School Facts

Location: Louisville, KY
8-12 Enrollment: 817
Staff: Not Noted
Certified: 66 Teachers
Administrators: Not Noted
Facilities/Buildings: 1

Demographics: 53% of students in the school reported being White, 38.2% African American, and 4.7% Hispanic or Latino. 2.1% reported being English Language Learners (ELL). 80.3% of students reported being economically disadvantaged.

How one school transformed school culture in a big way with positive behavior reinforcement and Hero.

The Challenge

The culture at Valley High School was described as a “toxic environment” and just was not conducive to learning; the school had even been designated a “priority school” due to underperformance on certain state measures.  School leaders were determined to turn things around and inject some fun and positivity into their school. They wanted to focus their attention on motivating students to make better choices and exhibit positive behaviors to fundamentally change the school environment for the better.

The Results (Data Points):

0%
Decrease in Class Tardiness
0%
Decrease in Inappropriate Cell Phone Usage
0+%
Of Teachers Said the Program was Effective
0%
Increase in Positive Interactions Between Students and Staff

  • Utilized a “Pilot Period” to roll out the behavior management plan and collaborate with teachers in order to increase staff buy-in.

  • Identified school specific behavior objectives to reinforce and track through an online system.

  • Promoted consistency and participation by allowing any staff member – including teachers, administrators, office staff and even security personnel – the opportunity to assign positive behavior points.

  • Increased student behavior accountability and in turn decreased negative behaviors.

The Solution

  1. Identify behavior objectives and an  online behavior management system to monitor student progress.
  2. Implement a pilot program to train staff, encourage feedback and collaboration, and increase buy-in.
  3. Acknowledge and reward identified positive behavior objectives to motivate students and reduce undesirable behaviors.
  4. Track and monitor student data to more quickly intervene when necessary and encourage student participation in a more positive school climate.