What makes your team work so well?  Please discuss in detail (e.g., what is your administrator’s role on the team, how is staff represented, etc.)? Our PBS team is special due to the fact that we are a very diverse group.  We represent many facets such as sex, race, and number of years of teaching experience, grade levels, and a broad spectrum of certifications.  Even though our personalities are quite different, we all share a passion for student success, both academically and behaviorally.  Our Dean of Students is our team coach who provides the rest of the team with information from the coach’s meetings, as well as, the data from SWIS.  The Dean’s role as coach lends itself to total administrative support for the PBS program.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? Our team uses the data to determine which areas around campus need more staff concentration for supervision.  We use it to determine which students need to be targeted for behavioral support (e.g. Setting up behavioral plans, mentoring, triaging, increase in parent conferences/parental involvement)  The data will be used by administration to determine the amount of added support/training for staff based on the number of minor infractions and/or office referrals written.  

Another example of how data was utilized to make decisions was related to excessive student tardies.  Input from staff indicated that an inordinate number of students were showing up late for class on a consistent basis.  This prompted the PBS Team to develop an intervention to address excessive tardies.  A data base was set up to track students and their tardies.  Once a student was tardy to class more than 3 times a designated consequence was implemented. 

How do you share information with the rest of your faculty (e.g., emails, newsletters, meetings, etc.)?  How often do you share this information? We share the information at least once a month during our staff meeting.  Data was provided to our School Advisory Committee (SAC) as a mid-year report.  It is also shared during Team Leaders Meetings to help team leaders utilize the information in planning for students both academically and behaviorally.  Data is provided as specific teams/grades request the data to assist in planning for incentive activities.  Also, as areas of concern arise, information is shared via e-mail to staff.

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. Overall, our team’s strengths consist of:

• a shared vision to see students succeed academically and behaviorally
• high expectations for ourselves and our students to promote a positive school culture
• diversity within our team (see answer to #1)
• commitment to see that the PBS program is successful (decrease in minor infractions and office referrals due to an increase in students application of the behavioral expectations)
• the cohesiveness of the team, and the fact that we support each other through open dialogue and a desire for success
• PTSO has been directly involved with PBS.  PTSO donated money to purchase the gift cards for the DROPs drawing at the monthly faculty meetings.

In what areas of PBS does your team excel (e.g., rewarding students/staff, teaching expectations, data-based decision-making, etc.)?  Please provide details below. Our PBS team excels in their implementation of the reward system for students as well as staff in several ways:

Students:

1. Positive Referrals – This reward is more personal.  A student may earn a positive referral by showing a better awareness of the expectations, for making a better effort to complete and turn in work and/or be more organized, and just for being an excellent role model for other students on a daily basis.
2. Ice Cream Social – Given each grading period to a student who earns a positive referral.  Part of the reward is that the students not earn an Office Referral either to remain eligible. 
3. SabreCash – Given more freely to students than Positive Referrals, SabreCash can be handed out on several occasions, including, but not limited to the following:  picking up a piece of trash without being asked, being asked the PRIDE motto and knowing it; basically, anything that a student is “caught being good or doing the right thing”.  SabreCash has a cash value that can be applied to items at the Sabrecat School Store, as well as, individual rewards that teachers come up with in the classroom (i.e. – homework passes, etc.)
4. PRIDE Cards – Given quarterly to students based on grades earned by students in conjunction with positive behaviors.  Students take pride in having their names listed on the Sabrecat PRIDE Card Wall-of-Fame.  Students who receive PRIDE Cards are allowed to line up first at lunch and sit outside in the courtyard to eat their lunch.  They also earn the right to sit in the courtyard at the end of the day to wait for their bus.
5. Annual PRIDE Award – This award is presented to one student per each grade level who has demonstrated the expectations of the PBS program consistently throughout the year.  These 3 students (6th grader, 7th grader, 8th grader) are presented this award at the end of the year awards assembly.  Their names also go on a grade-level plaque that is displayed in the front office. 

Staff:

• Drop for Your Bucket – CPM staff can go online to the DROP website and give other staff members a DROP to show their appreciation for something that staff member has done for them or someone else.  The DROPS are then posted in the trophy case in the front hallway.  At the end of each quarter staff are given their DROPS and new DROPS are placed as they are generated.  The names of the staff who receive DROPS are placed in the DROP bucket for a drawing at monthly staff meetings.  The drawing includes a $10.00 gift certificate (Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, Target, etc.).  The names on the DROPS remain in the bucket throughout the year making those staff members eligible all year for the drawings. 

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Changes we have observed in the short time we have been a part of the PBS program consist of the following: 

• Better collaboration among staff for implementation of PBS expectations.
• Consistency of rewards
• Staff is speaking the “same language” as it relates to behavioral expectations
• Recognizing staff in a positive way (DROPS) has helped with staff morale  

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. A few staff members generate an over-abundance of minor infractions.  When this occurs our PBS coach meets with these staff members individually to assist them in more positive ways to handle classroom management situations.  (i.e. seating arrangements, alternate passing times, higher level of supervision, better utilization of rewards for high maintenance students). 

Another challenge we are facing is the situation where middle school students see 4-7 teachers a day and how that relates to the number of minor infractions that are generated prior to an office referral.  For example, an elementary student has one teacher for the day (with the exception of a related arts class).  That one teacher can give 3 minor infractions (for the same behavior) before the student receives an office referral.  However, in middle school a student has anywhere from 4-7 teachers in a day.  Based on the criteria of 3 minor infractions (of same offense) prior to an office referral that student could consequently earn 18 minor infractions before an office referral is issued.   The PBS Team will work on this particular challenge at the upcoming booster training seeking input from the booster trainers as well as other PBS teams at the training.