By NORINE ROWE
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs Department

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD—All successful relationships are based on mutual respect.

This message was emphasized throughout a partnership renewal ceremony earlier this month between NAVAIR’s Aviation Division and Lexington Park Elementary School that launched the fifth year of a Navy education partnership which regularly brings station tutors and mentors to the school.

During the event, students also celebrated “Respect Day,” a school program designed to promote character development.

“I give respect to people, and guess what, they give it back,” said Capt. Stuart Paul, aviation division executive director, who explained to students he learned about showing respect to teachers while a student at Piney Point Elementary School in Piney Point, Md. Since then, he said, he learned that most people tend to give back what they receive.

Also speaking about respect was Elfreda Mathis, principal of Lexington Park Elementary School, located in Lexington Park, Md.

“Our mission is to educate and inspire all students to learn in a safe, respectful school community,” said Mathis, who outlined the six pillars of character that students will focus on in the year ahead. These included respect, caring, fairness, responsibility, trustworthiness and citizenship.

As part of the Respect Day program, students sang a song about respect and then came to the lectern to share their thoughts on respect. Afterwards, the students joined together with a school-wide “Chain of Respect” they created by writing what respect means to them on each of the chain’s links.

Following the program, Mathis commented on why the Navy partnership is so important to the school and its students.

“Children give back what they receive, and what all kids need are good role models who demonstrate respect for children,” Mathis said. “Our students love the Navy volunteers who come to our school, and the Navy tutors and mentors show sincere appreciation for our children.”

This attitude of respect and appreciation permeates the entire school environment, said Paul, and is one reason why Aviation Division volunteers keep returning year after year.

“So many of our personnel participate in this partnership program because school leadership creates the kind of positive atmosphere where people want to join in and contribute,” Paul said. “They make our volunteers feel wanted, needed and appreciated.”

In response to this welcoming environment, 25 employees from the division participated in the school partnership last year, said Karen Ladner, the division’s partnership coordinator. In addition to tutoring and mentoring, Navy volunteers hosted a Christmas lunch for students, sponsored a Christmas gift drive for needy school families and provided an end-of-year picnic for students at NAS Patuxent River. These partnership activities will continue in the year ahead.

Navy volunteers will also be taking on a new partnership project, Ladner said. She explained that the school has been operating out of temporary facilities on Great Mills Road while Lexington Park Elementary School is being renovated. School officials expect renovations to be completed soon, and to welcome students on their return in January will be a newly landscaped courtyard, courtesy of Aviation Division volunteers.
—USN—

Capt. Stuart Paul, executive director of NAVAIR’s Aviation Division, renews a partnership with Elfreda Mathis, principal of Lexington Park Elementary School, launching the fifth year of a Navy education partnership with the school. The agreement was signed Oct. 1 during a ceremony at the school.
Photo by Norine Rowe