Apart from nominating students for a pizza lunch each semester, teachers can also acknowledge good behavior on the spot: PRIDE tickets. Created by the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) committee, this reward system uses physical tickets that students can redeem every Thursday in front of the counselor’s office. 

Though this system may seem simple, it is surprisingly effective in pushing students to behave respectfully by rewarding outstanding academic and social behavior, according to PBIS advisor and counselor Jamie Murphy, but they can be improved upon further.  For example, sophomore Neo Tian received a ticket from his English teacher Christina Han after he offered to help pass out papers following finishing his work early. 

“I really like the encouragement that comes with the handing out of PRIDE tickets and the unique sense of accomplishment that also comes with it,” Tian said. 

There have been 40-50 PRIDE tickets submitted every week compared to the few that were being handed out last year when it first started last spring, according to Murphy. However, there could be more students submitting tickets if they were not lost. Instead, there should be digital tickets that could be sent via email, or maybe receiving an additional digital copy of a ticket through email after receiving a physical one. 

“There’s a fear that I had when I got my ticket that I might lose it and not be able to turn it in,” Tian said. 

The fact that these tickets are thin strips of rectangular paper makes it easy to lose, which hurts the sense of accomplishment that students could receive from getting a ticket, according to junior Madison Lee. 

“PRIDE tickets are a physical representation that someone acknowledged a student for their good behavior,” Lee said. “Losing it would be demotivating for students since they’re proud of it.” 

Since students cannot receive their rewards without these tickets, physical tickets are limited in ensuring those who receive them are able to redeem their prize.

“The fact that someone acknowledged students’ good deeds and gave them credit for it means that students would want to be even better to receive even more recognition,” Lee said. 

On the other hand, handing out digital PRIDE tickets makes them lose their value. Having something physical that students can hold onto is a nice reminder of their accomplishments and making tickets digital loses that effect, according to Murphy.

Nevertheless, students lose their reminder of their accomplishments when they lose their tickets, so at least having digital backup of them can ensure that students are able to redeem their tickets. 

The PRIDE tickets are a success in making sure students are rewarded for their good behavior. However, they can be further improved upon by being handed out more frequently and by making sure that the physical manifestation of students’ achievements are not lost so easily.