How to Recognize and Reward Student Achievement in Your School

Did you know that there were about 77 million students enrolled in school in the United States as of 2018? Student recognition is a large part of the educational experience since it is a way of rewarding students for their hard work, integrity, and pursuit of excellence. Your students deserve to feel special for their student achievement.

Everything from verbal praise and shoutouts over the intercom to challenge coins and medals is great for rewarding academic performance. If you’re looking for ways to make your best students feel seen for their hard work and accomplishments then today is your lucky day. You’ve come to the right place to learn about how to reward student achievement in your classroom.

Keep reading this article to learn more today!

Verbal Praise

One of the most effective and easiest ways to recognize student achievement in the classroom. It is effective for helping students that are struggling with assignments or new lessons but it is also a great way of rewarding students that work hard and get good grades.

These talks with students can happen in group settings or on an individual basis. Make sure that you’re as specific as possible when telling them what they did well. For the best results, deliver the verbal praise with a genuine smile.

Write a Note

It sounds simple, but writing a note is a great way to express to your students that you’re proud of them and happy to be their teacher. Getting a note from your favorite teacher that mentions how proud they are of your growth as a student and a person is sure to fill you with happiness and confidence. It’s a great way of rewarding students that are doing a great job in your class.

Send the Parent/Guardian an Email

Parents also love knowing when their children are having a lot of success in school. If you have access to the parents’ email addresses then it is a great idea to reach out to them with a message conveying the great things that their child is doing in your class. The parent is sure to discuss the teacher’s comments at home when the student gets back from school.

Class Incentives

One of the great tips for educators when it comes to student achievement is the chance to offer class incentives. Class incentives like a movie day or a pizza party are one of the best motivators that a student could ever ask for. You can put a student reward system in place as a way to get students to unite towards their common goal.

A fun idea for a class incentive is to make a chain where the students add a new link to the chain with each accomplishment. Once the chain is complete, it triggers the pizza party or movie day.

Certificate of Achievement

Another big thing that you can do for your students when they’re achieving great things is a certificate of achievement. These certificates are perfect for hanging on a wall or a refrigerator at home and showing everyone that visits you the things that you’ve accomplished at school.

You can also pair the certificate of achievement with a challenge coin to make your students feel extra special. You can click here to learn more about designing challenge coins for rewarding students.

Award Ceremony

If you want to reward students and provide student recognition at the end of the school year then you should consider holding an award ceremony. You can take time to consider the different individuals in your class for different awards based on their strengths and accomplishments in your classroom that year.

You can also present awards for student achievement in areas like personal growth and character throughout the school year. Make sure that you invite the parents of your students along with school administrators to make it an extra special event for your students.

Student Work Display

A student work display is another great way of rewarding students for student achievement in your classroom. This is a great idea because it shows off what successful work looks like for other students to follow in that student’s footsteps. It is also an effective way of showing student recognition for understanding the assignment and rewarding academic performance.

You can choose a number of assignments or projects from throughout the school year that best exemplifies what you want from your students. Find a corner of your room to dedicate to the best work as the school year goes on. You can also make the display area themed based on the time of year it is.

Positive Behavior Systems

Positive behavior systems are another great way to recognize student achievement in the classroom. You can come up with a currency for your classroom that students receive when they consistently raise their hands before getting called on and speaking in class. You’ll choose what students need to do in order to receive these dollars or coupons for each class session.

They could get points or currency for good behavior, student growth, or producing great work in class. From there, set up a student store for your classroom where students can trade in their points or currency for different rewards like pencils, fun erasers, or fruit snacks.

You can also provide rewards like extra time in that student’s favorite activity. It’s also impossible to go wrong with fun stickers. No matter what you choose, make sure that you reward student achievement in your classroom. Rewarding students is vital for bolstering their academic growth.

Show off Student Achievement at Your School

There are a number of great things that you can do in order to show off student achievement at your school and in your classroom. Introducing a positive behavior system and offering incentives like a pizza party will go a long way toward rewarding students for their hard work and good behavior. You can also send an email to parents to let them know about their student recognition.

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