The Hero program, which has been in effect since November 2018, has helped students make better decisions on campus. It has worked, because students are more focused on getting to their next class on-time rather than staring at their cellphones texting their friend or playing games. Hero has also given students incentives to go the extra mile in improving their school by doing things such as helping someone else who needs assistance even if it means rushing to your next class.  

Did you know that Hero is not an acronym?  According to Hero coordinator Joy Popity, “Hero doesn’t stand for anything. PRIDE stands for many letters. They are the aspects of Hero, which is positivity, respect, integrity, discipline, and excellence.”  PRIDE means that our school is an environment where everyone from students, teachers, staff, and parents is safe and welcome.  

There are positive and negative Hero points. Positive points are given to students who go “above and beyond” when it comes to expectations, such as helping another student when assistance is needed. Positive points can be used to purchase items like candy and soda starting, September 25. There will also be a pizza party with Mr. Johnson. Unfortunately, there are also negative points students earn by negative actions, such as skipping class, showing up late to class, or being rude to staff. Enough of these negative points can earn a student lunch detention, after-school detentions, and even an in-school detention. The good thing is most students do not get to that point. “They’re not slowly getting to class,” assistant principal Julie King says of students since the Hero system began at North Port High School. “They’re not standing around ignoring the bells. It’s working.” 

Make sure to download the app to see how many positive points you have, so you can keep track of them.   Points can be redeemed for some of the following items:  

• Mini candy  
• Pencil accessories  
• Water  
• Chips  
• Crackers
• Notebooks 
• Folders
• Soda
• Little Bites  
• Oreos 
• Gatorade 
• Pass to the Front of The Lunch Line  
• One Pass to Home Athletic Event  
• NPHS Tee shirt  
• Hero of the Week Parking  
• Beat the Crowd Pass  
• Pizza with Mr. Johnson
  

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  Here are some of the items you can find at the HERO table in the school cafeteria.

More prizes will be added as the school year continues.  See the HERO table at your lunch on Fridays! 

Because of the current pandemic, staff are making sure “treats and prizes are individually wrapped.”

I think that students should be given surveys asking what they do and do not like about the Hero program.  I look forward to knowing how many students have the most points and what prizes they have earned.  This system reminds me of a similar system in the middle school dormitories when I was a student at The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.

I like to call this the Grading System because it is like being graded on how respectful and responsible you were. If a student did everything he or she was supposed to in a timely manner, the student was given a check for that day. If a student was late to the bedroom or took a shower late without a valid reason, or was disrespectful to other students or staff members, the student was given a zero for the day. A student could receive one check or zero in the morning and one check or zero in the evening. If a student earned enough checks, they would be promoted to the next level, which means that the student could go to bed a half hour later and would have more time to get things done. If a student earned two consecutive zeros, he or she would be under dorm restriction, where the student would not be allowed to leave the dormitory, even to go to the cafeteria for breakfast or dinner. If a student received three consecutive zeros, he or she would be under room restriction. This would mean that this student could not leave his or her bedroom except to use the restroom or get a drink of water from the water fountain. Earning ten zeros will result in demotion from level 3 to level 2 or level 2 to level 1. PBS (Positive Behavior Support) tickets can be earned for going above and beyond in ways such as helping a new student get to extracurricular activities and can be used at the PBS raffle auction at the end of the school year.