The new Pride ticket program rewards good behavior

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Sydney Curry, Staff Writer

SHS teachers are handing out tickets.  Not speeding or parking tickets — Pride tickets.

The purpose of these tickets is to reward students who exemplify upstanding behavior on a daily basis.  The students can take pride in themselves and their school.

The new program was introduced by vice principal Ms. Christine Gangaware, who created a similar system at another school in which she taught. She shared the idea with a group of teachers who liked the program. Over the summer, this team of educators created the PRIDE tickets program. Pride tickets are now being used all over Stroudsburg School District.

PRIDE stands for Positive, Respectful, Inclusive, Dependable, and Empowered. Pride should not just be shown in the classroom, but from school buses to the bathroom to the locker room to all around the school. The hope is that Pride tickets will promote growth, respect, and integrity in the school community.

“Pride tickets are something that is still in development, but everyday progress is being made on it being a reward system for students modeling good behavior and being awarded for it,” said Ms. Sarah Cepin, a member of the committee. “As more information is gathered and both students and teachers learn more about the Pride tickets, it will catch on and be a normal everyday thing.” 

So, what will students do with these tickets?  Well, SHS will be opening a new school store in the near future and the tickets will be able to use the tickets as currency.  Students will be able to purchase various items at the store.

“It’s really nice to be acknowledged for doing the correct thing and being awarded for it,” said Cepin. 

Junior Emily Valentine is excited about earning the tickets.

“I look forward to collecting tickets to buy a prize,” said Valentine.

All around the school from the cafeteria workers to the bus drivers have access to pride tickets and are on the lookout to reward students for good behavior. There is a long list of rewards that students can get by collecting tickets. For two tickets you can buy a pen or pencil and ten can buy you a homework pass. There is still talk about adding more prizes and making changes. 

As more information is gathered and data is collected; meetings will be held and things will be arranged on how to make the Pride Ticket system simple and easy for every student to cash in awards and get used to it.