Growing Kindly Through Change
Walton-Verona Elementary School sits among the horse farms of northern Kentucky, about 25 minutes from downtown Cincinnati. The school serves about 540 kindergartners through third graders in a small, rural district that recently opened a new intermediate school, shifting the elementary from K–4 to K–3. Counselor Katie Napier and the staff at Walton-Verona Elementary have helped the school place kindness at the center of how students and staff treat one another during a period of transition.
This year, Principal Jen Cook introduced one of the school’s most visible practices: the positive office referral. Instead of hearing from the office only when something has gone wrong, students are called in when they are noticed doing something kind. They take a photo to display in the front office, then call home. “First, the parents are concerned that something may be wrong,” Napier says, laughing. “But as soon as we switch to highlighting the student in the positive office referral, they’re just so excited.” Some tell their children they are going for ice cream after school. The bulletin board in the front lobby displays every student who has been recognized. When the school reaches 100 referrals, the whole building celebrates together.
For quieter students, that recognition has been especially meaningful. “Some of our quieter students may feel unnoticed. They don’t always get recognized for academic or athletic abilities,” Napier says. “So it’s really fun to see them shine.” She has noticed those same students coming out of their shells afterward and showing kindness more openly. “It’s like they feel safe to show kindness,” she says, “because the culture is starting to notice, reward, and celebrate it.”
Napier teaches monthly classroom lessons on feelings and relationships, and she runs friendship groups where third graders build skills such as handling rumors and stepping into leadership. That work showed up during the school’s Veterans Day program: third graders from those groups were chosen as flag bearers, showcasing leadership as they welcomed veterans to the school.
Every student in the building wrote notes or cards, which leadership teams handed to veterans face-to-face as they arrived, rather than sending them to an organization where students would never see the reaction. Napier says the veterans were deeply moved. The students were proud, seeing how a simple act of kindness could have such a positive impact.
The interest in kindness is growing. Napier started the year with a handful of small social groups. She now has over 80 students participating in nearly 20 groups, and children who are not in them are asking to join. While each group has a different focus, the throughline in every group discussion is kindness. “At first the kids were reluctant to come,” she says. “But now they want to come all the time.” In a season of change, Walton-Verona is building a culture where kindness is noticed, celebrated, and increasingly something students want to be part of.
