Creating Campus Experiences Students Actually Care About With Tommy Floyd

🎯The Ruckus Report

Quick take: You can’t force engagement — but you can design for success. Tommy Floyd breaks down how one meaningful win can transform disconnected students into confident, motivated learners.

🎓Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker

Tommy Floyd originally became involved in NASP® in 2003, while serving as a high school principal and NASP® coach. Several of the first NASP® state champions were on the Somerset High School team that Tommy coached.

He has seen, first-hand, how the program positively impacts students, parents, and teachers.

He has seen NASP® promote constructive teacher/student relationships, academic motivation and the promotion of students becoming involved with their school – many for the first time.

In this episode, Tommy Floyd challenges traditional education paradigms:

😎 Key Insight #1: You Can’t Force Engagement

• What’s broken: Schools rely on surveys, incentives, and interventions to “drive” engagement.
• The shift: Create authentic success experiences first.
• Impact: Students become intrinsically motivated and eager to participate.

📌 Key Insight #2: The “Invisible Middle” Doesn’t Need More Programs

• What's broken: Schools focus only on high achievers or behaviour problems.
• The shift: Design opportunities for the disengaged majority to feel capable and connected.
• Impact: 68% of students report feeling more connected to school.

🧰 Key Insight #3: Motivation Comes After Success (Not Before)

• What's broken: Expecting students to care before they’ve experienced competence.
• The shift: Give students a win → build confidence → unlock effort.
• Impact: 34% of students say they work harder in class after experiencing success.

🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge

Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:

1. Tomorrow: Identify 5 “invisible middle” students and ask: where can they experience a quick win?
2. This Month: Launch or pilot one new opportunity (club, program, experience) designed for belonging — not performance
3. This Semester: Build a system where every student experiences success in at least one meaningful domain on campus

📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act

If education ain’t a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?

This show isn’t about doing school better.

It’s about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what’s possible.

🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey

Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind

• ODP Business Solutions®

For over 30 years, ODP Business Solutions® has helped schools transform from whiteboards to smartboards. Why? Because when you get the right tools, everyone wins.

🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education to revolutionize your school's learning spaces.

• IXL

Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance.

🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders

• Frontline Education:

1,000+ school leaders just weighed in on staffing, absenteeism, AI, and funding shifts. The 2026 K-12 Lens Survey Report gives you a national view of where the pressure is — and where momentum is building.

🔍 Learn more: https://frontlineeducation.com/leaders

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