Eastridge students celebrate effort with new schoolwide program

November 21, 2025

Eastridge Elementary School students are learning how effort can lead to excellent moments both inside and outside the classroom.
 
Fifth graders like Addie and Paul are part of a new Eastridge initiative to celebrate effort in academic, social and behavioral settings. The Eagles earn points each day for showcasing good actions like listening in class, working hard on assignments and asking for help if needed. They have learned how trying your best in every situation can help them reach individual, classroom and schoolwide goals.
 
Addie and Paul said they have noticed a difference this fall throughout school. They felt the effort plan has given all Eagles a chance to become better leaders, classmates and friends.
 
“It has helped us in showing our current behavior and how we can improve,” Addie said.
 
“It has helped in specialists,” Paul said. “I feel like our behavior is different now in specialists.”
 
Eastridge Principal Traci Boothe said the idea has led to many exceptional outcomes for the Eagles. Many teachers have reported a complete effort buy-in from their classrooms this fall, which has led to higher test scores and fewer behavior referrals.
 
“This has been incredibly successful,” Boothe said. “We try a lot of ideas in education, and some work out and some don’t. This is one of those ideas that’s a keeper. It’s worked out really, really well this year.”

 
Virginia Huckeby introduced the effort concept to students in August through her role as school counselor. Eastridge staff created an effort scale that gives students clear markers for their behavior. Each classroom can earn a maximum of 12 points per day. They can receive four effort points in their morning subjects, four points in specials like music and art and four points in their afternoon subjects.
 
“I’m outside the classrooms at the end of each day, and kids will come up to me and tell me what their effort score was for the day, especially if their class got a 12,” Huckeby said. “They’re really proud of what they’re doing in class. It’s really exciting, because they’re realizing that effort is important and that other people are seeing the type of effort they’re displaying.”
 
Eastridge staff developed the effort initiative as part of their 2025-26 School Improvement Plan (SIP). They set a goal of having 85 percent of students meeting district expectations in reading comprehension by the end of the school year. They also wanted 80 percent of students to meet district expectations in reading fluency.
 
Boothe said teachers felt there was a strong connection between effort in class and overall test results. They felt they had a better chance to reach their SIP goals if they encouraged effort-based actions as well as core academic material.
 
“Classroom engagement and positive behavior both make a huge impact on learning,” Boothe said. “We wanted to come up with a way to address both of those issues, and we wanted to be specific on the format that we were going to use. The effort initiative really tied into all of those areas well.”

 
Teachers give students a score of one if they have not met any expectations of successful effort. A score of two indicates that students were not fully engaged. The Eagles would have rushed through tasks and would not have followed directions or asked teachers for help on assignments.
 
A score of three indicates that students met their effort standards. They checked their work and fixed any mistakes, listened to instructions, asked for help when needed and remained focused on their tasks.
 
A score of four indicates that the entire class showed exemplary effort. They challenged themselves academically, remained highly focused and engaged in the lesson, worked carefully on assignments and showcased good problem-solving skills.
 
The effort scales provide extra motivation for the Eagles. For example, third graders in Jacob Baden’s class walk past a chart with spots for possible daily scores of one to 12. Baden attaches small plastic turtles to Velcro squares that indicate each day’s total.
 
One week, Baden’s class received a score of seven on Monday and six on Tuesday. Seeing those marks inspired them to be more energetic and attentive the next two days. Their effort skyrocketed to ten on Wednesday and nine on Thursday.

 
Staff members have also created incentives for students. For example, Eagles in several classrooms can earn extra recess time if they reach their effort goals. Other classes have celebrated positive scores with activities such as a “blanket learning day” in their rooms.
 
“They understand what the scores mean,” Huckeby said. “It’s neat to see how they set their goals and are truly trying to show good effort.”
 
Boothe said she believes the effort initiative will help the Eagles long after they leave Eastridge’s hallways.
 
“It’s been a great way for students to learn about bigger life lessons,” Boothe said. “For example, if their class has a lower effort score that day than they’d like, they learn that things might not always turn out the way you want to at first, but it’s important to keep trying. Keep going because you’re going to do well in the long run. Effort is something that’s a critical skill to have, because it’s central to so many areas of life.”

Eastridge’s effort goals are examples of schools taking action to support student wellbeing and outcomes connected to the 2024-29 LPS Strategic Plan. Learn more about our current strategic plan at home.lps.org/strategicplan.
 
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