School-Wide Reward That Is Not Demeaning

Submitted by Cynthia Sibitzky & Becky Howk, North Pole, Alaska

Idea posted March 24, 2006

A few years ago for our school-wide "reward," we turned the principal into a submarine sandwich. Later, we realized we were teaching that (1) it's okay to waste food, and (2) it's okay to be disrespectful to another human being.

The next year, we tried for a different approach. A school-wide goal was set (30,000 points), and reaching this number earned a movie as a school-wide reward. Students earned points through the Accelerated Reader program. A movie (the original Herbie) was shown to the entire school, via the library/TVs in the classroom system. In addition to the movie, individual points could also earn extra rewards:

The principal made deliveries to the classroom on a bike towing a cart. She was dressed in a racecar driver's jumpsuit. Students remained in their classrooms, and it was a fairly quiet afternoon. It was less demeaning and equally well received.