January 20, 2025
Setting expectations and building relationships are what it’s all about.
For Stolley Park Elementary, the backbone of student success starts by helping students feel excited about coming to school. And for them, consistent expectations are key to building a students’ confidence.
“I love it when students are excited to come to school and when they feel comfortable and happy to be here,” Ms. Keri Gruntorad, Second Grade Teacher at Stolley Park, affirmed. “When they're happy to be here, they lock-in and that's when the magic of learning happens. They're more likely to persevere and problem solve on their own if they're happy and feeling welcome to be here. It all starts there.”
What does setting expectations look like?
It comes back to what GIPS calls “positive supports”. Having a consistent system of supports for students across all schools allows for staff, teachers, and students to have a common language for setting each classroom and each student up for success.
For setting expectations, a rally cry may be heard in every district school:
Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Be Safe. And at Stolley Park, they’ve added “Be Kind” to the mix.
From expectation posters, to morning affirmations, to individual re-directs, to pre-activity instructions, to consistent language used by all building staff, “Be Respectful. Be Responsible. Be Safe. Be Kind.” may be seen and heard in every corner of Stolley Park Elementary. Taking it down to the classroom level, the common easy-to-understand language helps provide clear — and positive — expectations for students. Even more so, it helps shape the student experience to how they view themselves, their peers, and their community.
“As the EL Teacher, I don't just teach Academics, I'm teaching them how to be better, more confident people.” Ashley Splattstoesser (a.k.a. Mrs. Splatts), EL Teacher at Stolley Park, reflected. “I'm optimistic this also helps them adjust to the cultural experience they have in our community.”
But it’s more than just student expectations.
With a common language in-place, students and staff alike are able to stay on the same page. Because being responsible, respectful, safe, and kind are ideals that can strengthen a team-like culture at school.
“Setting expectations helps them understand they're part of a team here at Stolley Park,” Ms. Gruntorad said. “Doesn't matter what classroom they go to, the expectations are the same school wide.”
Taking it one-step further, students are able to feel more confident about not only being in school but more active in their own learning. Maintaining positive expectations allows for more rigorous instruction since students are more comfortable in the environment; student-to-student connections are stronger — especially during group or team learning time — as students can more confidently navigate that interpersonal connection; and staff, both teachers and support staff, lean into the common lexicon of “responsible, respectful, safe, and kind” to affirm, correct, and empower every day.
Because, as Ms. Gruntorad puts it, “Building relationships are important. That's how they stay motivated to do the work.”
And in true Stolley Park fashion, the school always finds a way to take positive supports to the next level.
A few times a year, Stolley Park hosts a “Positive Supports Challenge”. The first one from this year was all geared towards the idea of “Launching Leaders”.
Near the beginning of the year, students could earn “stars” for going the extra mile in exhibiting behavior that is Responsible, Respectful, Safe, and Kind. For each star given out the teacher or staff member intentionally affirms for the student what they did to earn it; another opportunity to reinforce the positive expectations across the school.
“It really comes back to breaking things down in ways students may understand.” Mrs. Splatts explained. “You don’t just hand out a star — the student earns it. And we, as teachers, notice, we stop, and we affirm. That makes a difference in how our students feel at school and how well they treat others.”
The goal? 500 stars earned by students in nine weeks.
The prize? Bringing the “Traveling Planetarium” from the Edgerton Explorit Center to school for a day of fun-filled, intergalactic experiential learning.
Of course, again in true Stolley Park fashion, the students stepped-up by earning 566 stars in just nine weeks.
To celebrate the student achievements, Stolley Park hosted an all school assembly. The gym was electric with excitement, cheering, and celebration both for the fun and for the ways the students showed-up to champion the core ideals at school. And, the promise of the “Traveling Planetarium” which arrived on November 19th and 20th.
“Stolley staff is always thinking of fun and novel ways to recognize and encourage our school values,” Whitney Flower, Stolley Park Principal, said. “This fall was one of the most dynamic and motivating for our Panthers. These moments of celebration are what makes our school so special.”
Be Responsible; Be Respectful; Be Safe; Be Kind… Strong [and positive] every day reminders to everyone.
