Charles Henderson High School Principal Brock Kelley issued a new challenge to his students this year: a competition for the “Trojan Cup.”

“At the beginning of the year, I wanted to do something that the students could compete and continue to promote a positive culture at our school,” Kelley said. “I wanted to have the students hold each other accountable for their grades and actions inside and outside of classroom.”

To accomplish this, Kelley came up with the idea of the “Trojan Cup,” which awards points to grade levels based on grades, discipline and community service.

“We have the freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors all competing against each other,” Kelley said. “Each nine weeks, the grade with the highest percentage of As gets 5 points, the grade with the lowest percentage of Fs gets 5 points, the grade with the lowest number of discipline referrals gets 5 points and the grade with the most hours of community service gets 5 points.”

Through the first nine weeks, Kelley said the freshmen and seniors are tied at 15 points each. The second nine weeks ended before Christmas break but Kelley said he is still compiling that data to award points.

Kelley said he has already seen the Trojan Cup have an impact on the culture on campus.

“I think it has definitely hit the mark of what I had envisioned for the school year,” Kelley said. “We’re trying to promote a positive culture on campus and have students hold each other accountable for grades, community service, discipline and behavior … Any time you can bring excitement and get the students motivated to do well behaviorally or academically, that’s a plus.”

The winning grade of the Trojan Cup will be exempt from all spring finals.

“You have to figure out what the reinforcement is and what they will work for,” Kelley said. “Some will work for grades, some won’t work for grades. But if there’s positive incentives tap into those things students will work for.”

Kelley said the school will continue to seek ways to improve and inspire students to achieve higher.

“The sky is the limit,” Kelley said. “We continuously raise the bar and expectations as far as students … Ultimately, it will create a better school and a better community.”