Principal's Paw Wall

Students at Josephine Chrysler Elementary School in Modesto, California, love to get their name on the principal's “Paw Wall.” Given that the school mascot is the cub, Principal Thomas Freeman put a giant paw outside his office, covering the whole wall, as a location to list positive student behaviors. All the staff, including yard duty and lunch staff, carry around stacks of small blue slips of paper. Whenever a student is “caught” doing something good, that student is given one of these blue slips. The student brings it to the principal's office and his or her name gets put on the “Paw Wall.” The principal and the secretaries all congratulate the student, who gets a piece of candy and a hand stamp. The hand stamp allows that student to be in the front of the lunch line that day.

In the past, students associated a trip to the principal's office with a negative consequence. But the prospect can be exciting if it means seeing your name, as a form of praise, on that giant paw. The goal for staff at Chrysler Elementary is to get every student's name on the wall. Freeman encourages them to find every student at least once doing something that deserves recognition. At the end of the year, as a celebration of all this good behavior, there is the Principal’s Paw Barbecue at which students eat lunch (including ice cream) on the lawn and listen to music. Something as small as seeing their principal grilling lunch for them is very gratifying to students. This focus on good behavior has decreased discipline problems at Chrysler Elementary and contributed to a positive school culture.

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