Anahuac Middle School has a program called the Great Houses of AMS, an incentive and community-building effort for students. Jason Cox, a seventh-grade teacher and head of the house system, presented it at the Anahuac Independent School District meeting on Monday, Oct. 26. Cox said the system is in its second year at the school and is based on the Ron Clark Academy House System.
Cox said each sixth-grade student is sorted into a house at the start of the year and stays in that house through middle school. He compared the sorting to the one in the Harry Potter series. Students earn points for positive behavior, academic excellence and other things, and can spend those points at a store on items related to their house.
Every six weeks, the houses compete in field days or academic challenges. Cox said the program aims to build a feeling of family and involvement. "We're eight houses, but we're one family," he said. "It's a big to-do, and the kids get really excited about it."