Capturing Kids' Hearts

Capturing Kids’ Hearts is a teaching and learning program and process. The social and environmental pressures on our kids are immense, and they affect the quality of the classroom environment. 

Capturing Kids’ Hearts is a national initiative and immersive experience that models and teaches social skills like a handshake or greeting someone by name. At the highest level, it’s designed to increase appropriate behavior in the classroom, decrease bullying, strengthen student connectedness, and lower suicide rates.

The Flippen Group, which created this national initiative 25 years ago, says many students—and their teachers—come to school each day wearing invisible backpacks filled with stress, unreasonable expectations, and overwhelming responsibilities. These things weigh heavily. Capturing Kids’ Hearts transforms the school culture so kids want to be in classrooms and teachers know how to connect with them and make them feel valued.

 

Schools across the country that have implemented Capturing Kids’ Hearts processes report:

• Fewer negative behaviors and declines in isolation, violence, early sexuality, and substance use.

• Significant improvement in student academic performance

• District-wide improvements in test scores

• Higher rate of job satisfaction among teachers

• Increased teacher retention and improvement in teacher recruiting

Capturing Kids’ Hearts promotes relevance, rigor, and relationships. By teaching students respect and responsibility the process supports diversity, character education, bully prevention, service-learning, and safe school initiatives. The entire process teaches employability skills and promotes career preparation. In the end, Capturing Kids’ Hearts provides educators with the tools to leave a legacy of impacted lives.

Premier High School Teachers will use the EXCEL model to communicate with students. Students will create their own rules via a social contract. students will hold each other accountable using “checks” and “fouls”. Through this process, an environment is created that emphasizes positivity through “good things” and affirmations”.

Tools and Techniques used in the Capturing Kids’ Hearts will help build a positive, loving culture at Premier High School. It will give teachers, staff, and administrators specific skills to help them build meaningful relationships with every student and coworker – no exceptions. The strong, positive relationships become a springboard to academic progress. Teachers will use team-building skills to enrich learning and specific techniques to combat negative behavior. 

The steps outlined in The EXCEL Teaching Model™ will prepare teachers to effectively impact their students each time they come together, from the beginning of class to the end. 

E: Engage by greeting people

X: eXplore by finding the needs and interest of students

C: Communicate by showing you care. Listening, nonverbal communication

E: Empower which means giving kids ownership of their learning, and

L:  Launch. Ending powerfully.

Examples of practices promoted by the program include greeting students daily to improve communication skills; students and teachers sharing good things to encourage positive thinking; and social contracts to promote self-managing students and classrooms.