With five degrees under his belt and a wealth of training others, Richard White, a middle school teacher at Daniell in Marietta, knows the importance of reading.
Teaching engineering, technology and computer science, White said, “About 50 percent of the students at the Marietta school qualify as Title I students, meaning they live below the poverty line.
“We have over 20 different cultures represented at our school. You have to be 70% in Cobb County to be Title I. So we don’t get the additional support Title 1 schools would get to help provide some of the extra academic support you need,” he said.
Implemented as part of the school’s culture are principles that encourage the students to “Show positive leadership, Work hard, Accept responsibility, Respect others and Make good choices,” White stated.
Collectively, the mantra and Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) program together have had “a profound impact on our school,” Daniell Middle School Principal James D. Rawls wrote in an email. “Additionally, our SWARM principles have permeated outside of our school and have become a part of our brand identity within our community.”
Students that exhibit the standards are rewarded with points to spend as they wish in their classroom stores, the school store and during reward days. With that in mind, White started a drive to fund a bookworm vending machine, known as Inchy.
“Reading comes across every academic area and your personal life. It’s so ingrained in everything we do. You have to be able to read to do math, to do science, to learn history and social studies.
“With the kids that we have I thought it would be a great way to encourage not just good behavior, but literacy as well when you can go to a machine, pick a book that you want and take it home because a lot of these students don’t have access to books at home,” the computer science teacher said.
Funding for White’s project would continue the opportunity to provide additional incentives that touch many life’s cornerstones and is open until Aug. 25.
“The bookworm vending machine will allow me to continue to diversify the ways that we acknowledge and reward our students,” said Rawls.
To donate, visit https://www.donorschoose.org/project/promoting-good-behavior-and-literacy-wit/5501977/
Each Sunday we write about a deserving person or charity events such as fun-runs, volunteer projects and other community gatherings that benefit a good cause. To submit a story for us to cover, send to ajc.doinggood@gmail.com.
