U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was in an Anne Arundel County classroom Thursday learning how Frank Hebron-Harman Elementary School in Hanover is working to build positive interaction between students.

DeVos sat with children in a “community building circle” in Angela Snyder’s first-grade classroom and learned the greeting of the day: a fist bump and an “hola” to the person on their left.

The education secretary was learning about the school’s implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, a national program supported by the U.S. Department of Education that aims to improve “social, emotional and academic outcomes for all students,” according to the program website.

Meanwhile, outside the school, a small group of critics, including Democratic candidate for governor Ben Jealous and members of the state teachers union, protested DeVos’ visit, denouncing her support of taxpayer funding for some children attending private schools, and calling for more public school funding overall.

“Getting serious about school safety requires fully funding our schools ... [and] requires more counselors and psychologists," Jealous wrote in a tweet after the rally.

While protesters focused on school security issues — one sign read, “Funds Not Guns” — DeVos’ visit to Frank Hebron-Harman Elementary with members of the Federal Commission on School Safety focused on efforts to build student relationships and improve school climates. The visit was part of a larger tour of schools where the PBIS program is taking shape.

In Snyder’s class, the teacher asked students to talk about a time someone had been kind to them — one student said someone played with them when others wouldn’t, another said someone helped them when they were crying.

In another room, DeVos and students read a book about Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960. The teacher asked the students to write down how they would feel if they were in her situation — some answered sad, one answered mad.

DeVos also talked with students and staff members in the school office, and later posted on Twitter that she enjoyed seeing “how the students are helping build positive, supportive environments that create a safe school climate.”

They can take breaks when needed, and seeking out a trusted adult when they have concerns or for support. They also have buddy classes pairing older and younger students to build relationships across grade levels.

At the meeting later, officials talked about tiers of support that are part of PBIS, designed to help students feel more a part of an interactive school environment. At Hebron-Harman, the goal is to promote students' respect for self, others, materials and for learning.

Kathy Rockefeller, a school climate specialist for Anne Arundel schools, said students who feel a connection to their school are less likely to harm that school — meaning fewer incidents of cheating, fighting or other issues. The system’s website notes that 78 Anne Arundel schools and two special centers are using practices adopted as part of Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports.

rpacella@capgaznews.com