Lincoln students sent to office … for good behavior

WASHINGTON — Starting this school year, Lincoln Elementary School in Washington has implemented a new reason to send kids to the principal’s office.

But unlike any of the conventional scenarios that would get a kid pulled from class midday, the practice of “positive office referrals” — as the district calls them — is not a punishment for pupils who get out of line. Instead, it recognizes students who go above and beyond expectations for school day behavior.

Any adult in the building, from custodians to teachers to administrators, can refer a student for positive behavior, whether it happens in class or on the playground or anywhere in between. Sometimes, students even recommend referrals for one another, when they feel the impact of a peer’s helpful initiative.

Principal Olivia Foglesong led the charge to launch the initiative this school year. She said it meshed nicely with the school district’s long-standing “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” and “Positive Behavior Intervention and Support” strategies.

“We’re rewarding students for exceptional behavior,” she said. “Positive office referrals help to create that understanding for students, that they are being recognized for those outstanding behaviors.”

The approach contradicts long-standing representations of the principal’s office as an intimidating, punitive place where only the worst-behaving pupils are sent for reprimand, a talking-to, or a dreaded call home.

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Foglesong said the referrals helped to break that stigma, offering students a new mindset about their trips to see the head of the building.

“The principal’s job is not only to discipline, it’s also to help and support students and their families,” she said. “When (the office) has a negative perception from students and sometimes families as well, people are apprehensive … if we can change that perception of families and students, and it’s a positive thing, that opens up some doors for communication and it opens some doors for students to feel comfortable in that environment as well.”

Kids who get positive behavior referrals receive a small prize, have a note mailed home to their families, and get their picture on the school’s social media page, where community members can react to and share the news themselves. The principal also takes efforts to “make it a big deal,” in her words: visiting classrooms to present the recognition, or making an announcement over a speaker when the moment calls for it.

So far, Foglesong says the approach has had tremendous effects on building morale. Students now enthusiastically ask which room she’s headed to when they see the note in her hands, or rejoice when a classmate is summoned over the intercom.

“Students have really enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s definitely a positive thing for our kiddos, we’ve tried to promote it a lot.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com