Principal, Student Will Swap Roles Chase Middle School Program Rewards High Marks, Good Behavior

Principal Alison Olzendam of Chase Middle School lost her job Friday afternoon - to a seventh-grader.

As part of the school’s Renaissance program, Olzendam will trade places with Laura Kuznetz for one day next week.

“She’ll take my job, and I’ll go to her classes and do her homework,” Olzendam vowed.

The switch, which Laura won in a drawing, was part of an all-school assembly Friday to recognize students for academic excellence, overall improvement in grades, behavior, attendance, or for “just being thoughtful,” said Linda Yates, a school counselor.

Students received vouchers for ice cream, $5 a basket for sinking free throws, and $50 and $100 gift certificates redeemable at local stores - all for being good citizens, showing improvement in grades or maintaining a 3.5 grade-point average.

The awards and prizes are financed by funds from the Associated Student Body or donated by local businesses, Yates said.

Student recognition is the hallmark of the Renaissance program, and positive reinforcement is its means.

The name “Renaissance” implies an appreciation of many different talents and characteristics, Yates said.

The program is based on a program used nationally in about 4,500 schools to recognize student achievements. The idea originated in 1988 in a high school in Conway, S.C.

At Chase, teachers hand out printed blue cards to students deemed “good citizens,” or they mail home postcards praising a students’ talents, or write notes that begin “I appreciate you for ….”

The good citizen cards can be redeemed for prizes. The postcards sent home help parents notice good efforts.

And the personal notes are tucked away by “the quiet kid who sits in the back of the room and never gets noticed,” Yates said.

“We do this to show kids that it’s a good thing to get good grades,” Yates said.

“For some kids it’s cool not to get good grades.”

Olzendam, in her second year at Chase, said she has been an proponent of the Renaissance program since she was an assistant principal at Rogers High School in 1992.

Yates admitted to early skepticism - notes, postcards, prizes?

But since the program was initiated last spring, Yates said she more and more students converge on her office to ask if their grade-point average is increasing or what they can do to improve homework or test scores.

“The program gets everyone involved,” she said.

Yates said that is particularly important because middle school can be a make-or-break time for many kids.

“People don’t realize how many kids drop out of school at this level,” Yates said.

, DataTimes