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.)? All team members are dedicated and working diligently to implement PBS to improve our school climate.  Our Principal Dr. Susan Keller along with our district coach and team members attend meetings on a regular basis.  Melissa Andress, a school administrator, is co-chair person along with chairperson, Linda Renz.  Another administrator, Paul Kurek, compiles and reports discipline data at monthly faculty meetings.  We have created committees wherein there are appointed committee leaders and all team members are assigned specific tasks.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? At our bi-monthly PBS meetings we review up-to-date discipline data to keep abreast of our decline in discipline referrals and increase in positive referrals.  Team members make recommendations for improvement and confirm our successful plans.  We also review teacher evaluations of each lesson plan for helpful suggestions to increase teacher and student participation.  We discuss and applaud the successes of our reward programs and constantly seek and share new ideas.  We select committees to carry out PBS award ceremonies.

How do you share information with the rest of your faculty (e.g., emails, newsletters, meetings, etc.)?  How often do you share this information? At every faculty meeting we share our “Kennedy Treasures” whereby teachers share successful methods of classroom discipline or joyful classroom experiences.  Teachers are sent emails of upcoming events such as tardy challenges and contests, and the successes of same.  We include a PBS section in our monthly newsletter that include announcements of PBS events and provide recognition of students’ improved behavior, and any staff members who are honored. 

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. The major reason for our team ’s success is great leadership.  We are extremely fortunate to have a Principal with great leadership qualities and who shows support by attending meetings.   Principal Keller sets the pace by setting a good example by making time to participate in all award ceremonies.  Her enthusiasm is contagious.  Her high visibility on behalf of our school PBS implantation process is invaluable.  Also, our administrators are extremely supportive and applaud our team’s work efforts.  Our current Chairperson helps out serving as coach when necessary.  Another strength of our team is that we are all team players.  We believe in our hearts that PBS implementation is the answer to making our school safe for our students and staff. We all respect each other and share the common goal of keeping our “our” school safe and a happy place in which to work. Everyone listens and share ideas at our bi-monthly meetings.  The fact that many of the team members have been together for four years is truly an accomplishment and proof positive of our dedication to making PBS work for our KMS family.

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. Team members excel in the area of actively enlisting the public’s support.  This year the Rotary Club made much-needed financial contributions to our PBS program.  Also, the YMCA, the YES Program, and OCIP all contributed their time and energy to helping our program work. Our team members also excel by being “innovative” in developing reward systems for students and staff.  This year we added reward ceremonies for our cafeteria staff, maintenance crew, and support staff.  These ceremonies are presented school-wide on our closed circuit TV system.  One excellent innovation we added this year is to have our students interview staff members about their jobs and lives.  The students come to understand that it takes a “whole” school to make a school run smoothly and safe.  Students not only learn to respect staff members but come to know them as friends, likewise staff members get to know and appreciate the students as Kennedy family members.  PBS poster contests are held and the student winners receive movie tickets or gift cards.  Another innovated idea we implemented was that our repeated offenders have “carry cards” where they have staff or teachers sign off categories of improved behavior.   The top ten students with the most improved behavior have their pictures taken with our Principal and receive medals at a special ceremony.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.).  The morale of Kennedy Middle School staff, teachers, and students has improved significantly since its implementation.  PBS members are highly visible and teachers see that the team puts in a great deal of time (including personal time) and effort to make our school safe and peaceful.  Positive referrals have increased and discipline referrals have decreased, especially in the area of bus referrals.  With the PBS involvement of the maintenance crew, the cafeteria staff, support staff and bus drivers everyone is getting the idea that it takes all of us to promote safety and peace.  Students now understand that they will be treated as like young adults and be respected when they demonstrate responsibility, respect, be an involved learner, and be safe.  This year the principal reflection of an improved school climate is in observing the positive interaction between staff members and students.  It is a real pleasure seeing students walking down the hall and chatting with Principal Keller, helping the maintenance crew, thanking the cafeteria staff, and students intermingling with teachers who are who are not their assigned teachers.

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below.  As always time and money are constant obstacles.  We have so many fabulous ideas but often lack the funding or manpower to see them through to fruition.  To overcome the lack of funds, we enlisted the aid of the Rotary Club this year to pay for rewards, pictures, and other items.  To help out with our manpower shortage, school secretaries, guidance counselors, the cafeteria manager, and members of OCIP and the YES program all volunteered valuable time to help with our celebrations and participated in tapping students with positive behavior for recognition and rewards.  Our school librarian has donated precious time by filming and editing lesson plans and PBS events.