There’s an app for saying thank you

At Preston Hollow Elementary School, a new spirit of appreciation is transforming the school culture. With a focus on gratitude and positive relationships, Principal Ginette Peralta Suarez.  introduced GiveThx—an app-based initiative designed to help team members and students regularly recognize one another’s contributions. 

The initiative is currently being piloted by staff, but it is set to expand to students soon, making Preston Hollow the first campus in Dallas ISD to use the software. Funded by a grant secured directly through the GiveThx organization, the move to adopt the platform stemmed from a pressing need. 

“Our climate survey was not the best,” Suarez said. “I came in and it was low, and it has still trended low.” 

Suarez explained that while the campus consistently tries to celebrate team members, the focus remains on building deeper connections, which the app has helped to do.

“It’s more about trying to build that with the teachers, and also acknowledging [the positive], because many teachers will actively say how this is the best campus they have worked at,” she said, noting the difficulty of maintaining perspective. “When you’re in it, you don’t see it, right? The grass is always greener on the other side.”

To shift this perspective, Suarez began integrating the app into the start of every staff meeting. The results were immediate. By prompting a moment of gratitude at the beginning, the tone of the meetings shifted from administrative to appreciative. In just one recent meeting, staff exchanged 22 digital thank-you notes, sharing things that usually go unsaid.

“It changes our meetings, because we’re starting from a place of gratitude,” Suarez said.

The app isn’t just about giving thanks. It’s designed to encourage broader participation and self-reflection, Suarez said.

“When you log in on your phone, the app tracks your activity and prompts you if there is someone you haven’t thanked yet,” she said. “It automatically encourages you to engage with different people so that you aren’t just reaching out to the same ones all the time.”

The platform allows for easy customization to match Preston Hollow’s International Baccalaureate (IB) values. Instead of generic compliments, the thank-you notes are categorized by IB traits such as being principled, caring, risk-taker, or communicator.

“I want my IB words to be what we aim for,” Suarez explained. “It’s the language the adults use and the students use. For example, if a student misbehaves, we ask which part of the learner profile they weren’t embodying. Now, with GiveThx, we can highlight when they are embodying them. It allows us to tell our story through thanks.”

While team members are already seeing a 53% participation rate, the true goal is the student rollout. Suarez hopes the app will provide a safe, private space for students—particularly those who might be shy—to recognize one another.

“I want the students shouting out each other. Many times, conflicts between students come from a lack of communication; they hone in on the negative,” Suarez said. “This shifts the narrative to how someone helped them today. It’s a way to learn internet etiquette and technology etiquette by writing something positive about someone else.”

Far from a ‘one-and-done’ initiative, GiveThx includes 14 structured lessons per year designed to help students cultivate a deeper practice of gratitude. The gratitude lessons, Suarez explained, would be brief and easy to incorporate. 

“We ask our teachers to hold morning meetings, and that’s where these lessons fit in perfectly. Once a week, we go over a specific concept, and then we have the opportunity to practice it for the rest of the week,” she said.

Suarez considered potential challenges, especially how to ensure all students would be included once the feature opened to them. 

“The teachers will have the ability to review thank-you notes and track participation data to make sure everyone receives recognition,” she said. 

Responding to concerns about technology and social isolation among children, Suarez said, the app gives an opportunity with monitored access, said Suarez in response to potential concerns about technology and social isolation among children. It hones in on something positive. 

“You’re not sharing pictures; you’re just saying something nice about somebody else,’” she said. “It’s a good way to learn internet etiquette—to write a positive note.”

With enthusiastic participation from over half the staff already, and plans to involve non-teaching team members and tutors, Suarez envisioned GiveThx as a model for the district and beyond. 

“It just fosters a sense of gratitude. It changes your whole mindset,” she noted. “How about being grateful for what you do have?”

Looking ahead, Suarez hopes to potentially expand access to parents. “Since it’s an app base, we technically can invite parents. That may be something we do for year two,” she said.

When asked what her own “thank you note” to the Preston Hollow community would be, Suarez responds immediately that “my note would be about being caring. I would thank our staff, students, and parents for always caring for each other. It makes me a better advocate for a community that supports one another.”