How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? As a team, data is reviewed at each meeting to determine the location, time period and grade level demonstrating the most difficulty as well as deserving or in need of additional reinforcement.  Many curriculum and scheduling changes have been implemented based upon a review of data.  The team has enlisted assistance from outside resources to address student needs based upon data collection and re-evaluated the data following interventions to ensure success.  Data has been used to make adjustments in almost every aspect of the school and will continue to be used to assist administration and faculty in making future decisions.

How do you share information with the rest of your faculty (e.g., emails, newsletters, meetings, etc.)?  How often do you share this information? Information is shared with faculty through emails and faculty meetings at least every 2 weeks and often on a weekly or daily basis depending on the current needs and interventions in place.

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. Our team is a wealth of knowledge on student needs and behavioral strategies.  Overall their best characteristic is their willingness to identify a problem and solve it.  When bullying in our 5th grade population was identified as a problem area based upon data collection, observation and teacher report, the team brainstormed a variety of ways to solve the problem.  They used their resources outside the team to provide supports through increased social skills instruction implemented by the guidance counselor, computer lessons on bullying facilitated by our county nurse, and more effective reinforcers that were identified through student survey and acquired through the donations secured by team members.  The amazing part of this intervention is that the problem was identified, solutions brainstormed and interventions implemented within one week to ensure student safety. When PBS was initially implemented we had a core team of teachers and staff who soon retired or left the school for other reasons.  We were left with few original members, but their effectiveness in communicating their belief in positive behavior support inspired a renewed interest among other faculty and staff members that eventually joined our team and have remained over the past few years.  These are dedicated people who always accentuate the positive while effectively identifying the deficits that need to be addressed. 

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 JBE team excels in rewarding students and staff in that they are constantly surveying students and teachers to identify rewards that would be highly motivating for students.  They spend countless hours rummaging through personal belongings and contacting local businesses to acquire needed reinforcers.  The team has also identified ways to reward staff for demonstrating the school expectations.

 When we initially implemented PBS a formula was used to determine the number of ‘bees’ to distribute to each and every member of the faculty and staff on a monthly basis.  This system was discontinued when several team members stated that they had noticed piles of “bees” in some classrooms.  As a team we felt that teachers who effectively used ‘bees’ and were consistently rewarding their students should be rewarded while also decreasing the number of unused ‘bees’ around the school.  The team decided that staff members would sign out ‘bees’ when they needed them.  From that sign out list a staff member would be chosen on a monthly basis to be rewarded for demonstrating responsibility with a gift certificate.  This new system has brought new attention to the need for staff to demonstrate the expectations and has increased their motivation to use ‘bees’ effectively throughout the school. Bees are no longer being stockpiled and left unused and both students and staff are receiving reinforcement on a consistent basis. During every meeting the team re-evaluates the effectiveness of all reinforcers in relation to the data.  When a group of students is identified has having an increase in referrals the team looks at the current reinforcers and re-evaluates their effectiveness.  As a team we are aware of the diversity and variety of interests within our school.  We continuously assess student motivation and modify our reinforcement procedures as the data demonstrates a need to do so. The team is also very aware of the effect of environment on behavior.  We have developed a Sensory Lab at Jensen Beach Elementary to address the sensory integration deficits demonstrated in many of our students.  We have also re-assessed traffic patterns through school and staff presence to address behavioral issues identified through data collection.  Changes have been effectively implemented and the team continues to re-evaluate need and make adjustments to all aspects of the PBS program as well as the school’s functioning as a whole.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Since implementation of PBS on the Jensen Beach Elementary School campus, teachers have noticed many improvements in climate and morale.  Students are demonstrating knowledge of the expectations that prior to implementation were words that carried only a definition and not the generalized understanding that is now witnessed. When a teacher states that a student has demonstrated respect or disrespect the student is aware of what that means – this took at least two years to be fully understood by the students, but now is a term used and comprehended on a daily basis. 
Students are also more responsible for themselves, their belongings and each other.  They often demonstrate an understanding of the responsibility they have to assist their fellow student and do so without prompting on many occasions.  Students have demonstrated respect for one another and for adults.  Our assistant principal, Kris Kerr, began reinforcing students for greeting her in the bus loop when the 2007-2008 school year began.  Now in May, all students offer her a greeting without prompting.  This simple act brings a smile to each adult and child and helps to begin and close the day on a positive note.  Teachers in Building 9 have said that they reinforced one student on one occasion with a bee for holding open a door – now students can’t wait to open a door.  Teachers have learned the power of being positive and are changing behavior through positive reinforcement.  
Teachers have become more aware of the need for data collection and the power of its interpretation on behavior change.  Many teachers more readily collect and share data and look to make changes based upon that data. Overall PBS has had a dramatic effect on the climate at Jensen Beach Elementary. 

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. Our biggest obstacle at JBE has been a changing PBS team.  Many members of our original team during the implementation year have retired or moved into other positions.  This created a training need which was assisted by USF.  Our team administrator has also changed three times and will be changing again for next year.  We are fortunate in that our team itself is strong and has established long term goals that we intend to fulfill.  We have overcome this obstacle by keeping records of all that has been completed in past years, being open to new ideas from new team members and ensuring that some of the members of the initial core team remain. District support and support from USF have also been invaluable.  We have strong representation in our newest members.  They continue to educate the faculty and staff on the importance of PBS to the school.  We now have a plan to continue to update faculty and staff as well as the core team on a consistent basis as well as continually assessing the understanding of PBS based upon data collection so we can address the needs of a changing faculty.
Another obstacle has been from some of our more experienced staff at JBE.  Some educators do not feel that students should be rewarded for what they are expected to do.  This is a philosophy that many have held for years so changing that mind set is very difficult.  Fortunately, not all members of the faculty and staff held this belief so our mission has been to assist others in change through education and proof of the power of positive behavior.  During our implementation year some members of our core team were not believers in the process which was very difficult.  However, they were expected to participate and to have a role in the education of the rest of the school.  We did have some of our reluctant members present to staff on the importance of PBS. While they didn’t personally share that philosophy any damage done by their disbelief was rectified when they stood in front of the school and stated that they felt that PBS was beneficial and why.  The following year our publicity spokesperson was also our teacher of the year and a beloved member of our staff which further encouraged others to participate in the process.  We will always have a few staff members that do not fully believe in the effects of positive behavior, but through education, perseverance and consistent sharing of data and outcomes we will be able to prove that positive behavior is beneficial to JBE.