Overby-Sheppard Elementary School Recognized in News Article

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Zeroed Out

A kinder, gentler disciplinary policy at city schools just might save their public image.
by Chris Dovi
Overby-Sheppard Elementary School has been trying a new way of disciplining pupils — rewarding them for good behavior.

Susan Stokes is the model of a Richmond Public Schools principal on the last day of school. In her office she tries to appear relaxed while attempting to shake off the sometimes heavy mantle of authority she’s worn since September. She clutches her black walkie-talkie instinctively, resisting the ever-present urge to call out orders.

Her large wood desk is covered in stacks of last-minute paperwork. She’s dressed way down — appropriate to joining with kids for field-day games — in a baggy white T-shirt emblazoned in gold cursive script with “The Choice,” the school district’s recently adopted $50,000 marketing slogan meant to draw parents back to the district.

One choice in particular, Stokes says, has been paying big dividends at her Overby-Sheppard Elementary School: a new behavior-rewards program introduced two years ago that eschews the city school system’s zero-tolerance disciplinary policy. The program, which establishes a reward system for good behavior to stave off discipline problems before they start, is still in its early stages, but the results are promising.