Guarn Sims was born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida, but when the lifelong educator became principal of his hometown’s high school last year, he realized he had the same misconceptions of Boynton Beach Community High School as many of the area’s residents.
“I had the perception there were school fights every day,” he says. “I was so wrong.”
The principal knew the school was a “high-needs school,” meaning that a large percentage of students were both low-income and of minority backgrounds.
But what Sims didn’t realize until he started working at the school was that although there were about 200 students who were behind in academic achievement or not attending classes regularly, there were 1,500 other students doing well!
“We have kids taking honors classes and kids with dual enrollment taking college classes,” Sims says. “What we haven’t done enough of is recognize those 1,500 students who are doing what they should be doing. And we’ve been trying to change that narrative.”
Part of changing that narrative meant adding a software which would allow teachers to reward students for good behavior.
Sims and Assistant Principal Presley Charles chose SchoolMint Hero.
Within this behavior management program, teachers could assign points to students for various behaviors:
While some teachers questioned why a student would be rewarded for doing what’s expected of them, Charles understood the sentiment but said he knows that students, as well as adults, need praise.
“I think it’s our responsibility to meet kids where they are in the world today,” Charles says. “If students need more praise, we need to give them as much praise as possible, and SchoolMint Hero allows us to do that consistently.”
Boynton Beach has a list of incentives that students can earn every period of the week, and students understand that if they are on task, they’ll be rewarded.
Students can earn one to two points for each behavior, such as staying on task in class or by displaying random acts of kindness. Attending the school’s open house with a parent or guardian nets 10 points.
“It’s not just about the straight-A students,” Charles says. “Everyone who follows the rules gets rewarded.”
Although the school implemented SchoolMint Hero only in January, Sims and Charles are getting buy-in throughout the school. Students ask them to award points when the principals are in the hallways, and teachers seek to add new items to the program all the time.
The math department has created Math Bucks, a special set of points that students can spend in a math department–run store.
Both administrators realize that the prizes offered to students are an important motivator.
“You’d be amazed how much kids like cookies, but you can’t do cookies all the time,” Sims says.
The school offers a monthly pizza lunch to students with more than 25 points. Right after the first such lunch, the assistant principal says 50 to 60 kids came up to him to ask how they could earn points. The school has even offered an ice cream social and free movie passes for students.
Charles expects to up the ante next year. He has plans to create a VIP lounge for students. This lounge will be a room where students can hang out, play games, and charge their phones.
“We can’t allow it to become stale,” Sims adds. He’s even offered a mega prize where he cooks lunch for high point earners.
While students concentrate on prizes, Sims and Charles are interested in how the orderly behavior is increasing achievement.
Comparing SchoolMint Hero to the school’s previous attendance tracking and classroom management system, tardy students decreased from an average of 311 per day to 114 daily, the assistant principal says.
Boynton Beach is hoping to reap achievement rewards from the culture change too.
The traditional community school edged its grade from a D to a C last year by a single point. Charles knows that the acts being rewarded by teachers, from getting to class on time to participating in class, will produce better academic results for both the students and the school in the future.
Sims says it can be hard for a new principal to get veteran staff to embrace a new program because past failures have taught them to be skeptical.
But teachers aren’t just using SchoolMint Hero — they’re raving about it.
Teachers who admitted they were weak in classroom management say the positive behavior program has helped them establish a reliable routine in their classrooms. Sims says he meets with every teacher one-on-one, and in the last two months, 80% have said the program has had a significant impact on the school.
Part of the teachers’ acceptance comes because of strong buy-in from Sims.
“I’m engaged. I’m out in the hallway giving points,” the principal says. “I recognize teachers who have given the most points in a month.”
But even more powerful than top-down management is the students’ bottom-up pressure, Sims says. When students get pizza, ice cream, or other rewards for earning points, those who didn’t get recognized are putting pressure on their teachers to reward their behavior.
And while the program was created to help recognize good behavior, its meticulous reporting has helped the principals mete out discipline when needed. With the ability to call up records instantly on a cell phone, students wandering the hallways are quickly redirected, Sims says.
“We’re not letting people slip through the cracks,” Charles says. “We’re keeping our hallway traffic down. On most days, we win that battle.”
The program’s easy access to data is curtailing arguments, too. When a student complains the system is wrong, the administrator will pull up their information right on his phone.
“They see that we’re serious with this,” the principal adds. “It’s not the old way of doing business anymore.”
Even parents have approved of the program, especially because they can download the app and receive push notifications about their children’s behavior.
“It has definitely turned the tide for us,” Sims says. “We’re not where we want to be, but we’re in a good place.”
And, perhaps most importantly, they have the tools they need to keep climbing.
SchoolMint Hero is a customizable classroom management and attendance tracking software that can help you:
Visit our website to see how SchoolMint Hero can make a difference in your school today!