Search form


 

Cheerleader and Punk Rocker
Reward Students for Making the Grade

This past year was our schools fourth consecutive year of achieving an A grade on our state achievement tests, the FCATs. This is an especially great accomplishment because we are a Title I school. Of course we do all kind of things to motivate our students to do well on the tests, and we always reward them for their success too. Each year, one of the most anticipated rewards is a zany stunt performed by our school administrators. Students vote on the stunt they would like us to do as an award for the A grade. This past year they voted for me to dress up like a cheerleader and for my assistant principal to dress up as a punk rocker.

When news broke that we made the grade, we dressed in our voted-on get-ups and met all our students as they arrived for lunch. Of course the stunt was a huge hit! We even notified the local media and they covered the story, which was well received by the entire community.

The only problem I had was figuring out which restroom to use!

As an additional reward, we transported all level 5 (highest level) students by limo to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. The kids loved it because the establishment was closed for customers. Our 54 students were the only people in the restaurant.

Contributor:
Larry G. Davis, principal, Clay Hill Elementary School, Jacksonville, Florida

 


Send Us Your Favorite Tool

 

Looking to nail your next meeting with a good idea? Tighten up staff relations? Hammer out some great test scores? Construct a fun reward or event? Ratchet up your team building skills?

Just drill into our toolbox for all the tools you need -- like the one above submitted by a school leader just like you.

If you find the tools in our Principal's Toolbox to be of value, we hope you will be willing to contribute your favorite tool. Just email a clear photo of the "tool" along with a brief description and your name, school name, and location to [email protected]. If we add your tool to the Principal's Toolbox we will even send along a few Ed World sticky-note pads via snail mail.