Respectful, Responsible, Safe, & Kind: How Howard Elementary celebrates student kindness and positive character

It was an overcast morning, but the students’ smiles brought the sunshine last Friday as they walked into Howard Elementary.

 

Students earned a special celebration, complete with the Grand Island Senior High cheerleaders greeting them with encouragement and joy as they walked into the building, and a special ‘Wear Your Favorite Sports Team Gear Day’. 

 

But what for? 

 

Howard Elementary students earned 5,009 total positive office referral tickets since the school year started, which has only been a month. Principal Jessica Schroeder said that’s a new record – one she’d like to see the students continue to top.

 

Positive office referral tickets are earned and given to students from Howard staff members. When staff see students exhibiting positive behavior of being respectful, responsible, safe or kind, students can earn a ticket. The goal is to encourage positive behavior among students and peer leaders. 

“When they [staff] hand the ticket out, they say, ‘Thanks for being responsible!’ or ‘Thanks for being kind!’, so the students know why they earned the ticket,” Schroeder explained. “Then if a staff member sees them [the student] walking down the hallway with their ticket, they’ll ask ‘what did you get it for?’.”

 

The students then get to be proud of their positive behavior and repeat it back, which provides further reinforcement.

 

When the collective building earns a certain number of tickets, the school celebrates in different ways. Names of students who received tickets are also put into a drawing each month, and one winner from each grade level is chosen to receive a prize. As the year goes on, the building-wide celebrations expand – last year, one of the celebrations included “Pie the Principal”. 

 

Schroeder said implementing the program, which is part of the district’s MTSS model (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support), has made a huge impact on building culture and positive behavior at Howard.

 

She said she has heard students redirect their peers with comments like “Was that respectful?” to address behaviors. Schroeder added that it starts with the staff, but then that positive behavior and accountability transforms and spreads to students. That creates a positive building culture and teaches students important skills.

 

“It shows the kids what we value, what we're looking for,” Schroeder said. “It really does carry through to the rest of their lives, too. You have to be responsible, respectful, safe and kind, so it also holds them accountable to each other.”