LCHS: Not Your Typical Teenagers
As long as high-school-aged humans have existed, likely too has the opinion from some of the older generations that they are disrespectful or lazy. While this bad rap is common, says Savannah Boone, it’s not true of the students walking the halls of LaRue County High School (LCHS).
Boone, a teacher at LCHS, along with her colleagues who form the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports committee have been trying for years to find ways to recognize the high school students without embarrassing them and in a way that would feel rewarding to them. While initiatives in the past, Hawks of the Week & Super Hawks of the Month, have begun the work of recognizing students for characteristics the committee wanted to see more (ie goal driven, respectful, and healthy & safe), there was a new idea on the table: what if the student nominated each other?
The idea felt like a long shot, but Boone and the PBIS team created a Google Form for students asking them to nominate and explain how their friends were “Hawk Heroes” demonstrating the characteristics listed above. Just before Fall Break, the form was sent out and when the PBIS team returned to school a week later - they were amazed at what they found.
“I opened the results to find that 72 students had nominated their peers as Hawk Heroes. I was floored. Not only were there a multitude of nominations, but the stories were phenomenal. Stories of new students who were welcomed by other students, stories of peer tutoring, stories of generosity, and stories of emotional support. I showed my colleague, Ashley Carter, and we decided to honor them all. Together we created a bulletin board showcasing all of the stories. We also wanted students to know what their peers said about them, so we printed out each nomination to give to the students.”
Two students who were already good friends nominated each other, wanting everyone else to know the great qualities they saw in their friend. “Bridget has a ton of respect for other people, always being really kind. She also gets her work done and has a great work ethic. This program is a great way to let our classmates know that we recognize they are getting their work done” says Lola Ewing. Bridget Faulkner, the friend she spoke of, simultaneously filled out a form nominating Lola, “I wanted to celebrate Lola for doing so well in our classes. She has really put in a lot of effort. This program is important because it is a way for people to recognize the hard work that others put in and that their peers see it.”
While reflecting on the wave of positive and supportive encouragement at LCHS, Boone knows how important this work truly is to everyone in the greater Hawk Family, “Stories like these show how much good there is in our school and how bright our future is. People in our community would be truly blessed by meeting and volunteering with our students."