The PRIDE Awards were introduced in 2019 to extend the PBIS program at Erwin High School and further recognize students for positive characteristics. PBIS is a program that acknowledges and rewards positive behavior by building a proactive foundation of expectations for our students. Our foundation is built on five core values: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence.

Each year, we recognize one graduating senior for each of the five core values, so the Perseverance Award, etc., and one student for the PRIDE award, an overall award for a student who represents all of the core values well and could have been recognized for any of them individually. The nominations for the PRIDE Awards require a written explanation of why the student matches that core value well and when it came to voting, only that explanation was used. No names were given. Because they were anonymous, these awards are based solely on descriptions of the student’s actions and choices day to day at Erwin High School, and because students were able to both nominate each other and later vote for winners, these are the only awards that the students themselves have had any input on.