Building a Strong Staff Community Sparks Student Success at National Heritage Academies

Recognition and the gift of time build a positive and engaging environment

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- When parents choose a school, they are looking for a loving, caring staff, and that's exactly what National Heritage Academies® (NHA) is providing families. Prevail Academy Principal Nickie Laney says it all starts with creating a family environment among staff.

"My biggest priority is to have that family feel and really take care of our staff so they can take care of students and parents," Laney said. "Even down to the smallest decisions we make, we think about the positive impact it has not only on our students, but also for our staff."

Creating Community Through Recognition

At NHA, that sense of community starts with employee recognition and Principal Laney says she is intentional about how that happens. At staff meetings, teachers can give their colleague a shout out either publicly or privately with a GOAT (Greatest of All Time) keychain or note. Laney says these small tokens of appreciation make staff members feel valued, and they appreciate the wide-ranging variety of recognition opportunities.

"We tried to mix things up because everyone responds to recognition differently," Laney said. "Some people like big in-your-face things, and other people like to be recognized behind the scenes. We made sure we provided a variety of things for everybody."

Students were also included in creating this environment. Every Monday, the entire school came together to celebrate special achievements and milestones such as birthdays or service anniversaries. Involving students only contributed to the family feel at Prevail, and Laney said it was a positive experience.

"Our school culture is also about modeling to our kids what positive relationships looked like," Laney said. "We created a culture where when staff sees each other in the hall, they're having an authentic and positive interaction. We're not only modeling that, but we're also having those interactions with students."

A Little Time Goes a Long Way

There's more than one way to show appreciation and Laney knew her staff also valued their time. She found different ways to give them time back in their days, and one of these initiatives enriched students' learning.

Twice per month, teachers got an additional hour-long planning period and Prevail's Achievement and Behavior Support Specialist led class with a social-emotional learning lesson. Laney said this approach was best for students and allowed teachers to get through more of their to-do lists.

Prevail also cut back on after-school staff meetings and trusted teachers to use the time as needed. This allowed employees to maintain a work-life balance and enabled them to feel confident in the classroom.

"We know the work can be hard and there are long days," Laney said. "We were really intentional because we want the person in front of our kids to be the best version of themselves and buy into what they're doing so families can buy into what we're doing."

Bringing It All Together

All these small changes added up to create a positive and engaged staff community, which radiated throughout the building. Laney said this staff environment led to improved relationships with students, truly bringing that family feeling to school. This approach also increased student engagement and set students up for success.

"We're starting to cultivate that culture where every kid has someone in the building they can connect with," Laney said. "Kids work hard for people they like and know have their back."

While creating a tightknit culture requires consistent effort and attention, Laney said everyone in the school community is better because of it.

"Happy teachers make for happy students and happy parents," Laney said. "I think the staff recognition and authentic relationship building they're doing is helping get more engagement. It goes from staff feeling loved on to now they can love up on kids and build really strong relationships."

When you combine time to focus on what matters and a culture that puts people first, you create a place where students and staff show up ready to achieve their best. This is the environment National Heritage Academies strives for at every school.

About National Heritage Academies:
National Heritage Academies® (NHA) is a network of 103 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 68,000 students in kindergarten through 12^th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com. To find the nearest charter school near you, use the NHA school finder.

SOURCE National Heritage Academies