At Dasher Green Elementary School in Columbia, a pretend stoplight adorns the wall of every classroom. Each child's name is affixed to the green light. If he misbehaves, however, he moves to yellow, then red. At Summit Hall Elementary School in Gaithersburg, bright paper stars on the wall signify students' random acts of kindness and good behavior.
Good behavior is rewarded with coupons that can be traded for trinkets and school supplies.
Teachers at these schools are being taught better ways to deal with defiant students. Rules and rewards are being standardized throughout each school. The staffs at those schools assemble detailed information about where, when and why students act up, enter it into computers and study the resulting charts. And at all three, misbehavior has become less frequent. Teams of school staff members are trained during the summer and take home ideas for a schoolwide system of discipline and positive reinforcements.