Middle School Program Recognizes Students for Making Good Choices, Not Just Bad

Sixth grader Michael Lavy didn’t expect that running the mile would bring him into the principal’s office. However, it was not running (actually going a little beyond) a mile that landed him waiting by Principal Karen Hudock’s office at the William Annin Middle School.

School officials at the middle school had not, in fact, called upon Michael because he had done something wrong in school. Instead, the sixth grader had been asked to come to the principal's office to be recognized for doing the right thing, for someone he didn't know.

Hundreds of good students have been getting to meet with Hudock for doing hundreds of good things. Each has been awarded through the Viking Values program at the school, the result of brainstorming by about 30 teachers and administrators over a two-year period.

Two years ago, a group of dedicated teachers and administrators gathered together to modify the rules at WAMS. The group wanted to create a school atmosphere where students felt good about their school and themselves, school officials said.

Student surveys showed that the student population felt adults were negative, there were too many rules, and the rules, in some cases, did not make sense to them.

To get students to better understand the concept of the school rules, teachers and administrators decided they had to first look closely at those rules.
What they discovered was that, in many instances, the students were right, school officials said.

“We want students to make good choices because they know that is the right thing, not because they’re always afraid of detentions” says Marissa Fuellhart, Communication Arts Teacher and member of the Positive Behavior Support (PBS) group.

PBS, the group of teachers and administrators, has been making an effort to rewrite behavior modification at WAMS. The group is working to create a culture of positive behavior recognition rather than negative behavior consequences. 

“Giving students the courage to do the right thing, is what Viking Values are all about,” said Fuellhart.

The PBS group created Viking Values, which kicked in this school year, as the reward system invented to reward students who demonstrate one or more of the Viking Value attributes – Respect, Responsibility, Integrity and Courage.

Teachers are now supposed to be on the lookout for students who show respect to another peer, or who stand up for a shy kid in line — or even those who note that a teacher forgot to take off points for a wrong answer on their test.

When a teacher sees a student performing an example of a Viking Value, that student is given a VV ticket in recognition. Copies of the VV tickets also are sent home and off to Hudock’s office.  That was how Michael Lavy ended up in the principal's office.

Michael had just completed running the mile during P.E. class last September and was hanging out with friends. That's when he saw another student struggling to finish the last lap from the finish line. Without a word to anyone else, Michael trotted towards the slower runner and accompanied him, encouraging him, all the way to the finish line. When later asked about his action, Michael said he didn’t really know the kid, but just thought, “He looked like he could use some help.”

Michael’s example was one of courage and responsibility toward his fellow student. The Viking Value ticket that Michael earned gave him a chance to chat with the principal for a while and to learn that his teachers recognize and appreciate his good choices. His Viking Value is just one among many, school officials said.

Teachers at WAMS  have embraced the system since September, and have made it a point to watch for Viking Values in their students, school officials said. During the the first three months of school, over four hundred VV tickets were given out in the sixth grade alone. 

The VV tickets are only one step of many that the PBS group is directing at WAMS. Classrooms and hallways all over school have the Values posted for all to see. Student representatives have met with administrators and teachers to discuss which rules could be modified or even eliminated. All students have met in class and have participated in Viking Value activities. Teachers are looking for ways to incorporate Viking Value concepts in lesson plans and to model the behaviors themselves so that students might recognize and repeat what they see.

“The next big step is home and community involvement, in the Viking Value concept,” Hudock said. Parents of students who have earned a VV ticket know about Viking Values, but many other parents aren’t fully aware of what is transpiring at school, she said. Finding local business interested in posting the values in their store windows might provide further awareness, school officials said. According to the program's creators, recognizing the importance of values such as respect, responsibility, courage and integrity at home and in the community are critical to making the program a success.

With any luck, sometime in his next two years at WAMS, Michael again will end up in Hudock’s office after earning another Viking Value ticket. In the meantime, WAMS teachers plan to continue monitoring all students to find ways to “catch kids doing good.”

— Chris Swanson