Rewarding good behavior
Students earn Prexie Pennies to shop at new Caleb’s Corner Store
Students at Washington Park Elementary School are receiving rewards for positive behavior and can turn those rewards into prizes.
The school recently opened Caleb’s Corner Store, a student-run shop that turns everyday character into currency. Students can earn Prexie Pennies for behavior such as respect, responsibility, kindness and safe choices and they can use those coins to shop at the store. The currency can be distributed by any adult in the building who witnesses positive behavior.
“We’re just looking for them to be good humans,” said Dr. Nicole Bockstoce, K-2 principal. “We’re looking for them to be making good choices. We’re looking for them to be helping others. We’re using (the Prexie Pennies) for those desired behaviors, anything to recognize anything good that a child is doing. That’s where the whole motivation comes from. Giving our kids something to look forward to, work toward and celebrate.”
The store helps bring to life the school’s Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) program which rewards students for good behavior with the hope that other kids see it and react accordingly. PBIS has been a focus for Bockstoce and Dr. Kurt Mahan, grade 3-6 principal, since they joined the school during the 2024-25 school year.
“One of our goals was to really build our PBIS program up,” Mahan said. “We’re encouraging that positive behavior. The store came from that idea as we were trying to give them more incentives to show those positive behaviors. Kids need more immediate rewards. They need to see things more often.”
The store is sponsored by the Caleb Jackson Foundation, created in honor of Caleb Jackson, who died in a motorcycle accident in 2021 at the age of 19. Jackson was once a student at Washington Park Elementary School. The foundation was established to continue his legacy and support Washington High School and the surrounding communities and beyond.
“He was a Prexie, I would say, through and through,” said Deja Glemba, one of Jackson’s sisters. “What was really special about Caleb was the kind of person that he was. He was always doing anything he could to make people feel better. If he had something and his friend didn’t, he would be the first person to say, here you can have mine. He was always a team player, just very, very giving.”
Students can use their earnings to shop at Caleb’s Corner Store on Fridays for rewards like books, school supplies, fidgets, spirit gear, big-ticket surprises or even experiences such as lunch with the principals or flying a kite with a teacher. Prices range from 12 to 10,000 coins.
“It gives them the opportunity to decide whether they’re going to save up,” Mahan said. “We tell our teachers let’s start passing these things out when they see positive behavior. It’s working.”
Joyce Eisiminger, teacher and PBIS team member, said she has noticed how the coins motivate.
“The students in my room work in the store and they see the things that they want,” she said. “That’s what they want to work for. When we opened the store I couldn’t believe the reaction throughout the school. When they came up the first day they were so excited. I’ve seen it impact all of the kids.”
Fellow teacher and PBIS team member Kathie Bosnic agreed.
“I like that it’s a school-wide system,” she said. “Before we just had our own classroom incentives. I can just see a kid in the hallway doing something special and I can give them a coin. I don’t have to track down their teacher and figure out what kind of incentive they use in their classroom.”
The students appear to enjoy the program.
“It’s really cool,” said Alina Belcastro, a sixth-grader who is a member of the PBIS student council. “All the prizes in there are good. There are achievements and goals that we can reach to save up our coins. More kids are excited to have better behavior to get Prexie Pennies. It’s a big thing to see who has the most.”
The 12-year-old has her eye on a skateboard and basketball in the store and admitted she is saving up for some “cool” bracelets.
The coins come in all shapes and sizes, with some unique designs, all created by STEM teacher David Wray. In fact, some students are choosing to keep the Prexie Penny as a collector’s item.
Second-grader Sailor Knox has accumulated 100 coins.
“You can get cool things and you can get Prexie Pennies for good behavior,” he said. “I kind of just keep them to have them for collection. I might spend some, but mostly I just collect them.”
Bockstoce said the coins also are helping with the teacher shortage.
“We have teachers covering constantly,” she said. “All they have to do is have a pocket of these and they have an immediate reward to manage that classroom.”
Life skills students are running the store, something their teachers hope will help to prepare them for the future.
“We’re hoping this will help them learn how to inventory items, customer service,” Bosnic said. “Hopefully, they can use that as a stepping stone later in life.”
The Jackson family’s partnership provides funds to keep the shelves stocked and his spirit of generosity and humor front and center. Glemba said they were involved in projects with the school’s PBIS program in the past, so involvement with the store seemed like a natural move.
“We were thrilled to have Caleb’s name associated with it and help keep Caleb’s spirit alive which we’re trying to do through the foundation every day,” she said. “We also loved the way we had the store set up; allowing students to be able to work the store was really important for us. Getting students to learn from it on their own is very important and how they get the coins is by showing Caleb-like behavior. He would have loved it. We were blown away. It’s just such an amazing thing to have his name associated with it. We’re excited to keep supporting them in the future and keep it going forever.”