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 consists of the principal, assistant principal, a PBS coach, guidance counselor, specials teachers, and one teacher from each grade level.  The team is responsible for reporting all information back to their grade levels at weekly grade level team meetings.  We meet monthly to plan and evaluate data. Roles are assigned at the beginning of each school year. The principal and/or assistant principal attend the meetings.  At the meetings they approve the scheduled events on the school calendar, report behavioral concerns, follow up with team members on projects, and participate in the meeting discussion.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? Our assistant principal and/or guidance counselor report the previous month’s referrals via the IDEAS reports and charts.  They also bring the prior year’s data so the team can compare the results.  After the data has been reported, the team decides on the best course of action for the school.

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 distributed to the faculty in a variety of ways.  Upon the completion of the PBS monthly team meeting, each grade level representative returns to their weekly grade level team meetings to report the information.  The PBS Facilitator sends out faculty wide e-mails for staff reminders.  The graphed data is shared at the faculty meetings by a PBS team member or the principal twice a year or as needed.  The Note Taker sends a copy of the meeting minutes to all members on a monthly basis. Parents are informed of the PBS events through student newsletters and the school website.  Also, parents are informed at PTA meetings and at the school planning committee meetings. 

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. The strengths of our team are organization, good communication, professionalism, dedication, and cooperation.  The Note Taker types the notes and provides the copies of the agenda.  The agenda helps with the organization of the meeting.  The Facilitator is responsible for communicating the agenda to the faculty through emails, faculty meetings, and grade-level meetings.  The members of the PBS team treat each other with professional courtesy and respect at all meetings, which makes it possible for members to share ideas freely and openly.  The team’s dedication can be seen by the attendance and the productive completion of projects set forth by the team.  Some examples would be the attaining of the bus grant, FCAT Success night, PBS monthly events, and the FCAT/SAT 10 pep rallies.  The cooperation between the administration and the PBS team has made it possible to decrease the referrals.  It also has made it possible for successful monthly reward events for students.

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 team excels in three areas: teaching expectations, rewarding students, and databased decision-making. Expectations are taught through role-playing both in the classroom and on the morning show.  Our rules are taught using Behavioral acronyms which are found in the PBS artifacts, Stop and Think lessons, and rule lessons from our product book.  The product book is provided for each classroom teacher. Kathleen Elementary rewards students with red tickets.  The red tickets are used to reward students with a monthly reward event.  The event activities are listed on the PBS Implementation Plan, which is in the artifacts.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). The PBS expectations and rules have created cohesiveness among paras, administrators, and teachers when it comes to dealing with student behavior.  The rules and expectations make it clear to students how they should behave on campus, resulting in a decrease in referrals.  Due to the implementation of the rules and reward system, PBS has created a positive learning climate for both students and faculty.  Our student of the month program and monthly reward system has given students something to work toward everyday.  The PBS rewards for instructional and non-instructional staff have helped increase faculty moral.                 

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. At the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, Kathleen Elementary had a problem with bus referrals.  The problem has since been corrected by providing monthly incentives for the bus students who do not get bus referrals.  The PBS team identified the problem using data from IDEAS, created a plan, which included writing a bus grant, and implemented the plan, resulting in a significant decrease in bus referrals.  A copy of the grant is with the school artifacts.