Extended lunches have become an incentive for better grades.
Have you ever wondered why or how this idea came to fruition? The idea came about in a student leadership team meeting a few years ago. The students and adults discussed ways they could reward good grades that would not negatively affect any aspect of the school day, Mr. Mackenzie explained. The students actually came up with the extended lunch idea, and it’s also used for state testing goals.
“We discussed incentives to get students invested in building-wide goals around what we felt were important statistics…Fs, tardies, and attendance all jumped out for both students and adults,” Mr. Mackenzie said. “We came up with what we felt were achievable goals, and we’ve used them.”
Mr.Mackenzie hopes that the extended lunches help students to find their own motivations to earn better grades and have good attendance.
“It’s funny how we invest effort when there’s a carrot. Inevitably, we need to find our own motivations to be our best selves…but shared goals and rewards are an important first step as you develop individual grit, resolve, and commitment,” he said.
While Mr.Mackenzie is trying to help students with their individual goals, he also has his vision for the whole school. Right now, the school is hovering around 17% of students with at least one F.
“I’d like that number below 10, but our goal is less than 15%…Seniors and sophomores are under…juniors and freshmen are at around 20%…time to get to work.” Mackenzie said. Mr. Mackenzie plans to have the student body decide on an achievable goal. “It’s a good question for the student body…while as adults we can create a certain level of accountability, the strongest influence in our school community is peer accountability,” he said, “If the student body wants to set a goal of 10% or less in November, I’m happy to come up with another incentive, like a school-wide ice cream sundae reward…student leaders can let me know.”
