April 2019 - The Jacket Way at Perrysburg Junior High School

By Don Christie, Principal

At Perrysburg Schools, we have a shared vision of expectations for students and adults from preschool to grade 12 called The Jacket Way. Students are learning the three R’s of The Jacket Way: Respectful, Responsible and Ready. It reflects the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, the work of our school district’s diversity committee, called the CQ CommUNITY, and is based upon the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports model, which defines student and adult expectations to create a culture that is safe and welcoming and is best suited for students to be academically, emotionally and socially successful.

Building good character traits leads to people treating each other with respect. The Jacket Way at Perrysburg Junior High School is key to building positive climate and culture for students and employees. There are two primary components: teaching our students our school’s expected positive behaviors and coming up with ways to reward students for those positive behaviors.

Any employee can give a student a Jacket Way ticket – teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, secretaries, etc. At the beginning of the school year, training for new employees and refresher training for current employees is given to ensure the tickets are distributed in a consistent manner. Students may save tickets up for a monthly drawing or turn them in for a reward. There is also an assembly once a semester where students have the opportunity to play a Plinko board for prizes. JHPO, the Junior High Parents’ Organization, provides prizes. JHPO has also been instrumental in putting up motivational phrases throughout the school, supporting the behaviors we are teaching.

We track a lot of data with Jacket Way at PJHS: the number of tickets given out, number of students receiving tickets (90% have earned at least one ticket). We also track discipline and compare them. We have seen a trend this year – disciplinary referrals have dropped each month. We provide this data to teachers each month and together we look at the students receiving discipline and discuss ways we could perhaps address behaviors in a positive way through the Jacket Way.

We have a committee of teachers, parents/guardians and students that focuses on how we can grow and improve the Jacket Way program. Student input has been invaluable. One of the first things they said was if there was a student who had misbehaviors then did something good, they got recognized but that the students who do things right all the time deserve to be recognized as well. We adjusted as soon as we heard this feedback.

Many of the rewards have been food-based treats, including candy. One goal for the program is to find more meaningful rewards that are healthier. We are currently working with Development Department to obtain prizes where kids can save tickets up instead of trading them in for candy, then perhaps have a drawing for an X-Box or something like that. Our committee is working hard to put that together for next year. We see this as a way to bring in more local businesses to become partners in this program. For example, Cedar Point will give two season passes and a parking permit for the year for us to raffle off.

When you mention the Jacket Way to students or staff members, they can tell you the three R’s and can talk about the expectations for those. At the beginning of each school year, the principals go around and do lessons on the Jacket Way.

Each school builds matrices that indicate what the three R’s look like in different locations: classroom, hallways, cafeteria, outside the school and restrooms. What does responsible look like outside? Maybe picking up trash. Specific examples make the students aware of the positive ways that they may help—how they should be acting, rather than waiting until a student does not do what is expected.

Students need consequences but the main purpose is to teach. This helps us teach without having to give discipline as often. We do give discipline but when we do, we also teach them what they could have done. It’s restorative in that way.

Kids at this age are trying to figure out so much of what is going on in their world. They want independence and not to be treated like a little kid. We have to teach them what it looks like to make decisions more reflective of being an adult. They want respect and independence and this is how they earn that. Our teachers understand teaching their curriculum as well as teaching the qualities that will help students grow and develop as a person.

The Jacket Way program will continue to be a big part of our culture and climate at Perrysburg Junior High School and Perrysburg Schools!