBIS Student Leaders because I wanted to help my peers realize all that happens around them,” said Alexandra Nichols, a rising junior at Calvert High School. 

The Peer Mediation Team is another part of the Student Leaders who were trained through the Community Mediation Center of Calvert County on how to solve conflicts and work out positive solutions with students. The nine peer mediators of Calvert High School are available for students every day, whether they meet face to face or through anonymous text messages. 

“In this training, we teach students the importance of conflict resolution and give them skills in listening for them to help their peers,” Community Mediation Center of Calvert County Executive Director Sherri Tardio said. 

The PBIS Student Leaders took part in a training exercise Aug. 1 and 2 to prepare them for their roles when school starts. The training involved planning the first two lessons of the school year as well as giving the team an opportunity to get to know each other through bonding activities. These activities helped the student representatives get more comfortable working with one another, so they can feel comfortable when they work with other students. 

“This program will help emphasize different learning skills among students,” said Calvert High School Vice Principal Cathy Sutton, who is also a co-founder of PBIS. “We have a lot of good people, and strong leaders at Calvert High, and we want to create family bonds at CHS through students and staff members.” 

In addition, the student representatives planned activities for Calvert High’s second Freshman Boot Camp that took place Aug. 6 through 8, where they got to interact with some of the people they will be mentoring and helped the ninth-graders get acclimated to their new schedules. 

The PBIS Student Leaders will be introducing the new program to staff and students on their first week back from summer break and will be planning multiple events throughout the school year. 

The writer is part of the Young Journalists Program in partnership with The Calvert Recorder and Calvert County Public Schools. The article was originally published in the Calvert Recorder on August 15, 2018