It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. Well Vernal Middle School has found a unique way to encourage excellence on a daily basis. The school is spending the year on the theme of “Focus on the ‘Wildly’ Important” and the school’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) committee have come up with WISE tickets. History teacher Kimberly Hawks explains, “Wise Tickets help ALL students be rewarded for doing things well. They are an easy way to reward students for doing what they should be doing, like being on time.” WISE stands for ‘Wildly Important Students Excel’. Every month the committee selects a character trait for the students to focus on. September was being respectful, October was being responsible, November was thankful and December being kind. The tickets are given to students by any school employee for making good choices surrounding the highlighted characteristics of the month. The WISE tickets had an impact, Amanda Bingham, a VMS English teacher explains. “Focusing on the wildly important is helping create a culture where our students think critically about their daily choices and future successes.”
