Academic Achievement
The resources on this page have been compiled to help schools increase:
Attendance rates | Academic achievement | Graduation rates
Featured Resources for Academic Achievement
The resources below are available to all schools without logging in.
Exclusive Academic Achievement Resources
Use The Results Formula™ to encourage academic success at your school. RECOGNIZE and REWARD the academic efforts that result in success. REINFORCE your values through traditions and words, while looking for ways to create strong RELATIONSHIPS. All of this drives RESULTS.
RECOGNIZE
Resources and ideas for recognizing students who are are applying themselves academically.
ARTICLES
Rallies – A Renaissance Rally is specifically designed to celebrate a broad number of students for academics and character, along with the Staffulty that helped make those achievements happen.
IDEA EXCHANGE
People’s Choice Awards (Printable) – Best practice idea with instructions for how to execute a formal ceremony to recognize outstanding students.
Recognition Discs (Printable) – Best practice idea for personal and public recognition of character qualities you want to encourage in students
Positive Principal Referral (Video) – Best practice submission outlining how to give students positive one-on-one time with administrators and reward them for good behavior
PRODUCTS
Tokens of Appreciation – Develop a system of simple rewards and use these tokens as immediate, unexpected recognition of good deeds seen around the school.
The Work is Worth It Post-it Notepads – It’s not the sticky note that shows kids you believe in them; it’s the time you take to write a personalized message of encouragement and stick it on their paper, laptop, or table.
“Way to Lead” Notepads – Recognize and reinforce positive behaviors with this fun, quick note.
CONNECTED PODCASTS
Recognize – Podcast episode highlighting the link between recognition and engagement
SURVEY
The Pulse Student Recognition Survey – Scientifically validated survey tool measuring student, teacher, and parent evaluations of your school’s student recognition practices.
REWARD
Resources and ideas for strategically rewarding students who apply themselves academically.
ARTICLES
Renaissance Cards – Renaissance Cards help motivate students to perform academically and to display good character
Reward Ideas – Reward students who are doing the right thing and motivate whose who are ready to change with these free and low-cost ideas
IDEA EXCHANGE
Homework Motivation (Printable)- Best practice for increasing homework completion
Cozy Cafe (Article) – Recognize and reward students for their academic achievements, attendance and behavior demonstrated in the fall semester by inviting them to a Cozy Cafe on the Monday before winter break.
Reward Trip (Article) – Reward any senior that is able to raise their ACT score on the ACT retake with an off-campus reward trip to an indoor trampoline park and a free pizza lunch.
Random Knock (Article) – When students meet performance criteria, like zero tardies or 100% homework completion, show up unexpectedly with treats in-hand on an unannounced day! Use it during periods when you notice that students are getting into a “slump”
CONNECTED PODCASTS
Reward – Podcast episode connecting reward systems with student motivation
REINFORCE
Resources and ideas that reinforce the concept of academic growth and graduation.
THE HARBOR
Freshmen Orientation – Video-based lesson with discussion prompts offering advice to incoming freshmen
Goals – Video-based lesson with discussion prompts interviewing students on how they hold themselves and each other accountable for reaching their goals
Time Management – Demir Gjokaj gives tips for time management and reorganizing the world around us to help increase focus so homework gets done well.
Finishing Strong – Video-based lesson with discussion prompts encouraging students to focus on the goals they have
THE GREEN ROOM
For Educators
Reaching At-Risk Youth – This episode details ideas and strategies to ensure that even those “hard-to-reach” kids on your campus have a sense of connection and belonging.
LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM
Finding Passion and Purpose – A classroom lesson plan helping students explore the connection between their passion, purpose, and the meaning of life
Learning Styles – A classroom lesson plan assisting students in identifying their learning styles and strategies and tools for each favored style
IDEA EXCHANGE
Homework Motivation (Printable) – Best practice for increasing homework completion
PRODUCTS
Goal Getters Tracker – This item allows teachers to track progress toward one goal for multiple groups simultaneously
COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS VIDEO SERIES
Engaging Students – In this episode of Courageous Conversations, Jonathan Alsheimer shares several ideas for how to transform your existing instructional resources and practices into ones students won’t be able to resist engaging with.
Achievement Gap – In this episode of Courageous Conversations, Dr. Bell shares how parents can advocate for our children’s growth.
COMMITMENT TO GRADUATE (C2G)
Reinforce the importance of the ultimate goal: Graduation – Testimonial video from Samantha Grimes, educator
GPA Championship – Create a connection between athletics and academics by rewarding the varsity team with the highest in-season GPA.
Blaze of Glory – Motivate seniors during their final year of school and prevent them from crashing and burning academically.
C2G Contracts – Signing a piece of paper makes any commitment seem more real. Reinforce your Commitment to Graduate® efforts by having students and their adult supporters sign these contracts and encourage them to have conversations about how to keep these promises.
C2G Poster and BookMark – Inspire students to consider the benefits of graduation in a fun and engaging way that’s also backed up by hard facts.
Decision Day – Celebrate every graduating senior and every post secondary plan they have, not just those going to colleges or universities, with a Decision Day.
Senior Acceptance Wall – Recognize your graduating seniors as they are accepted to postsecondary opportunities
Acceptance Letter Wall – Display and promote the future plans of your senior class
Acceptance Letter Shirts – Promote learning institutions beyond high school
Graduation Mural – Brand your school with the ultimate goal in mind: GRADUATION!!!
Graduation Murals – Brand your building with the ultimate goal in mind: graduation!
Sophomore Keys to Success – Visual reminder that the “commitment to graduate” is the key to their success
C2G Silhouettes – This visual reminder of students’ commitment to graduate will also help display the “look of Renaissance”
Breaking Boards – There are different Commitment to Graduate activities for each high school year. This activity is generally done with 10th graders and helps them focus on their goals and break through the obstacles in their way.
Commitment Banner Signing – A special ceremony for students to make a commitment to scholarship and high school graduation
C2G Rock – A large landscape boulder created as the C2G Rock – a visual. This idea is great to do during the summer or at a break for a prominent “Wow!” when students, staff, parents, and community come on campus.
CONNECTED PODCASTS
Reinforce – Podcast episode with best practices for reinforcing the student behaviors you want repeated.
Commitment to Graduate – Podcast episode sharing fun ideas for keeping students focused on their graduation goals
Search Institute Research
Giving Students a Voice in the Classroom – In the past 20 years, researchers have focused more on student-centered learning, which includes an emphasis on student voice, student choices and other ways that teachers share power in their interactions and relationships with students. This article also includes a rubric for reflection.
Creating Growth Mindsets – Intelligence has been traditionally understood as a set of characteristics that don’t change much over the course of a lifetime. However, the way that students think about their own intelligence affects the amount of effort they exert in school and in life, according to groundbreaking research.
Guiding Students to Achieve Goals – Giving effective feedback that challenges students to do and be their best while also boosting, not undermining, their self-confidence and motivation can be a challenge. Research offers insights that can help educators provide feedback that challenges students to reach for their goals.