A Hyde County school was recently given a $2,500-donation from a Hyde County couple to help in supporting one of its programs.

Mattamuskeet Elementary School received the donation from Hyde County farmers Phyllis and Royce Ballance and America’s Farmers Grow Communities, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The donation will support the school’s Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) program, said Kristi Gibbs, MES counselor.

Gibbs said the program’s purpose is to encourage and support strong character and positive behavior through incentive programs. For example, a monthly drawing is held that gives students, who display exceptional positive behavior, a chance to have a family meal in their honor, Gibbs said.

“It’s to get children to respond with behavior based on supporting the positive side, rather than the discipline side,” Gibbs said. “It highlights positive behavior to support discipline. It’s to celebrate a child’s behavior and how hard a child has been working. This donation will certainly help us sustain what we’re trying to do here with positive behavior and for kids to be the best, put their best foot forward and learn by example. We are so grateful to both the farmers and the Monsanto Group for considering us and awarding us with such a wonderful donation. We’re just thrilled and over the moon about it.”

For five years, America’s Farmers Grow Communities has collaborated with farmers to donate over $16.5 million to over 7,300 community organizations across rural America. This year, winning farmers will direct another $3.3 million to nonprofits to help fight rural hunger, purchase life-saving fire and EMS equipment, support Ag youth leadership programs, buy much needed classroom resources and much more, according to a Monsanto press release.

Part of the America’s Farmers initiative, the campaign and programs have advocated on behalf of farmers and their efforts to meet society’s needs through agriculture, according to the release. Today, consumers are more interested than ever in agriculture and how food is grown. Royce Ballance spoke about his involvement with the program, as well as his donation to MES.

“We’re happy to support a program that instills good morals in the youth of our community,” Royce Ballance said. “We believe that this program is creating community leaders and citizens.”

For more information about the program, visit http://www.americasfarmers.com/recognition-programs/grow-communities-program-overview.