Nathan Hale Tries Positive Strokes

Nathan Hale School Dean Michele Ricci pulled a student out of each classroom and handed them a sealed invitation.

“Go put it in your backpack,” she told the kids.

“I’ve never been before,” one said.

“My mom’s going to be so happy,” chirped another.

At the week’s end, the select group arrived for a celebratory breakfast at 8:15 a.m. and gleefully wolfed down scrambled eggs and syrupy pancakes, as administrators complimented them for their good behavior over the last quarter.

Nathan Hale’s reward for upstanding students is one example of a districtwide push to improve classroom vibes through positive incentives, rather than a strict reliance on discipline for behavior.

Under the old, solely punitive model, teachers at the Townsend Avenue elementary school felt they’d recognized behavior only when it disturbed the learning environment. So in 2013, they set up TRAK (which stands for Teaching Responsibility and Rewarding Kids) to tally examples of good behavior. Administrators report the model’s use for the last four years has led to a more positive culture in the building.

“As administrators, we found that we were spending a lot of time with the kids that were getting in trouble, and we wanted to be able to spend time with our kids who are doing the right thing when they’re supposed to be,” said Tara Cass, Nathan Hale’s principal.

When Cass arrived in 2013, administrators used a summer boot camp to design TRAK’s incentives. A dozen positive behaviors — centered around four big character traits of citizenship, perseverance, respect and responsibility — can earn a student five points. On the flip side, an infraction, like not completing homework, chewing gum or talking excessively, deducts two points. Letters go home at the end of each quarter with three areas of strength and three that need improvement.

Based on how they scored, students are eligible for three tiered rewards. ​“It is truly our way to celebrate as many students as we can, in a tiered system, so that they can all feel like we are recognizing the fact that they are making good choices when they come to school,” Ricci said.

As long as the student’s score isn’t negative, they can attend a special activity at the marking period’s end, like a scavenger hunt or movie. Almost everyone — usually 98 percent of the student body, Ricci estimates — nabs this prize. Twice a quarter, students in the lower grades gather for an assembly where their top three peers receive certificates and pencils. And finally, the Breakfast of Champions goes to the very top point-getter.

It’s easy to write off the point system as a feel-good improvement, but it seems to have actually contributed to a real change in student discipline. From 2013 – 14 to 2015 – 16, Nathan Hale’s suspensions dropped 12.5 percent, while district-wide, the rate headed in the other direction, increasing by 10.8 percent. ​“I think the culture in your building has to become more positive when you are focusing on the positive,” Ricci ventured. ​“It’s just a natural reaction.”

Cass and Ricci aren’t alone in coming up with solutions. Across the district, their push for improved an school climate has been amplified by Educators 4 Excellence, a national not-for-profit advocacy group trying to elevate teachers’ role in writing policy. In September 2015, E4E’s local chapter released a report with suggestions on how to further improve student learning environments.

“Our district can no longer exist as a reactionary institution. For you, our students, we must do better. We must create healthy, welcoming, and engaging school climates so that you are empowered to drive your own learning and take positive risks,” the teachers wrote, ​“and we must ensure our discipline system treats the root causes of misbehavior rather than perpetuating underlying problems.”

To shake up school climate, the report’s eight authors recommended fleshing out the district’s approach to discipline with clearer direction, hosting professional development on classroom management, investing in mediation or mentorship programs and fostering more communication with parents.

To do their own part, E4E has been hosting an awards program for the last two years, recognizing 52 students who’d been nominated by their teachers for curbing their disruptions or cheering on their classmates. ​“There’s lots of ways that we honor academic gains, right? But when a kid turns around their behavior or a kid is leading in behavior, it’s easy for that not to be acknowledged,” explained Justin Boucher, the Connecticut chapter’s executive director. There’s much more to do than breakfasts, he added, ​“but if we can support our teachers or the district in any way in making that happen, then we’re gonna do so.”