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Nichols Middle School introduces SOAR recognition program, board hears student presentations
Summary
Joshua ISD trustees heard a presentation on Nichols Middle School’s new SOAR behavior-and-recognition program and recognized students and groups for academic and extracurricular achievements.
Amy Watts, principal of Nichols Middle School, presented a new student recognition program called SOAR to the Joshua Independent School District Board of Trustees during the meeting.
The program, Watts said, uses a button-based reward system tied to an acronym her staff developed: “Soaring Beyond Expectations.” "Soaring Beyond Expectations is something that we instill in our students," she said.
Watts told trustees the program rewards students for a mix of academic and conduct measures — including perfect attendance, honor roll, no discipline incidents, no tardies and teacher nominations tied to weekly character lessons. Teachers nominate students for meeting weekly “dares” related to character traits, and the campus holds a weekly lunchtime celebration to distribute buttons and announce nominees. Students collect buttons throughout the year and earn tiered rewards for accumulating more buttons.
Two students from Nichols attended the meeting as guests. The board heard that one of the students, Braden Smith, is an eighth grader at Nichols Middle School and was among the program’s top earners. Watts said the buttons have increased participation and prompted more students to follow expected behaviors.
Watts also thanked the campus officer and a staff video producer for helping create a program video. "I said this to many, many, many people that 97% of our kids in this school are doing really good things and are really good kids. And they ought to be recognized for it," she told the board.
Trustees received the presentation during the recognitions segment of the meeting, which also included announcements celebrating a National Merit finalist, theater students who qualified for nationals, All-State band members, and dance team competition results.
The presentation did not require a board vote; trustees moved on to consent and business items after the recognitions.
Ending: The SOAR program will continue on campus this year as part of Nichols Middle School’s character-education efforts; the board did not take additional action on the program during the meeting.
