Since the start of the school year, PRIDE ticket activity has drastically declined. Secretary Nellie Montecalvo, who is in charge of PRIDE tickets, has noticed.

“This year the kids are not really into the PRIDE tickets,” Montecalvo said. “I hope if we do more coverage more announcements and things, it’ll be something they do.”

Montecalvo stated that “nothing has changed” in regards to the system, the decline in tickets is due to the lack of students’ interest.

People are familiar with the acronym PRIDE: Punctuality, Respect, Integrity, Dependability, and Excellence. Although to some, the posters may just be there, to others it actually means something.

Some teachers, like Christina Slick, are aware of the importance of this system to promote PRIDE around school. Slick encourages her students, especially juniors, to choose PRIDE tickets rather than candy, because of the rewards that are available, like parking passes.

“I encourage juniors not to just take candy because they can get good stuff for PRIDE tickets,” Slick said.

PRIDE is also closely linked to another school acronym, PBS, Positive Behavior Support, a program that rewards the students who demonstrate credible behavior.

“That’s our motto: We want to support your positive behavior,” Montecalvo said. “We want to make our school more safe, and friendly to one another.”

Another factor causing the decline might be a lack of awareness of the prizes. Montecalvo noted that students who do bring in their tickets tend to just buy candy bars, which cost three tickets. Although this is a sweet prize, there are also larger prizes. For only a few tickets, students can purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win sport passes, parking passes, homecoming tickets and grad bash tickets.  However, for those students who have trouble saving up, cookie vouchers are available for only two PRIDE tickets.

Because tickets depend on teachers and administrators, Montecalvo says it is up to those students who want tickets to remind their teachers. Examples of appropriate times to hand out tickets would be for winning Kahoots, being an active participant in class discussion, or just simply holding the door for someone.

Slick gave some of her students PRIDE tickets when they had their papers out before she prompted them to do so.

One time a student took a phone that she found in the bathroom to the office, which was rewarded with PRIDE tickets.

“Something has happened this year,” Montecalvo said. “We still want our jars filled up with tickets.”