Introducing Critters: Elementary Support Made for Elementary Students

One of the most important responsibilities of a K-12 educator is creating a positive school culture where students feel understood, safe, and supported. Positive school culture is essential to students’ academic learning, engagement, and behavior to support student achievement and engagement at the elementary level, Unified Classroom® Behavior Support has launched an exciting new feature called Critters.  

Meet the Critters 

Critters are colorful animal characters that function as digital avatars for students. When the Critters activate for a school, each student is randomly assigned to one of 25 animated characters. The student’s Critter will celebrate with a dance when any positive behavior is recorded. This dance provides visual reinforcement for students and works to enhance student engagement and positive school culture.

Classroom Behavior Management for Positive School Culture 

A classroom behavior management system can be an effective tool for developing and strengthening a thriving school culture. According to the American Psychological Association, classroom management systems are effective because they increase student success by creating a structured learning environment that enhances students’ academic skills and competencies, as well as their social and emotional development.¹ 

The most effective classroom behavior management systems: 

• Emphasize student expectations for behavior and learning 
• Promote active learning and student involvement 
• Identify important student behaviors for success2 

PowerSchool Behavior Support gives school leaders the autonomy to decide what habits to reinforce with students throughout their classrooms. With the addition of Critters, reinforcing positive behaviors and building school culture can become a habit for even the youngest learners. Schools and districts nationwide use Behavior Support to implement and measure the effectiveness of school-wide culture initiatives like positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), social and emotional learning (SEL), response to intervention (RTI) & multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).  

Data-driven Support for Every Type of Learner 

Behavior Support is the only evidence-based tool proven to increase positivity. Using this tool, school leaders can immediately act upon the data logged within the system for positive recognition and corrective support. The data analysis includes both classroom and school-wide results—leaders can use the data logged to identify students who need more support early in the school year, analyze rich data sets about ideal behaviors, and monitor students and specific behaviors. 

Teachers and leaders can segment data and look at behavioral trends by individual students, teachers, or whole grade levels over time. They can also set up early warning indicators to alert about certain behaviors before they become a significant issue. Additionally, both students and teachers have a positivity ratio automatically generated based on the percentage of behaviors given or received.  

Positive School Culture Drives Student Achievement & Engagement 

With so much attention focused on the ‘what’ (the courses, the content, the teaching methods, the testing, etc.), it’s easy to miss how important benchmarks can improve by focusing on the ‘how’–maintaining a positive school culture by keeping students engaged, encouraging celebrations of accomplishments big and small, and bringing awareness to how individual and group behaviors may impact learning. 

If students are not engaged and fully participating in the learning process, then it is less likely that they will understand lesson content and be able to demonstrate mastery of the learning standards. Simply put, positive behavior reinforcement solutions work and can help drive student achievement and engagement.  

When developing curriculum—especially for elementary learners in remote and blended learning environments—educators must consider how learning tools meaningfully engage students and improve their experiences. With the addition of Critters as part of Behavior Support, engagement is integrated into daily activities and achievements. 

Transform Classroom Behavior Management with Critters 

With Behavior Support, you can help drive school-wide improvement of classroom behavior management and cultivate a positive school culture. By effectively implementing consistent, school-wide behavior systems, student engagement and achievement can transform in incredible ways. Equip your organization with the structure and tools, like customized behavior tracking and positive recognition features like Critters, to help create a safe, positive culture learning culture for all students.

Resources

1. American Psychological Association,  https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/modules-classroom-management