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Recognition: The Most Effective Tool for
Improving Academic Achievement

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PRIDE identifies the sequence (right) to enhanced academic performance. This is a simple concept - the intrinsic value of academic achievement can only be felt when academic achievement is attained! By providing extrinsic rewards for Conduct, Attendance and Effort (C.A.E.), you help focus and retain the student's interest on the quest for such achievement. Each achievement, when properly recognized, builds a foundation for the next, and each is promoted by the campaign to strengthen the student's commitment.

Most recognition efforts see themselves as the "end" of the process. They tend to celebrate only the higher end of achievement known as success. Traditionally, they believe only the "successful" deserve recognition, which implies only the "successful" can receive the full intrinsic benefits of their efforts. If recognition is motivational, the lack of it is de-motivational. Success is relative, but achievement is not.

All About Achievement Through Recognition is dedicated to two ideas: the power of rewarding effort and the power of consistent and frequent recognition. The kit contains a comprehensive 77-page manual, a DVD with approx. 55 minutes of video content, and a CD-ROM with additional resources, forms and certificates (in Word™ and PDF formats).

Mike Smith, president of DifferenceMakers and author of All About Acheivement Through Recognition, offers this insight into the program:

For the past 30-plus years I have studied motivation and recognition. This [program] is the product of that study. I know the power of an organized recognition campaign to create the esprit and nurture the desire to achieve. I have seen the simple suggestions in this [program] produce extraordinary results as students decide to engage in their own education.

This PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In Daily Effort) campaign was born in Ft. Meade, Florida. Its midwives were a dedicated group of educators looking for a way to engender a sense of responsibility in their struggling students. Its simplicity and focus attracted me but its results made it live for me. I have seen the difference this campaign makes.

Frequently Asked Questions

By focusing a campaign on responsibility and effort under the PRIDE umbrella, you magnify the benefits of your recognition program. Which of the award opportunities under this umbrella (below) already exist in your school? Can you work the word "PRIDE" into any of their titles, and the C.A.E. components into any of their mission statements? Don't be surprised if you don't have the effort awards in your existing awards program.

The kit is packaged in a 3-ring binder that you can use to host your present recognition program offerings. Using the Assessment Tool provided in the manual, along with other components of the kit, will help you manage the most important facet of your responsibilities as an administrator of recognition.

Welcome to a better motivated school environment full of PRIDE!

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