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Capturing Kids' Hearts

"If You Have a Child's Heart, You Have Their Mind"

At ILC, we believe that academic achievement begins with strong, meaningful relationships. Through the Capturing Kids' Hearts® (CKH) framework, our teachers and staff focus on building a safe, supportive, and connected school environment where every student feels seen, heard, and valued.

Capturing Kids' Hearts is a relationship-building process that transforms classroom culture, teaches students self-management skills, and fosters mutual respect between students and staff across all grade levels.

The EXCEL Model™

Our educators use the EXCEL Model™ to structure daily interactions and build safe, productive learning spaces:

  • E – Engage: Every day begins with personal connections. Teachers welcome students at the classroom door with warm greetings, smiles, handshakes, or high-fives.

  • X – X-plore: Teachers listen actively to understand the emotional and academic needs of students, asking about their lives outside the classroom.

  • C – Communicate: Learning environments are collaborative and supportive, allowing teachers to communicate care, encouragement, and lesson content effectively.

  • E – Empower: Students are empowered to take ownership of their behavior, support their peers, and develop self-leadership skills.

  • L – Launch: Each lesson or school day ends on a positive note with an inspiring thought, reflection, or call to action.

Key CKH Practices in Every ILC Classroom

  • Social Contracts: At the start of the school year, every class creates a unique "Social Contract"—an agreement created by the students and teacher detailing how they will treat one another. It focuses on respect, kindness, and collaboration.

  • "Good Things": Classrooms frequently begin with "Good Things," giving students and teachers a chance to share positive moments from their lives.

  • Affirmations & Put-Ups: Students are encouraged to uplift one another through written and verbal affirmations, replacing put-downs with intentional encouragement ("put-ups").

  • The Four Behavior Questions: When conflicts or off-task behaviors occur, teachers guide students through self-reflection using four restorative questions:

    1. What are you doing?

    2. What are you supposed to be doing?

    3. Are you doing it?

    4. What are you going to do about it?

Bringing Capturing Kids' Hearts Home

Families are our biggest partners in shaping successful, empathetic learners! You can support CKH strategies at home by:

  1. Asking for "Good Things": Instead of asking "How was school?", try asking "What was one good thing that happened today?"

  2. Creating a Family Contract: Work together with your children to write down family expectations on how to treat one another at home with kindness and respect.

  3. Using the Four Questions: When behavioral challenges arise at home, use the four questions to encourage self-reflection rather than immediate punishment.

  4. Practicing Affirmations: Take time to share compliments and point out positive actions you notice in your child each day.

Learn More About Our School Culture

We are proud to capture the hearts and minds of our ILC Eagles every single day! For questions about how Capturing Kids' Hearts is implemented at our school, please feel free to reach out to the office.