I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
Brooke Dougherty is a 2nd-grade teacher at Freedom Crossing Academy, one of the newest K-8 schools in St. Johns County, Florida. After graduating from college with a dual major in Early Childhood and Special Education in 2020, she accepted a job in one of St. John’s “A” rated schools—FCA.
FCA stood out because of its strong stance on school culture and student/staff relationships. Prior to being hired, her principal at the time engraved this very familiar line into her brain: “here at Freedom Crossing Academy we do three things and three things well: LiveSchool, Capturing Kids’ Hearts, and the PLC process.”
The best description of FCA’s school culture is like walking into Disney. The faculty are always brainstorming creative ways to enhance student learning and school culture. Freedom Crossing Academy is truly a special place to be.
My name is Brooke Dougherty and I am a 2nd-grade teacher and PBIS team member at Freedom Crossing Academy, a K-8 school in St. Johns County, Florida.
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
My name is Brooke Dougherty and I am a 2nd-grade teacher and PBIS team member at Freedom Crossing Academy, a K-8 school in St. Johns County, Florida.
I am very proud of the culture we have built at FCA and in this article, I’ll be breaking down why that culture is so impactful, how we use events to improve the culture, and I’ll even be providing you with a free lesson plan you can use to create your own classroom culture building events!
But before we get into all of that…let’s start off with a typical day at FCA.
Freedom Crossing Academy isn’t Disney World...but it sure is close! Our day starts off in the morning with upbeat music playing on the intercom while students enter the building. We have “Falcon Fridays” every week and we wear our specific House-colored t-shirts.
While students get off the bus, the PTO hands out toys for students wearing their House shirts to encourage them to keep wearing them every Friday. In addition, students are rewarded with quarterly incentives (popsicles, donuts, House parties, etc) to “cash out” their LiveSchool points.
The LiveSchool cart rolls down the hallway often for students to purchase toys with their points. For middle school students, events such as NFL Jaguars games, Chic-fil-a days, Universal, and a Washington D.C. trip help promote school culture to ultimately improve behavior.
FCA also participates in Rock Your School Day, a movement to encourage teachers to think of outside-the-box lessons and create room transformations.
All of these events assist in celebrating the culture we have built here at Freedom Crossing. That culture is intentional, it is meant to enrich and immerse our students in an atmosphere of respect and belonging. In addition to culture, those events are also a great tool for mitigating and improving student behavior at FCA.
Freedom Crossing succeeds with the assistance of their grade-level PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) team representatives. The PBIS team meets monthly to look over data for behavior trends through LiveSchool, discuss House competitions, and brainstorm upcoming events. We discuss increasing or decreasing behavior trends.
If we notice an increase in behaviors, we ask…what month? How many events? Are we using LiveSchool with fidelity? What subject(s) are these behaviors occurring in or are they contained to transitions? Our school is K-8 so also so we separate our elementary and middle school data.
From there, we discuss events coming up and continue to think of ways that bring our school community together by leveraging those events to improve the behaviors we have identified as concerns.
One of my favorite events that enhance our culture is “March Book Madness”. It starts on the first school day of March. Modeled after March Madness in college basketball, it’s a single-elimination tournament where books go head-to-head, with the winner of each matchup decided by student votes.
Winners advance until there is a champion. It begins as the “Sweet 16” leading to the “Elite 8”, “Final 4”, and finally, the “Championship round.” I love this because it is very adaptable. You can use this for both elementary and middle school students with any subject.
For elementary, I use picture books with a variety of genres. For middle school, brief overviews of chapter books can be used. Display the books in your hallway or the classroom by printing pictures of each book and using black tape or magnets for the bracket.
Get your students excited and dress up as basketball players, and cheerleaders, build a jumbo-sized bracket on your wall, or create a room transformation! The ideas are endless.
The lesson begins by reading two books each day. Using the standards required each week, teachers can incorporate ANY reading standard they would like to meet the needs of their students (ex. identifying story elements, author's purpose, grade-appropriate vocabulary words, sequencing, etc).
I use the March Madness worksheets (linked in the lesson plan) and complete one page per read-aloud. Once we have applied the standard, have your class vote on which book they would like to continue.
After voting, each student gets a chance to shoot the basketball in the hoop. I like to award LiveSchool points for this portion of our basketball shooting! Students receive 5 points for effort and 25 points if they make it.
In addition, I like to use the randomizer feature in LiveSchool to give one lucky student a second chance to shoot the ball again. The kids absolutely love this part. After each voting session, we tally up the votes and the winner continues on.
Towards the end of the unit, on the last day of March (the championship round), I invite the kids to dress up as basketball players and cheerleaders to root for their favorite book, while I dress up as the referee.
I also give out LiveSchool points to the students who dress up on this day. March Madness improves behavior, increases engagement, and enhances the culture of our school because of the simple fact that students absolutely love coming to school because of this event.
For many, their love for reading develops because of this unit!
As a teacher, we have those “all-time” favorite lessons–you know, the ones you do year after year because your students love them so much.
The lessons that get us out of bed faster in the mornings, the lessons that make us excited to come to work, the lessons that give us pure bliss knowing your kids are learning in a unique and fun way.
The lesson that makes you realize your students are enjoying learning because of YOU! The lesson that gives you the “WHY” of your job. This is my “why.”
