'Do the DAP:' Salt Brook School Celebrates National Character Award

Grey skies may have loomed overhead, but it did not damper the spirits of Salt Brook Elementary School, which celebrated its national Character Education award Friday.

Hundreds of students, parents, teachers, administrators and members of the community gathered in the school’s lower playground. They enjoyed pizza donated by CR Bard, food and drinks provided by the PTA, activities and live music in honor of the national award, which 43 schools with the best character-development programs in the nation won.

Principal Jeannie Maier and a committee of about 15 to 20 teachers, led by School Counselor Erika Ledder, started the program six years ago, which works to build character in the students’ daily behavior. Each year, the school presents a new theme for the students to work on regarding character and it is brought to life through various programs, activities and assemblies throughout the year.

“The national award is a summary of all the work that we’ve done,” Ledder said.

This year’s theme was “Dignity and Pride,” and the students fist-bumped each other and said “Do the DAP” whenever an act of kindness was performed. But the key part of the program was that awards and prizes were not used — the kids learned to do the right thing on their own, Maier said.

“We don’t catch you doing something good,” she said. “We expect you to do it.”

The changes in her students’ character can be seen mostly in small, day-to-day acts, like having better manners or picking up someone else’s trash, Maier said.

But some students have taken initiative and also developed other fundraisers and clothing drives.

“I think it’s the culture we’ve be developing for the past six years. It’s just the way we live our life here at Salt Brook,” Maier said.

But Maier said that winning this award does not mean the kids at Salt Brook are perfect.

“We make our mistakes, but we teach them,” she said.

The application process for the award began at the beginning of the school year, when a committee of teachers worked on the application to become a . When Salt Brook won that distinction early in the year, it became part of a national pool. The school was selected as a finalist in March, .

Maier emphasized the importance of the Character Education program, run by the national Character Education Partnership organization, in schools.

She said the state emphasizes testing and academics, which are important, but building character will last beyond their years at Salt Brook.

“Those are the traits that will lead them to be lifelong citizens and learners,” Maier said.

Many people were involved with making the Salt Brook program a success, she said. But the program would not have taken flight without the strong support of the school’s teachers.

“Each year as our program has grown, the teachers have totally embraced it,” Maier said.

She said it was the teachers’ idea to not have the students win prizes or awards, but rather just expect students do the right thing on their own.

Jan Coan, a first-grade teacher at Salt Brook, said it is a great program that has become ingrained within the children.

“When my kids walk down the hall, [if] they see garbage, they pick it up,” she said.

The kids also often do not tell others of their acts of kindness, but rather the teachers see more of it happening around the school, Coan said.

Another benefit of the program has been more conflict-resolution among the students, she said.

“The kids are learning to handle the problem on their own appropriately,” Coan said.

Kindergarten and first-grade teacher Maureen Bulger agrees and said it has become a part of the culture.

“Everybody across the nation has had bullying programs, but this is a step beyond that,” she said.

As school counselor, Ledder said students do come to her with problems, but she has noticed a more proactive approach in their behavior.

“I’m seeing an increase in them trying to solve [the problem] themselves first,” she said, adding that sometimes students will approach her saying they see a problem, but they do not know how to address it.

Ledder believes this program has allowed students to feel more comfortable with teachers and administrators in coming to them with problems, and she feels more connected to her students.

Sixth-grade student Mackenzie Sanczyk said she feels comfortable speaking with teachers or administrators if there is a conflict.

“It’s nice to have in our school such a good program [and] always have someone to support you,” she said.

Parents and community members also participate by echoing the principles of the yearly theme, Maier said.

“They ask, ‘what’s your theme this year?’ and they use it at home,” she said.

PTA Treasurer Susie Sarlund, who has two children at Salt Brook, said parents have embraced the program.

“Academics are important, but the whole character education idea is important as well. As a parent, it’s definitely an idea we support,” she said.

Sarlund said in the beginning of the school year, when the theme is announced at a school-wide kick-off assembly, she sees her children, who are in the first and second grades, show their enthusiasm for the theme and bring its lessons home.

“People know what ‘do the DAP’ is all about. Even grandpa knows about it,” she said.

Michael Savage, a New Providence resident of 42 years who has had three students attend Salt Brook, said he has seen the effects of the program on his children.

“They’re focused, and they’re aware of what’s around them … or they’re trying,” he said.

Savage’s daughter, sixth grader Jennifer, said she enjoys the program and its activities, which included games, projects, speakers and assemblies to help students understand ‘DAP.’

She said one aspect she enjoyed this year was when for the first time for the program, former students now at the town’s high school came to visit Salt Brook and speak to the kids.

“I really liked it. … It’s really fun,” Jennifer said.

Ledder said having the high school students — selected on their academic and moral character, as well as if they had siblings in the school — speak to the younger children was new for the program.

“For them to come down and surprise our students and show us how they have dignity and pride in their lives was really exciting,” she said, adding that the students also went to many of their high school sports’ games.

As for next year, Maier and Ledder said they have decided on a theme, but it has not been revealed yet. The new theme will be unveiled at an annual, school-wide kick-off assembly in the fall.