2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference

In an era where traditional disciplinary measures often lead to burnout rather than behavioral change, it’s time to "flip the script." This session moves beyond punitive "stick" approaches to explore how high-impact, positive incentives can fundamentally reshape school culture.The secret to success lies in identifying "Student Currency"—what actually motivates today’s learners? We will move past generic stickers to uncover the social, digital, and experiential rewards that resonate with Generation Alpha and Gen Z. Attendees will learn how to build a scalable incentive framework that boosts three critical pillars:Academic Performance: Gamifying growth and celebrating "personal bests."Behavioral Excellence: Shifting the focus from catching students being "bad" to reinforcing the "good."School Spirit: Creating a sense of belonging that turns students into stakeholders.Whether you are in a small K-12 school or a large rural high school, you will leave with a practical "menu of incentives" and a strategic plan to implement a reward system that is sustainable, equitable, and effective.

Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: None

Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: None

Four lucky teachers will win $20-25 from Donors Choose!
The Dignity Index is an eight-point scale that can be used for both students and staff to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable. Classrooms are where students discuss ideas. And the discussions of ideas can and should lead to disagreement to create new ideas. For this process to work students must learn the skills of civil discussion, especially as the ideas in social studies or English classrooms become more complex and never have a single right answer. We will discuss the Dignity Index and how it meets both state and national standards while discussing the ideas of your content. During the discussion, we will both practice using the Index in the high school classroom as well as reflecting on its positive impacts for students and teachers outside your classroom.  https://www.dignity.us/

Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: Not Applicable

Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: Any web enabled device