Boosting School Spirit at Hollister High School by Holding Students Accountable

When Dr. Kristina Smith stepped into the principal role at Hollister High School in Hollister, Missouri at the start of the 2025–26 school year, she had one clear goal: to be visible and engaged with students. School spirit was at a low point and Dr. Smith hit the ground running by holding everyone in the building accountable for boosting school spirit while also holding students accountable for their attendance, academics and behavior. “Be silly with them. Work hard with them. When you model that and you set that precedent, they will join in,” says Dr. Smith. Hollister High School is in their first year of the GRAD Partnership schools in Missouri, one of ten participating schools.

The GRAD Partnership focuses on the integration of actionable data, supportive relationships, and student-centered mindsets. Student success systems enable schools to design and implement systematic approaches to address school-wide achievement patterns and better support the academic progress, career and college transitions, and well-being of all students. In support of Drs. Rhonda Bishop and Denise Cunningham, Co-directors of the Missouri State University Center for Rural Education, a part of RSC’s Missouri Hub, Hollister High School’s participation in the rural cohort has supported raising the bar for school spirit.

Walking into Dr. Smith’s office, it is hard to miss the big piece of paper hanging on her wall that tracks six official classroom walkthroughs per teacher throughout the year. Based on those classroom visits, follow-up conversations are scheduled to monitor instructional fidelity and teacher goals. “We had six official walk-throughs, and that was our goal, to make sure we go [into classrooms], doing an assessment of fidelity of academic instructional practices and pedagogy, and then we're following up with teachers as well,” says Dr. Smith.

This year, to boost school spirit, pep assemblies have focused around not just athletics, but also academics. Dr. Smith explained that they “have majorly focused on academic progress. An example would be at the beginning of the year our first pep assemblies that we did, we recognized all of our kids that scored proficient or advanced in one of the four End-of-Course tested areas, [including subject areas] algebra, English language arts, biology or government, and if they scored, where we want our kids to score, that impacts our Annual Performance Report, so we're highlighting and celebrating those things.”

Hollister uses a tiered accountability system: Gold Zones for high achievers, Silver Zones for students needing study hall support, and Bronze Zones for those receiving direct tutoring. The system runs reports every Sunday by Mrs. Christina Slocum, providing immediate student feedback and promoting student engagement and accountability on a week-to-week basis. The school also offers various rewards and incentives to boost attendance and academic performance. Dr. Smith leans heavily into immediate gratification which she says “has been very, very intentional, with accountability in the tracking system. Students will email me, ‘I have an A’, which they do but they were at 89% attendance, not 90% to be in the Gold privilege time”. [Dr. Smith replies] 'I hope you're here every day this week'."

Mr. Andrew Garner is the PE instructor, Assistant Boys Basketball coach, Assistant Boys Track and Field Coach and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Chair at Hollister. Mr. Garner noted that school culture has changed drastically. “We do a lot of pop-up awards. If you don't have any tardies, then we have a hot chocolate bar that students come to at lunch just to pump in that positivity of, ‘hey, you do the right thing, you will get rewarded,’” explains Mr. Garner.

Walking the halls of Hollister High School with Dr. Smith, you can feel the support, care and overall love she has for her school. “I love you” was heard multiple times throughout the visit, as well as the phrase “I am so glad you are here today.” Both students and teachers described how the school’s culture has changed because someone cares about them.

Additionally, attendance has risen dramatically, from 72% last year to 93% this year. One student said they are proud of themselves for what they are doing at school and want to be at school more. “Every time you're walking in the door, [Dr. Smith] gives you a high five, she just puts in a lot of work and that’s what makes our school great,” says Mason, a junior at Hollister.

The emphasis on changes in behavior, attendance, course completion, grades, and graduation are integral pieces to the puzzle of the school's ethos. Dr. Smith felt a natural fit of joining the GRAD Partnership and engaging with Student Success Systems, which have overlapping goals. Grant money received from participating in GRAD Partnership will continue to be used for student rewards, which helps in maintaining a budget and ensuring continuous motivation for students throughout the year. Dr. Smith ended the RSC team’s visit by noting that change in a school “is possible. [It] takes a lot of work, but it is possible.”

Rural Schools Collaborative would like to thank Drs. Rhonda Bishop and Denise Cunningham of Missouri State University for their leadership as a GRAD Partnership Intermediary, and for facilitating RSC’s visit to Hollister. RSC would also like to thank Beth Hughes and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks for their support of the GRAD Partnership in Missouri.