A house united: Traverse Heights shifts from small pods to school-wide houses

Oct. 21—TRAVERSE CITY — Following an atypical school year of isolation, Traverse Heights Elementary School is making a grand effort to rebuild and strengthen community among students and staff.

Last year, Traverse Heights students podded up to prevent COVID-19 from spreading throughout the school. Students spent lunch, recess and in-class learning with the same small group of their peers.

After a few months, results from a student and staff survey told Principal Bryan Kay that something needed to change.

"Almost half of our students said that they felt like they didn't necessarily belong here at school," Kay said. "That was a red flag for our staff and myself."

Since January, Kay has worked with teachers and staff to organize a "positive behavior support system" at Traverse Heights that encourages stronger connections, better behavior and friendly competition among students.

At the beginning of this school year, students were randomly placed in one of five houses — Huron, Michigan, Superior, Ontario and Erie — as part of a ceremony on the school's baseball field during the first Friday of the school year. One student at a time picked a name of a house out of a "sorting hat," in front of the whole school.

"It's creating that sense of belonging," Kay said. "Our message during our sorting ceremony was: 'The house picks you and you belong to that house.'"

While the house system is reminiscent of the "Harry Potter" series' Hogwarts houses, the idea was developed by American educator and reality television personality Ron Clark to create a more positive learning environment in schools.

At Traverse Heights, each house has a color, symbolic animal, hand signal and an origin story that is rooted in local Great Lakes' history. Teachers use an app on their phones to give students points both individually and for their houses when students' behaviors fall into three main categories — being safe, being respectful and being responsible.

Students and staff take a survey three times per year. The first one for this school year with the new house program will be sent out at the end of October.

While there is currently no definitive measure of changes in student attitudes this year, some teachers have already seen positive results.

"I have to say that I did notice right away at the beginning of the school year that we seem to have fewer students acting out in a way that would not be what we would want in school," said special education teacher and member of house Michigan Karen Byrne.

Byrne said that so far, her students "seem to really be enjoying it," and she has yet to see any pushback.

Lynn Budd, a first grade teacher and a member of house Superior, said the program has helped students feel more connected, especially after a year spent podding and distancing.

"I think it's even more important now to just make sure that school is a safe place and that there's people there that care about you and will help you out and all of that," Budd said. "I think that's one of the most important parts — just having that connection after not being able to have a connection."

Each month, the school holds an assembly in which the houses gather. Byrne said these assemblies so far have been "powerful."

"It's especially powerful this year because last year everything was cohorted, the kids didn't interact in the hallway, they didn't interact in the cafeteria, they didn't interact on the playground," Byrne said. "So, this year, they're getting to do much more of that interaction and it's bringing them together more like a family."

The house program has also given older students the opportunity to mentor younger students.

In each house, a fifth grader is chosen as the house team leader. Kay said he has already seen the benefit of the connections between older and younger students.

In one example, during the first few weeks of school, a kindergarten student was "having a difficult time" in physical education, but their fifth grade house leader was able to help them.

"It was actually really powerful because it was a fifth grader talking with a kindergartner and myself about what it means to be safe, respectful and responsible here at school," Kay said. "That student was able to talk with me and the kindergartner in a few moments and we were able to re-enter the gym and have a really successful P.E. lesson."

Throughout the school, TV monitors display how many points each house has and it is updated in real time, so the rankings are frequently changing. Budd said she hopes the program helps students to take risks in the classroom, cope with losing and continue to work hard to earn points for their house, even when their house is losing.

"Somebody has to be in last place, and for some of the students it's hard to see your [house] in last place," Budd said. "We're trying to figure out — do we try to target those kids in that house and get their points up or do we leave it more natural?"

Each month, prizes are given to the student with the overall most points and the students with the most points in each house, totaling six students winning prizes each month. The overall "student of the month" receives a scooter and a helmet donated from the school's Parent-Teacher Organization. Each student of the month receives a certificate as well as one hour of free bowling at Incredible Mo's, donated by Incredible Mo's.

Traverse Heights will also celebrate the house with the most points at the end of each month. That house's name will be etched onto the school's house championship plaque, which is displayed near the main office at their school. They are also discussing potentially hosting a special celebration for the students in the winning houses, Kay said.

Kay said he is happy with how the houses have worked for students so far, and he hopes the school can begin to connect with the community through this program and establish longstanding traditions in each house to solidify a sense of community and support between students and teachers.

"There's so many different ideas," Kay said. "I think the exciting thing about the house system is that we can take this however staff and students kind of imagine and think up."