Pittsburgh Public Schools finds success with Hogwarts-style house system
If you've read or seen "Harry Potter," you know how the school, Hogwarts, is broken into houses that compete: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The house system that started in British boarding schools is now being embraced in Pittsburgh Public Schools' middle schools.
At Pittsburgh Mifflin PreK-8, every quarter, the school has what's called a House Hype Day, and hyped is an understatement. The kids cheer wildly, waving glow wands and shaking pom poms, when their houses win awards for everything from attendance to academics like reading rockstars and math masters.
Eighth grader Kaydence Dettlinger, who is a house lead, says it's a friendly competition that "makes people bond a whole lot more."
Each house is comprised of kids from all grade levels, kindergarten through eighth grade, and also includes teachers and staff, from the cafeteria workers to the security guards.
Art teacher Ryan Philip's room was always an ode to Harry Potter, so he was a natural choice to help start the house system at Pittsburgh Mifflin four years ago. The teachers came up with unique houses for their school, each with a different name, color and quality, like courage, resilience or kindness. Principal Amy Carricato says they chose to do the house system to improve the school culture, and it's working.
"Allowing the older students in the middle school to see themselves as role models for the younger students and become mentors was really powerful," Carricato says.
Dettlinger and sixth grade house lead E'Saun Pettus say they like mentoring the younger kids. Pettus says he likes "to help little kids out and make sure they don't give up on what they're doing."
Dettlinger says, "The house system definitely has brought us a whole lot closer and it makes these kindergarteners feel safe around us and not so scared."
Carricato says they're seeing attendance improve and behavior problems go down. The students say they're motivated to help their house win the field trip that the winning house gets each quarter, which is announced at the House Hype Day.
Carricato and Philip say the system has also helped engage the entire staff and parents.
"I've seen the drastic changes that it's made with school culture, the way students treat staff, the way staff treats students, the way students treat students," Philip says.
"It definitely opens up your friend group and makes you feel more welcome and wanted," Dettlinger says.
The house system is being piloted in nine Pittsburgh public middle schools this year and 13 more this fall.
You can get more information on new trends in learning and education at Kidsburgh.org.
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