St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) August 23, 2016
Volunteers from Maritz Motivation Solutions will be back in the classroom this year at Patrick Henry Downtown Academy for the We Learn Together Program. Developed by Maritz with Patrick Henry administrators and teachers and initiated last year, We Learn Together aims to apply the fundamentals of incentive and recognition programs to reinforce student performance. Maritz partnered with Patrick Henry, a downtown St. Louis elementary school, through a corporate partnership with Teach for America–St. Louis.
“By applying some of the same principles of Maritz programs, we’ve been able to move the needle that much faster. Last year, we celebrated our students’ success, and took important steps toward creating a true sense of community among our students,” said Colby Heckendorn, principal of Patrick Henry. “This helped move our students forward, which is the ultimate goal of the program. We are so thankful to be working with Maritz and to have the partnership.”
Patrick Henry had an enrollment last year of 275 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Last year’s We Learn Together program focused on three areas: attendance, culture and achievement. In terms of attendance, the goal was for 90% of students to be present 90% of the time. The program met the goal, resulting in an attendance level 8% higher than the previous year, Heckendorn said.
In the area of culture, the program focused on assisting children to recognize and honor specific traits, such as kindness, ownership and leadership, in themselves and others. And achievement centered on independent reading levels, with the objective of students logging approximately a year and half progress in reading in one school year.
We Learn Together works by honoring students at monthly breakfasts and other recognition events. Students also can earn points to receive special prizes. Parents and students discuss last year’s results in this video. One parent noted that her son, in first grade last year, was reading at a fourth-grade level by the end of the year.
According to findings by The Maritz Institute, science has proven that setting a specific goal can make a huge difference in how people perform. Another principle called “social proof” suggests that people are motivated by seeing others achieve. These principles and others are at the heart of the incentive and recognition programs designed for Maritz clients.
“The We Learn Together program is a direct reflection of our commitment to building a better community through our work in education,” said Russ Frey, director, people-centered design for Maritz Motivation Solutions. “It’s fulfilling to know that our incentive programs help our clients achieve business results and especially satisfying to use those same principles to help people in our community.”
Media are invited to attend We Learn Together’s next Honors breakfast on Tuesday, September 20, 8:30 a.m., at Patrick Henry Downtown Academy, 1220 N. 10th Street.
About Maritz Motivation Solutions
Maritz Motivation Solutions is part of the Maritz family of companies. The company is a leader in providing consumer loyalty, employee recognition, sales incentive and channel loyalty programs to U.S. and global companies. The company provides best-in-class rewards and fulfillment services including purposefully-chosen merchandise and experiences that excite, motivate and recognize people around the world. The people who work for Maritz Motivation Solutions are dedicated to being the best in the business, fun to work with and their clients’ most valuable ally. For more information, visit http://www.maritzmotivation.com, subscribe to our blog, follow us on Twitter or call 1-877-4-Maritz (1-877-462-7489).