A golden ticket made protagonist Charlie Bucket jump for joy after living his adolescent life as an unselfish giver in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Students in Cannon Falls are now experiencing this same thrill due to the introduction of the Real Deal ticket program.

Led by special education teacher Kate Dahlen, the middle school and high school has introduced a new system of rewarding good behavior to both students and staff. So far, Dahlen has been overjoyed with the results of the program. “I definitely believe there has been a positive result since we introduced the Keep It Real tickets”

she divulged. “The system has no flaws as of yet, so I believe this will be active for a long while.”

She spoke on how important it is to reward positive behavior instead of punishing bad behavior, a practice commonly overdone by the school. This program has enabled teachers to crackdown on relevant issues in the classroom – such as bullying and cheating.

To get involved with the Keep It Real tickets, students just have to be friendly to others. If a staff member catches them in an unselfish act, students will be presented a paper ticket with their name and a description of how they earned it. Once a student possesses this ticket, there is a drop box within the main office to place it in. Every week, there will be a drawing to reward several people.

“Yes, teachers can actually nominate other teachers,” added Dahlen. “We want everyone involved.”

Unfortunately, not everyone at Cannon Falls Area Schools wants a Keep It Real ticket in their hand. Quinn Sabin, high school student, rants how kids shouldn’t be bribed into acting a certain way with donated gifts like gift cards or sitting at the teacher’s desk for an entire period. “I believe the old way was perfect just the way it was, and didn’t make me feel childish,” explained Sabin.

However, despite the few negative student reviews, Keep It Real is catching the attention of many and inspiring hallways full of “golden” students.