Among the most prominent of changes students have experienced in the past few years, is the rollout of 5-Star, an online app and program that seeks to maintain school spirit and help the school develop an understanding of what students are doing.
“ASB wants to try to improve school spirit across the board,” said ASB Advisor and Activities Director Kelly Ortiz. “We really would like more participation in all things we do, and so this was a way to engage more students by tracking their involvement but then also offer prizes for their involvement.”
Calabasas has used 5-Star in the past. However, its current approach is different, as it aims to optimize student incentivization, a concept that was intrinsically tied to the reintroduction of 5-Star.
“I came up with the idea with old [ASB] presidents Caleb Kline and Zach Rubenstein in the beginning of last year,” said current ASB President Devin Aaron. “We thought, ‘how do we do it in an effective way where all students are included?’ It took some time, but it eventually became the best idea for incentivizing something effectively and consistently.”
These incentives come in the form of different rewards on the 5-Star app: When one shows school spirit, e.g., dressing up for a spirit day or participating in a nutrition game, they get 5-Star points added to their account. These points can be accumulated to buy different rewards on the 5-Star app, like a Prom ticket or a free yearbook. According to Mrs. Ortiz, this system of incentivization is having a large impact on the school’s overall spirit.
“I think [5-Star] has been a great tool for us to try to engage more students,” said Ortiz. “We are seeing more students checking in. We are having more students showing up and dressing up. We are seeing more involvement, which was our goal.”
5-Star doesn’t just have a massive effect on the school’s display of spirit. It’s proven to greatly help the school’s administrative board manage students during class and keep things in order.
“When students are out of class if they’re using 5-Star properly within the classroom, we can see where they’re supposed to be,” said Ortiz. “[Admin] have access to how students are doing in classes. If someone goes missing or if there’s an emergency, it’s an easy way to see where students are.”
Ultimately, the reintegration of 5-Star serves one main purpose: to keep improving Calabasas High School through all means necessary.
“I sent a bunch of club data to Mr. Wutkee and then to our DEI coordinator out of the district,” said Aaron. “I’m telling her, ‘Over 50% of students are involved in clubs, and 36% are involved in two or more clubs.’ When I look at that data there, it’s very helpful to ask ‘Which students need more attention?’ Bringing that data to schoolwide council meetings, to administration, to the district. It’s all been very helpful to get students more involved.”
