North Platte High presents vision, behavior and attendance plan after external review

North Platte High School presented its 2024–25 building site plan to the North Platte Public Schools Committee of the Whole on Feb. 27, describing a newly drafted vision and value statements and several operational steps intended to improve attendance, student behavior and the transition from junior high to high school.

The high school’s guiding coalition — made up of department representatives and building leaders — described a multi-week process that gathered drafts from individual departments, refined language in a guiding coalition, and then sought broader staff input before finalizing the statements. The presentation said the school will keep the district mission at its center while pursuing a building-specific vision: “North Platte High School will have a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and academic resilient and productive citizens.”

School leaders framed the plan as a response to an external review that recommended stronger supports for attendance, behavior and freshman transition. The presentation outlined three primary levers: stricter, more reliable attendance tracking; a multi-tier behavior strategy with a classroom-level recognition system called “power cards;” and a small-group social-emotional learning (SEL) pilot for ninth graders called Bulldog time.

On attendance, presenters said staff now track minutes and analyze attendance data weekly; they are accepting medically documented notes within a defined time window as “grayed out” absences to help distinguish excused from unexcused absences. For behavior, each teacher is allotted nine “power cards” per term with an expectation of distributing roughly one per week. Cards are logged in a spreadsheet; students who bring a card to the designated location become eligible for small, immediate rewards and are entered into drawings and social recognition. The team also described a parent celebration program tied to tiers of referrals and absences: end of term 2 recognition for students with zero referrals; end of term 3 recognition for students with zero referrals and two or fewer unexcused absences; and a term 4 recognition for students meeting strict attendance and academic criteria.

The presentation described Bulldog time as a short-term SEL curriculum created from observed recurring issues in the counseling office (topics included appropriate phone use, social media effects and basic interpersonal skills). The counseling team selected about 18 students for the first pilot group; counselors and administrators said immediate effects were mixed but promising — a small number of early suspensions occurred, then participants stabilized and one cited student who had struggled reported marked improvement in mood, attendance and engagement. Counselors described strengthened relationships with students who participate, and said the pilot will be adjusted and expanded next term if outcomes continue to improve.

School staff described the overall goal as building a climate “where kids want to be,” and tied the plan to broader values the building will use in teacher collaboration and evaluation processes. Presenters said many elements are tracked with simple spreadsheets that will inform whether practices expand beyond the pilot.

The Committee did not take a vote on the building site plan at the meeting; the presentation concluded with questions from board members about how the vision and values will be kept visible to staff and how Bulldog time materials will be shared with parents.

Looking ahead, presenters said they will refine the Bulldog pilot materials and consider expansion to additional freshman groups if the pilot continues to show improvement in behavior and attendance.