Fights fell from 130 to 10 with a Harry Potter idea

Pittsburgh Arlington PreK-8, a public school of 360 students, recorded more than 130 fights during the 2024-25 school year. Last year there were 10. Principal Crystal Caldwell and her staff got there by borrowing an idea from Harry Potter. Students are sorted into houses across grade levels, each with its own mascot and colors, earning points for good behavior in friendly competition. Older students end up mentoring younger ones. The school paired that with morning "safety huddles," where teachers flag a struggling kid before a bad day becomes a fight, and with restorative practices that swap suspension for repair. A student who vandalizes a hallway cleans it. "We let the kids talk it out, and they come up with their own way to apologize and say how they will do better," Caldwell told TribLive. The reputation used to be, as she put it, "don't send your kid there." The district is now rolling houses out to dozens more schools.