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 team works extremely well together.  We get along and are able to problem solve.  Everyone is very positive and has a genuine interest in doing what is best for the school and the students.  We respect each other’s opinions and allow every member to give input.  We have a variety of members representing the school  faculty. For instance, we have both a kindergarten teacher and a 3rd grade teacher to represent the different grade levels.  We also have an ESE teacher and a paraprofessional to represent those areas.  Our team leader is the media specialist and she has interactions with students and teachers  from all grade levels. Our ESE facilitator is the data specialist.  She is involved with the ESE students and is experienced at analyzing data and working with target students.  We also involve the guidance counselor who works with target students.  Our PBS coach is also the school psychologist at Floral Ave Elementary and is familiar with the students and staff.  Our administrator is the principal of the school.  She is very involved in PBS and supports it 100%. She attends every meeting and problem solves with the team.  Everyone on the team has an assigned responsibility and we divide tasks so that everyone participates.  We understand the PBS team process and make decisions based on the data.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? Our PBS team meets once a month and we analyze the data at each meeting.  We look at the trends over time and keep a copy of all of the data in a separate binder. T his allows us to look at the data and compare it to the same month from the year before.  We use the data to make decisions about the school.  For instance, if we see that discipline data has increased for a particular month, we take the time to re-teach the rules and expectations to the students. We also increase the rewards for students and teachers during times when behavior referrals increase (e.g. week before Christmas, Spring Break, etc.).  We get feedback from the staff and students as to what is working and what needs to be changed.  We have a broad representation on our PBS teams which has been invaluable.  An example of how we have made school-wide changes based on the data is our “ Move that Bus” program.  Data review showed that bus discipline referrals had increased, so the PBS team implemented a program to decrease bus referrals along with teaching appropriate behavior on the bus. The students were taught the rules and expectations for appropriate bus behavior. The students get a tangible reward after having ten days (cumulative) without any bus referrals.  At the end of the year, the bus with the fewest discipline referrals will have a pizza party. The PBS team also trained  the bus drivers and gave them rewards to show our a appreciation for their participation.

Another example of making changes based on staff feedback was a change in our cafeteria reward plan. Students are rewarded for following the rules and expectations in the cafeteria. When an adult supervising in the cafeteria sees a student making positive choices following the cafeteria rules, the student is given a yellow ticket to deposit in containers in the cafeteria.  Once a week, tickets are drawn from the containers.  Winning names are announced on the morning news show.  We allow the students to eat in a special area on the stage when their ticket is drawn. The students in the younger grades like eating on the stage, but the older students had tired of that reward. The PBS team brainstormed possible solutions and decided to allow them to bring their lunch to the media center and have the opportunity to play board games after they finish their lunch.  Also, it was recommended that the teachers make a seating chart for the students in the cafeteria. This helps the paraprofessionals manage behavior in the cafeteria by knowing which students should not sit together. We have received positive feedback about this change.  Students are excited about earning their new privilege and compliance with cafeteria rules has increased. Students look forward to a change to beat an administrator or teacher in one of the board games.

How do you share information with the rest of your faculty (e.g., emails, newsletters, meetings, etc.)? How often do you share this information? After the monthly PBS meeting,  information discussed during the meeting is sent to the faculty via e-mail by our “public relations” person.  She shares the data with the faculty and lets them know of any changes. Furthermore, she encourages the faculty to share their concerns and feedback with the PBS team. The e-mails are always positive and give the PBS team an opportunity to maintain the staff’s support of PBS. We also have a “Beehive Bulletin” that is sent on a weekly basis that mentions PBS activities.  Furthermore, the PBS team has shared information with the PTO on a quarterly basis and data with staff during faculty meetings.

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team? Please provide details. Our team is very dynamic and we have broad representation among our members. We get along well and everyone is very positive. The team is dedicated to PBS.  Everyone has a job and feels that they are an important member of the team.  At our monthly meetings, everyone is given an opportunity to present ideas and feedback without getting criticized. Our meetings start promptly at 3:00.  All of the members are on time and stay for the entire meeting.  We always have an agenda and maintain focus with the agenda.  Our time keeper reminds us when we are spending too much time on a particular item and we either come up with a solution or table it until the next meeting.  We do not spend time talking about things that are not related to PBS. The team members come prepared to the meeting (e.g., data, product books, etc.). Our team leader keeps a copy of all of the data since we started PBS. This allows us to look at trends from the year before.  An administrator is always present and supportive at our meeting.  This is especially helpful since it allows the team to make immediate decisions. The team is supportive of one another.  Members volunteer to take on extra responsibilities and follow through on those assignments.  Our meeting notes, agendas, coaches report, evaluations, etc., are always sent to the district coordinator in a timely fashion.  The team is dedicated to work with the faculty and make appropriate changes based on input from the faculty. The team members are trained in PBS and have behavioral expertise. They are also very creative in teaching and rewarding students, teachers, and staff.

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. The Floral Ave Elementary PBS team excels in a variety of areas.

Rewarding Students/Staff:

Students are given gold tickets for demonstrating the rules and expectations.  When a student receives a gold ticket, he/she takes the ticket to the office and the office staff ask the student why they got the ticket (reinforce the rules and expectations) and then they provide verbal reinforcement to the student.  The ticket is then put in a basket  and tickets are drawn on the morning news at least once a week for a free paperback book. The tickets that are drawn for the week are displayed in a case outside the school office. During times of the year  that data shows an increase in office referrals (e.g., before winter break, spring break, etc.) tickets are drawn more frequently for other  tangible rewards.

The school also has a classroom group reward that allows an entire class to be reinforced  when they are demonstrating the rules and expectations.   Our school mascot is the bumblebee.  The class receives a paper bee to place on their class beehive.   After the beehive is full with 25 bees, the class gets rewarded with a popsicle.   The class success is also announced on the morning news show.   After the reward, then the class starts their next hive.

After reviewing data that showed an increase in bus discipline referrals, we implemented an additional bus program to increase positive behavior on the bus.  Student and bus drivers were taught the bus expectations over the morning news show and reinforced by teachers in each classroom.  Each bus has a “fuel gauge” displayed in the bus where they move the paper bus up the marks on the gauge.  There is also a poster on the wall of the school that is updated daily with bus progress.  The entire bus is rewarded after having 10 days without any discipline referrals.   Bus referrals have dropped drastically.  Plans are being made to increase the number of days required for the reward next year.  In addition to rewarding the students, the PBS team has also rewarded the bus drivers.  The PBS team has given the bus drivers gifts for participating in the bus program and to show the bus drivers that they are appreciated.

The school staff is rewarded for participation in all aspects of the PBS program.  When student gold tickets are drawn, one ticket is drawn from that group and that teacher is rewarded with a prize.  Staff prizes may be tangible items or coupons for special school privileges.

Teaching Expectations:

The team provided a refresher training to the teachers at the beginning of the school year. There was a separate training for new staff members.  The students were trained at the beginning of the year and reminders are given throughout the year, as needed.  There are visual displays of the school-wide expectations in the classroom, hallways, cafeteria, etc.  During the morning and afternoon news programs, students are reminded of the rules and expectations.  When a student is rewarded with a gold ticket, a staff member always asks the students why they received the ticket. This allows the student an additional opportunity to practice the rules/expectations.  Randomly PBS team members wander the campus asking students about the expectations.  Correct answers earn a gold beaded necklace.

Floral Avenue Elementary also has a Character Education program supported by the community of Bartow.  An instructor, paid by the Bartow community, meets with each classroom for 30 minutes a week to teach social skills and reinforce school expectations.  The volunteer works with the Floral guidance counselor to ensure that Character Education lessons align with the school’s expectations and needs that are showing in the data.

Data-Based Decision Making :

The PBS team analyzes the data on a monthly basis. The data drives our decisions. Examples of this include the bus program, increase rewards before holidays, extra teaching for students and targeted groups.  Staff campus supervision schedules are also developed from data review.   Students selected for the mentoring program and behavior contracts are selected from data review.

Targeted Groups :

In addition to implementing school-wide PBS, Floral Ave has been working with some targeted groups on behavior.  We analyzed the data and were able to distinguish the “frequent flyers”.  We have been working with those students on an individual basis.  The students have behavior charts and have to “check-in” with selected faculty members.  Since they have difficulty managing their behavior, they are given additional incentives for having a “good day”.  These incentives were based on information provided by the student on a reinforcer checklist.  The teachers have been taking data on a daily basis for the targeted groups.  Targeted behaviors are developed individually for each student from the data teachers have collected.

This year, the guidance counselor has implemented a mentoring program with our business partner, Northern Star Generation Services.  An initial information training session was held at the beginning of the school year.  Mentors were matched with students based on data from discipline referrals or family need.  Mentors meet with students at least once a week.  Many join their student for lunch so as not to interfere with academic time.  Mentors can also be found joining a PE class or going with the class on field trips.  Many staff members  and our Character Education volunteers have also joined the mentoring program.  Approximately 20 students have been matched with mentors this year.  It is hard to tell who is receiving more from the mentoring relationship – the students or the mentors!  The guidance counselor and principal provided a thank you luncheon for the business partner mentors at their work site in May just to say thanks for all their time dedicated to the Floral students.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Since the implementation of PBS, many positive changes have occurred on campus. The climate of the school has drastically changed.   Staff and students are looking for positive behaviors to talk about.  Students are sharing examples of meeting the expectations.  During dismissal, the students walk to their bus in an orderly fashion. The students know the rules/expectations and are able to demonstrate them both in and out of the classroom. There are less discipline referrals. The morale of the teachers is much more positive. They feel like they are being supported by administration.   The staff is consistent with managing students’ behavior.  The students are proud of their gold tickets. There is much more focus on positive behavior as opposed to focusing on the negative behavior.   Teacher morale is very positive!

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome? Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. The team has not had a lot of obstacles this school year to overcome. The team members attended the 3-day training and participated in additional training as needed.  There have been some new members, but they have an understanding of PBS and came with a variety of expertise. There have been some changes in the roles of the individual members, but everyone has adapted to those changes. The team members respect one another and are supportive of each other. Our administrator is supportive and is an active participant in the PBS team. The team has worked very well together this year.