Cougar Cards in the Time of COVID: A Positive School Climate Story

On the final day of school for the 2020 calendar year, something truly special happened at Thurgood Marshall STEM High School in Dayton, OH. The bravery, hard work, and joy of our teachers and staff poured out in a way that I have never seen in a school before. The moment was a culmination of planning through our teacher led Positive School Climate team.

Before I get to the moment that almost made a six foot five brother come to tears, I would like to stamp that our teachers are heroes. As COVID has flared up again in Ohio, our teachers are coming to work each day at the same percentage they have this entire semester. They are risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones for their students. Our teachers are fighting everyday to ensure our students, whether virtual or in person, get the best education possible.  

Even in a moment where they could be selfish, they are putting our students first.  

On November 19, 2020 at the end of the day I did a Cougar Cards drawing to finish out our PSC (Positive School Climate) incentive for the week. Cougar Cards is part of an acknowledgement system that was foreign to me when I began my journey this summer at Dayton Public Schools. 

Our core values of Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe are adorned on each card as a checklist for why the student recipient is being acknowledged. Acknowledgement within our urban schools is important for many reasons, but most important to me is the acknowledgement of their presence. Our students want to be seen and noticed. Acknowledgement makes our students feel safe.  

Instead of only looking at students and/or speaking to acknowledge students, we pass out Cougar Cards for students to fill out that eventually will be put in boxes to track positive behaviors throughout the building. For simply doing what you are supposed to do, teachers and staff are passing out physical cards to show students our appreciation. As soon as we began the incentive I loved it immediately. There was only one problem.

I was supposed to raffle off something. Tired and uninterested in trying to figure out what our teens may want, I had an idea. We would just hand them CASH. What does a teenager want more than cash? After sharing my idea on the morning announcements that Tuesday, we had an outpouring of Cougar Cards submitted in our deposit boxes.  

On the afternoon of the 19th, I began my drawing and shoutouts of students based on the Cougar Cards I pulled from the boxes. After calling the final name, I announced that the next card pulled would be the winner of $5. I called the name, and my phone rang.  

It was the gym teacher. She told my enrollment manager that she would like to match my $5 with her own $5. Then my radio went off. My School Resource Officer wanted to match that $5 with his own $5. By this time my heart was pounding.  

Upon receiving these messages, I returned to the intercom. “Young lady I hope you are here, there is $15 dollars waiting on you! Thanks to the staff for matching this young ladies prize!” I yelled into the microphone. Then my phone rang again.

The counselor wanted to know whether I was willing to pull another name because she would like to give that person five dollars as well. I couldn’t believe it. Our teachers really love their students. I got back on the intercom to let our school community know that we are about to pull another name. After announcing the name, the phone rang yet again.

Another teacher wanted to match the new $5 draw with another $5.  

In short, last Friday we gave out $30 to students who deserved to celebrate their citizenship.  

I love this story because, even in the midst of a global pandemic, our teachers have consistently stepped up for our students. I have never walked past a class wondering what our students are doing or whether our teachers are giving it their all. Our school community is proving consistently that nothing is more important than being as great as possible for our awesome students