By 1808Delaware
Students lined the edge of the gym at Fouse Elementary, buzzing with the kind of energy that only a schoolwide event can spark. It was the building’s first assembly devoted entirely to celebrating positive behavior. School psychologist Karlie Foy stepped forward, microphone in hand, and asked the crowd a simple question: “Do you want to have some fun?”
The answer was obvious before she even finished the last word.
This year marks a new chapter at Fouse. Each month, the school brings every grade level together to reinforce behavior expectations and lift up students who demonstrate what the school calls Fouse PRIDE: Polite, Responsible, In Control of myself, Doing my best, Eager to learn. Staff recognized students, taught social-emotional skills, and led interactive games that had kids cheering for classmates and teachers alike.
“The assembly ties a bow to everything we’re trying to build,” Foy said. “It lets us reach everyone at once, from belonging to that explicit teaching and knowledge.”
One District, Shared Goals
Fouse is not alone. Elementary schools across Westerville are weaving behavior expectations into their school culture in visible, student-centered ways.
• Mark Twain Elementary hosted its first spirit assembly of the year. Students learned what it means to be an Otterly Outstanding Student and how positive behavior might earn them a River Otter hat or T-shirt.
• Annehurst Elementary recently celebrated All-Star Fall Day. After earning 1,000 tickets by following the school’s All-Star 5 expectations, students enjoyed buddy reading, a scavenger hunt, carnival games and pumpkin painting.
• Several schools, including Cherrington, Huber Ridge and Minerva France, kicked off the year with high-energy visits from Basketball Jones, who filled gyms with laughter while reinforcing kindness and respect.
At Minerva France, a recent schoolwide assembly was led in part by fifth-grade student ambassadors. They guided their peers through expectations and a calming strategy called Tracing Breaths. By modeling responsibility, they demonstrated that leadership is not about age or authority. It is about example.
“We want students to feel proud of their school community,” assistant principal Ashley Dias said. “We want them to recognize that their actions make a difference.”
Beyond Behavior: Teaching the Whole Child
Westerville has used PBIS, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, for years. The system treats behavior the same way schools treat academics: everything can be taught, practiced and reinforced.
Now, PBIS is part of a larger effort called MTSS, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports. The goal is to pull together academics, social-emotional learning and behavior so that students experience support as one cohesive system.
“There are a lot of people working to support our students,” said Kate Thoma, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “It is all of us trying to wrap our hands around how we support kids and explicitly teach them how we do school together before it becomes a behavior problem.”
Elementary schools began implementing MTSS last year. Preschool, middle and high schools joined them this year. The plan now is to expand supports that focus on students’ well-being alongside academics.
Among the new tools available to teachers:
• A resource hub with interventions tailored to social, emotional and behavioral needs
• A calendar of daily lessons tied to Ohio’s social-emotional learning standards
• Curated supports from counselors, social workers and MTSS coaches to guide morning meetings
• Data dashboards that show what strategies are being used and what behaviors are showing up
Through this collaboration, the approach is becoming consistent from classroom to classroom and school to school.
“When Kids Don’t Know Behavior, We Teach”
These supports are changing what instruction looks like.
“When kids don’t know how to spell, we teach,” said intervention specialist Juli Varsanyi. “When kids don’t know math, we teach. When kids don’t know behavior, we need to teach it, correct?”
Teachers say they feel more confident, more equipped and less alone. For Logan Fairbanks, a fourth-grade teacher at Huber Ridge, last year brought moments of frustration and uncertainty. Now, lessons on emotional regulation and brain breaks are part of her routine.
“For me, it is a mindset shift,” she said. “There is always a reason. These tools help me respond instead of just react.”
Fairbanks uses morning meetings to talk through real issues, including friendship conflicts. In one memorable moment, a wave of tattling after lunch led her to teach a quick lesson on the circle of control, helping students understand what they can control and what they cannot.
“If their emotional or physical needs are not being met, they cannot get to the learning,” she said. “The only way we help them take in something new is if they are regulated emotionally.”
A Sense of Belonging
In the end, the assemblies are not about prizes or public recognition. They are about building a school culture where every student feels connected and every adult feels responsible for helping them succeed.
For Fouse Elementary, that begins in the gym, with students sitting shoulder to shoulder and cheering each other on. It continues in classrooms where big emotions are met with calm tools rather than frustration. And it grows stronger when staff and families share a belief that behavior can be taught just as clearly as multiplication or spelling.
The goal is simple: a school where pride is not just a word on a poster. It is something students experience every day.
Source, Photo: Westerville Schools
