Principal Cris Turner at Bonney Lake High School is well aware of the importance of attendance when it comes to student success, stating that, “We also know that the single most impacting variable on student learning is the quality of the teacher in the classroom.” Principal Turner believes it is critical for the adults in the building to model what they want to see from their students – in this case good attendance. So, he decided to figure out a way to encourage it among his Staffulty. From Principal Tuner:
“I wanted to recognize, reinforce and reward teachers who are here every day. We have a staff meeting once a month. At the staff meeting we post/show the names of all the teachers who have 100% attendance for the month and applaud them. Then we randomly choose three names. The first two get a “World’s Greatest High School” coffee mug. The third earns the mug plus the grand prize – a very close parking spot – reserved with a sign saying the “Honored Staff Member”. This parking spot is theirs for the first 2 weeks.
Also – each teacher names 2 students as their “Student of the Month” – 1 for academics & 1 for POWER character. The teacher also sends a paragraph as to why the student was selected. That paragraph gets put into a form letter that is sent home telling parents that their student was selected as student of the month by that teacher. For each Student of the Month submitted by a teacher, the teacher gets his/her name put into a random drawing. We draw that name right after the attendance. The winner receives the reserved Honored Staff Member parking spot for the last 2 weeks leading up to the next staff meeting.”
What a great way to recognize Staffulty and modeling what it is that they ask for from their students to create a positive environment!
Do you implement great ideas in your school that recognize, reward, reinforce, and show respect to the values of Renaissance? Send that info to [email protected] and you’ll be entered into a drawing for free registration to the Jostens Renaissance National Conference! – Each story counts as an entry and the grand prize drawing will be held in early May! Rules and details here.