Students Earning Victory with Kidz Matter
Kidz Matter has been busy changing lives. Across the country, and certainly in Southern Nevada, school administrators and educators tell us that character education and development has taken a back seat to other pressing academic needs. They also note that the lack of attention to character development is evident in behavior and academic trends. Most schools have a life skill or character education program in place; however, it often lacks an implementation process to maximize effectiveness or daily impact.
With a mission to empower kids with Life Skills and Leadership, Kidz Matter has been focusing its efforts on providing a solution for these schools through their flagship program – Kidz Matter Victory Program.
The Victory program is a living, breathing, life skill development program designed for implementation in local schools. It is a simple and powerful program to take the monthly life skills such as respect, courtesy, integrity, goal setting, perseverance, citizenship, fairness, responsibility, and self-control, and create a positive culture at the school. The life skills are explained at monthly assemblies led by Kidz Matter and school staff, and then the students are recognized for demonstrating these behaviors in their classrooms and across the school. The unique recognition and education system reinforces the life skill behavior and motivates student to achieve their best.
The impact is uplifting. Walk into any school where the Victory program is implemented and ask any student, “What’s the word?” They will tell you the word, what it means, and how to use it. Teachers are noticing an improvement in behavior, which is translating into extra minutes of class time each day. Across the school campuses everyone is involved in “spreading the word.” Crossing guards, principals, custodians, teachers, and students are making a positive difference each day.
The Victory program has been in place in the Clark County School District for four years, with four more schools implementing the program this year. Kidz Matter decided to expand the reach outside of CCSD this year, and there are now schools in Ventura and Oxnard, California; Carson City, Nevada; and St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri.
With the goal of reaching students beyond elementary schools, the Victory program has initiated a pilot program for at Miller Jr. High School in Henderson.
The Kidz Matter programs and services are provided to the schools at no cost. The programs are funded through grants and donations. To learn more about sponsoring a school or other Kidz Matter programs, visit www.MyKidzMatter.com.