Now, when students demonstrate any of the key attributes, teachers reward them with digital coins that we were able to easily create and customize. Each coin that a student earns counts towards the overall House score as well as their individual balance in our Rewards Store. We keep students engaged by having the House display on TVs around the school. Kids love arriving in the morning and seeing who’s in the lead. In the past, we have run mini competitions for each semester and also recognized the overall winning House for the full academic year. It really motivates them to earn points for their House. We’re also lucky enough to have a budget to spend on tangible rewards like hats, water bottles, and reusable masks for our kids.
Some teachers have expressed interest in these incentives too. A few of them saw what their students were wearing and said, “I’d like my own mask with my House on it.”
The PBIS team then offered those teachers the opportunity to earn a reward if they could show us how they log into the system or how they award a point. This was a little bit of fun, and it also took what we were doing with the students and reinforced it with the teachers.
Earning teacher buy-in
When we first introduced CritterCoin, the PBIS team chose not to make using it a requirement, but we did strongly recommend it—and our support went far beyond offering rewards for logging on. We did a group professional development session where teachers brought their devices and we walked around to make sure they were on the system. We also created a website that answers frequently asked questions.
When we identified teachers who weren’t using the system, I talked with them about how to get started. I emphasized that, unlike with our previous system, if they’re walking down the hallway and they see a student demonstrate one of our four central values, they can just spontaneously award the student a point. Any teacher can award points to any student, so if the volleyball coach sees positive behavior, they can award points right there on the court.
Towards the end of last school year, at a time when teachers and students tend to burn out, the Houses system was a simple reminder of our values. It was ongoing and students could choose whatever rewards they wanted, so they stayed motivated. Because it changed the whole dynamic between students and teachers for the better, we have fully expanded the Houses into every grade level for this year.