My Experience with the “Keys to Success” Program

Holly Hildreth, Fifth grade teacher, Pattonville School District

While teaching Fifth grade at Parkwood Elementary, I was introduced to a wonderful program called “Keys to Success”. Frank Gallagher, a retired physical education teacher, had taken what he had learned from his thirty plus year of teaching and developed a program to promote character-building in students. We began to implement the “Keys to Success” program school-wide. It consisted of eight “Key” words including Love, Attitude, Effort, Motivation, Preparation, Cooperation, Discipline and Performance. The most important key of all was Love, to care about the people and the world you live in. Performance was the actual accomplishment or completion of the goal or task.

The idea was to first teach students about the character words and why they were important tools for getting along with others, being successful in academics and later on in life and then to point out students who exhibited the keys characteristics and to award them with a paper key. Students could keep a journal that kept track of the keys they had been awarded, who had given them the key and why they had earned it. They could also trade them in for small prizes or keep them for bigger prizes. Periodically, during morning announcements at Parkwood, a student was selected to be recognized for his/her outstanding “Key” work. Their pictures were taken and they were put on the “Keys to Success” Wall of Fame. Students were thrilled to hear their names read over the intercom and were proud to hear how they had exhibited the key characteristics.

I feel this program was very successful in building community, self esteem and character in the Parkwood students. The stories abut students were personal and meaningful. For example; I had a student from Mexico, Erik, who could speak very little English. I had nominated him for the Key of Love because even though he couldn’t really speak to the other students, he tried so hard to make friends with them and communicate his “love” for them by always smiling and doing little things for them. He would pull out their chair, carry books, and let them be in front of him in line. When it was my turn to award him the “Key” of Love, over the intercom during morning announcements, I was afraid he wouldn’t understand what I was saying, so I asked another Mexican student, Omar, to translate after I read my nomination in English. The teacher, who was watching my class while I was in the office reading the nomination, said that moment was the highlight of his year! When Omar started to translate, the look on Erik’s face was priceless! He was beaming and tears were streaming down his face. When the announcement was over, the sound of the entire class clapping for him could be heard in the background and he hugged his ESOL teacher. Every time we passed the Wall of Fame he would point to his picture. It was a source of pride for the rest of the school year.

Since the “Keys to Success” program has been adopted building-wide at Parkwood, it has expanded and become very successful. I especially enjoyed the “Key” testimonials each morning announcing students who displayed a particular Key trait. It was so meaningful to hear why different teachers awarded the Keys to their students. Even more meaningful was seeing each student’s testimonial and picture displayed on the Wall of Fame for the rest of the year. It was a goal students really looked forward to achieving.