Unity Grove Elementary

Fostering trusted and caring relationships is paramount to student success. At UGE, we realize the importance of communication with parents and involving them in their children’s school lives. As principal, I try to model positive communication with our families.

A few years ago, we implemented “Positive Office Referrals”. The goal of the “Positive Office Referral” is to recognize our students for going above and beyond expectations in the classroom. When a student receives a referral, a member of the administrative team, celebrates with the student and calls home to inform the family of the student’s accomplishment.

In the past, a phone call from the administration more than likely meant something negative . When we began to contact parents and guardians of students in a positive way, it made a difference in both our students and their families. We found that the more positive office referrals we had, the fewer discipline referrals we had. The phone calls also helped foster relationships with our families. Some of our parents had only received negative phone calls from the school and were pleased that the school was contacting them to celebrate a student’s accomplishment. Many of those parents are now some of our biggest supporters.

Not only have “Positive Office Referrals” made a positive impact on students, they have made a positive impact on the culture of the school. In fact, teachers are starting to recognize other teachers with positive office referrals!

As principal, one of the best parts of my day is seeing a “Positive Office Referral” slip in my mailbox! I look forward to connecting with our families in positive ways and celebrating student success with them!