STUDENT RECOGNITION IDEAS / TIPS

There are so many ways to recognize students or school stakeholders, and there are equally as many people who love being recognized. A good recognition program works to recognize as many people as possible. Through recognition comes a stronger sense of community and self importance. The ability to help build positive self-esteem is the most powerful tool a recognition program can provide. Please share with us some of the great ways you recognize people in your school.

Academic Recognition Ideas:

Every quarter, or ten weeks, recognize students who received a 3.0 GPA or higher, or students who have had perfect attendance. There are a variety of ways to reward these students. First, collect the data from the counselors or appropriate staff member, compile the list of recipients.Then, make coupons for student government students to deliver to their 2nd period classroom. Rewards can include: key chains, lanyards, bracelets, t-shirts, ice cream social, magic shows, pantomimes, hypnotist, pizza feed, etc.

ID Card Stickers:

by Seeta Rajpara, Esperanza High School

At Esperanza High School we give out stickers on our ASB cards for students that have a 3.5 GPA or higher. The stickers indicate spring, fall, winter etc. When the students present their ID card they receive an award on specific dates. 

ASB Rewards Program:

The Associated Student Body sponsors a reward program to promote leadership/good citizenship by inviting students to an after school pizza party.  To participate, students must meet specific requirements, such as a 3.0 grade point average, no discipline referrals, and no tardies.  A drawing for prizes that are either donated or purchased is always well received.  The prizes could include such things as SAT fees, Winter Formal tickets, spirit wear, and gift certificates.

Athlete of the Week:

Each Monday, send your athletic commissioner to speak with the in-season varsity coaches. Ask the coaches to nominate an athlete of the week from their respective sport. Be sure to get a brief description of why the athlete was nominated. Announce the Athletes of the Week in your daily bulletin. As an added bonus, you can give your Athletes of the Week certificates and pre-made t-shirts. Keep track of your Athletes of the Week because at the end of the year you can enter all of their names into a giant raffle for a cool prize.

Athletic Patch:

Provide a patch for each student athlete who does not miss any practice during the season.

Birthday Balloons:

Birthday balloons are a great way to ensure that all students are some how recognized as special and important to the school. At the beginning of the year, ask your registrar for a print out ,by day, all of the students’ birthdays. Then each day have your birthday balloon committee deliver balloons to your birthday boys and girls. Students look forward to being recognized on their special day.

Citizens of the Month:

Give each teacher five “Character Counts” coupons per month. The teachers can give these coupons to students in class when they exhibit one of the six pillars of the Character Counts Program (Respect, Caring, Citizenship, Trustworthiness, Responsibility and Fairness). Students who have received a coupon can turn it into the ASB office or other determined location. At the end of each month, ASB holds a drawing selecting a handful of coupons and rewards the recipients with a prize (free items from the student store, spirit shirt, etc…)

Find Your Hart:

The ASB class makes a paper cutout heart for each student on campus. Each heart contains the a student’s name, what makes them special, and a message of how important they are to the school. The students walk around during brunch and lunch to find their “heart”. Once they find their heart, they bring it to the ASB Office for a tasty treat surprise (candy).

Lunch with the Principal:

To promote involvement the Associated Student Body sponsors a monthly luncheon with the principal to discuss school issues.  They randomly hand out invitations and provide a list of topics that would be discussed at the luncheon.  Different groups of students were given tickets to represent students who either not involved in school or were apart of sports, clubs or school organizations.  The students were given the chance to have their opinions heard, meet new students, and get to know their principal  informal yet secure and safe environment.

Pass It On:
Students are given a 3 x 5 index card, and write down it, “You make our high school a nicer place to be”. The student takes the card and passes it onto someone special. Then that person passes it onto someone else. The goal of the activity is to bring a smile to as many faces as possible.

Postcard Recognition Program:

The postcard recognition program is a great way for staff to recognize students in class. Each month, ASB places 2 stamped postcards in teachers’ boxes. The teachers fill out, address, and send out the cards to a student for special recognition. The students and parents enjoy opening the mail and receiving a positive note from a teacher. ASB usually covers the cost of all postage, and it is well worth it.

Read All About It:
There are a lot of students who are doing some pretty amazing things at your school. Many of these things are so great that they make the local newspaper. Create a bulletin board on your campus for all of the newspaper clippings that mention students at your school. The sports section usually makes mention of your school’s sports teams on a daily basis, and can serve as a very accessible resource for your bulletin board. Also, take your school’s newspaper and cut out the main articles and display them on your bulletin board. You’d be amazed by how many students and staff will stop and read your newspaper bulletin board.

Sidewalk Art Fair:

Take a Student to Lunch Day:

There is nothing more memorable for a young person than a teacher inviting his/her student to lunch. Organize a day, each semester, where student government sponsors “Take a Student to Lunch Day.” Give each teacher one invitation to give to a student in his/her class. The students who receive an invitation attend the luncheon with the teacher who invited them.

  Remember to:

  1. Reserve a facility on campus large enough for the staff

      and students  invited.

  2. Deliver invitations at least one week prior to the luncheon

      so students and staff have sufficient notice.

  3. Make certificates for the students who are invited to the

      luncheon, so they will have something to remember it by.

  4. Order enough food

  5. Have the teacher introduce the student they invited and

      briefly state why their student is special and deserving of

      such a great luncheon.

Wall of Fame Recognition Idea:
Teachers nominate students each month for the Wall of Fame. Students are nominated for a variety of issues: good citizenship, improved attendance, academic excellence, and so forth. The teachers are asked to write down a brief narrative on a piece of paper stating why they nominated a student. These papers are then displayed on a prominent wall on campus.

You Got Caught Reward Program: 

When students are seen doing good deeds around campus, give them a “You Got Caught” certificate. The students can take their certificate and place it in a box in the ASB Office for a weekly drawing. Students can receive certificates for a variety of reasons: picking up trash, helping a teacher or classmate, or going out of their way to do something nice for someone. Give each teacher one certificate to handout each week. When the teacher sees a student doing something extra nice, they simply give the person the certificate and say “You got caught! ” Prizes can include: spirit wear, free food from the student store, a homework pass, or anything else that lets them know they are special. If you want, you can conduct the raffle once a quarter and give out bigger prizes. It’s amazing how a little recognition can go a long way in making your campus the best place to be.

Active Appreciation / Recognition Ideas:

By: Patrick Maurer - (Meet The Pros / CADA 2007)

Active Appreciation - rediscovering ways to recognize people that make our days great! (PDF Flyer)

Patrick Maurer presents speeches, workshops, leadership retreats and team building sessions to schools & organizations across the U.S. For more information visit his website at www.pmaurer.com

Patrick's Recognition Tips:

People want to be noticed. The more specific you are, the more people realize you noticed.

Rather than just sending a thank you to the cheerleading team, send one to each individual cheerleader. Once again, it shows that you noticed.

While it is important to be prepared to thank individuals, people don’t want to feel like a checklist item. The more unique you can make the thank you or the more creative (surprising) you can make the medium, the better!

Reasons to Recognize:

activity, adaptability, attitude, awareness, care, cheerfulness, commitment, conscientiousness, creativity, dependability,  discipline, energy, enthusiasm, flexibility, giving, humor, inspiration, instruction, listener, loyalty, mentorship, optimism, organization, originality, passion, pleasantness, positivity, reliability, respectability, service, trustworthiness, understanding, volunteerism.

People to Thank:

Administrative staff, administrators, advisors, aides, alumni, athletic captains, athletic coaches, band directors, bus drivers, cheerleaders, choir directors, class officers, club officers, community leaders, counselors, dance team, DJ’s, equipment managers, faculty, ground crew, janitors, librarians, maintenance staff, marching band, neighboring schools, nurses, parent volunteers, play directors, police officers, school board trustees, substitute teachers, superintendents, technology coordinators, volunteers

Student Recognition Ideas:

By: Patrick Maurer

Agendas

Give accolades to members on your agenda. Add birthday announcements or extra curricular successes on the side.

Buddy Program

Assign monthly buddies to individuals (preferably people who don’t know each other well). Have a buddy challenge each month (i.e. take pictures together at a basketball game). Award a prize each month to buddies who complete the most challenges.

End of the Year Video

Put together a video of the year’s events, video tape meetings, set-up of events, and a few of the events themselves.

Mailboxes

Set up a mailbox in your meeting room. Write fun notes and distribute treats.

Member of the Month

Recognize a member of the month. Nominate during a meeting with people providing positive reasons why (provides recognition to several individuals even though only one gets the prize).

Mini Mascot

Have a mascot that travels from person to person. Mascot is given as a “thank you” or “good job” accolade. Individuals could sign a mascot journal explaining why.

Secret Buddies

Set-up a month-long secret buddy program. Provides secret gifts to fellow members.

Shout-outs

During the last few minutes of each meeting, take out a bag of candy and do several shout-outs. People can recognize others for anything.

Social Nights

Organize a few fun nights for your group. Thank individuals throughout the evening.

Appreciation Day

Distribute “Appreciation Accolades” during class. Allow clubs, teams, & groups to submit accolades to people. Recognize individuals in posters & flyers throughout campus.

Birthday Cards

Distribute a birthday postcard to every student in your school or add names to announcements. Design a plan for birthdays when school is not in session.

Digital Camera Cards

Take a picture of volunteers setting up an event or participants at the event. Send a photo to that individual. Example: For a pieeating contest, send anaftermath photo to all the pie eaters thanking them for taking part in the rally.

Letterman Jackets

Establish a policy so that student can earn a letter in athletics, academics, art, music, performance, volunteering, etc.

Pool Party

Host an end of the year pool party for all volunteers,. Use the school pool, bring music, order pizza or bbq.

Postcards

Find creative postcards are your stationary store or design your own at a print shop or online.

Raffle with Volunteer List

Add the name of every volunteer to a semester/year end raffle with a variety of prizes.

School Newspaper Ad

Take an ad out in the school newspaper thanking your volunteers/participants. Follow Digital Camera advice & add a photo of participants.

Spirit Kit

Give a spirit kit to various volunteers (esp. underclassmen). Provide pompoms, face paint, school song lyrics, t-shirt, etc.

Student Store Discounts

Distribute discounts/coupons/ vouchers for your student store. Give out free school shirts, hats, key chains, etc.

Student/Teacher/Volunteer of the Month/Year- Recognize three outstanding individuals each month. Take a nice photograph of each individual to hang in the office and later give to the recipient.

Valentine’s Day Cards

Provide a school-wide mail service on Valentine’s Day. Allow students to send messages, songs, flowers, etc. to other students. Keep in mind that some individuals will really feel “left out” on this day.

Volunteer Point System

Attach points to various volunteer opportunities. Volunteers acquire points and can cash them in various prizes (tickets, bids, raffle entries, etc.)

Brick Engraving

A possible fundraising program that allows community members and alumni to recognize individuals. Find a location on campus to create a brick walkway or garden area, take orders and donations, and place engraved bricks in location. Used on several college campuses and major parks.

Name Award

If you have a truly outstanding leader/volunteer, consider naming an award after him/her. The member of the month award becomes the “Joe Gaudet Member of the Month Award.”

Name Building

Work with your school to name a building after a phenomenal teacher. The science building becomes the “Tom Hayes Science Building.” If a building is too much, consider naming a hallway.

Name Event

Work with community member to name events after great volunteers. The crab feed becomes the “Richard Huhn Crab Feed”

Perpetual Award & Presentation

Make several awards perpetual awards. Purchase a larger plaque at an awards shop and budget for

annual engravings. Give a smaller take-home plaque to the recipient and display master award in a dominant place on campus.

School Walk of Fame

This could be done in a manner similar to brick engraving, or could be done in a short-term basis on campus to display photos of volunteers and/or outstanding students.

Tribute Book

When a teacher or administrator retires, contact former students & colleague to help create a special memories & messages book. If time permits, talk with your yearbook staff & create a special page in the book.

More activity ideas by asbdirector.com

Recognition Ideas:

Staff Recognition

Community Recognition

Parent Recognition

SHARE YOUR STUDENT ACTIVITY IDEAS

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