Northside principal, teacher and parent credit school's approach to student behavior for its high ranking

Story and photos by Megan Parsons
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

What makes an effective elementary school? “Most of the time, it’s about reinforcing good behavior,” says Northside Elementary Principal Ryan Asher.

Northside received four of five stars in the Kentucky School Accountability Report for the 2018-19 school year, and Asher and others say good behavior is a big reason.

A reading class at Northside Elementary School

Northside was the only Woodford County elementary school to receive four stars this year, while the other elementaries received three stars. The high and middle schools also received four stars.

The report, issued by the Kentucky Department of Education Oct. 1, includes reading and math rankings by student demographics, and the change from the 2017-18 school year to the 2018-19 year.

Northside’s overall math scores increased by 10 points, and reading scores rose by 7 points. The improvement was even greater among economically disadvantaged students (+13.2 in math and +11.3 in reading); those who speak English as a second language went up :10.1 in math and 5.6 in reading.

Asher credits the school’s “MTSS, or multi-tier system of support,” for the gains. “It’s a structure that involves systems of support for students with different needs,” he says. ”Whether they are a free-and-reduced lunch student, a high-achieving student or an English Second Language student, there are multiple people to put those supports in place.”

MTSS gives additional help to students in areas of need: mental, behavioral, physical, or within certain subject areas.

The behavior scale

Another key aspect for Northside’s success in the last school year, Asher said, is by reinforcing good behavior. In the past, elementary schools around the nation used clothespins or colored cards with three describing factors for each student’s behavior that day: green for good, yellow as a warning and red meaning they are in trouble.

Today at Northside, Asher notes, teachers are applauding good behavior through several options on a new scale, ranging from “outstanding” at the top to “think about it as students approach the bottom of the scale” to “teacher’s choice” and “parent contact or office, at the bottom of the scale.”

Asher says Northside’s use of a national program called Positive Behavior Intervention Supports played a major role in the school’s success last year. Northside uses the program as a code with four major themes: be safe, be kind, be responsible, and be a leader.

If a child misbehaves, a teacher or administrator asks the child to reflect on what part of the code he or she has broken. “Ten out of ten times,” says Asher, “a student will immediately know which part of the code they broke.”

Liz Perry, a third-grade teacher, agreed with Asher in a separate interview.

“I think it is so beneficial because it’s universal across all of our staff members,” Perry said. “That includes not only teachers but the cafeteria monitors, instructional aids and office staff. The kids know that these high expectations behavior wise need to be followed in front of everyone they see throughout their day. It’s held our kids accountable for their own behavior and I think it helps them make better choices in the future.”

For a larger version of any photo, click on it.

The hallways and classrooms are filled with reminders of the code. Even when entering the bathroom or eating lunch at the cafeteria, posters are displayed to remind students of how to be safe, how to be kind, how to be responsible and how to be a leader.

Amanda Glass, a parent of a Northside student and president of the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization, said “Northside reiterates those same things we are teaching at home. . . . Sometimes, when you hear it from your teachers or your principal, it has a little bit more clout than when mom and dad say that. . . . It’s good that the school also models that good behavior you’re trying to teach at home.”

Glass added, “Northside is such a small community in itself, it’s almost like a private public school. Northside nurtures the whole child. They do a great job of examining strengths and weaknesses and working on those for each child. . . . Not every child has the same social skills or emotional health other children do, and it’s comforting knowing my child is safe and loved when I can’t be there.”

Students at the school aren’t just viewed as students, they are thought of as “my kids,” Perry said. “It’s a part of what makes Northside so special. Even if they don’t work with them, we don’t view kids as Ms. Perry’s third grader, but as a student at Northside and everybody is on their team and everybody is in their corner.”

Northside Elementary School has 48 people on its staff, including 23 teachers. There are 334 students, excluding preschool, with a student-teacher ratio of 15:1.


A sign in a hallway at Northside reminds readers of the four main themes of the behavior code.