How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? The team uses data to determine where, when and what types of discipline infractions are occurring. This guides our decisions as to the types of intervention, supervision and staff re-training that needs to be implemented. Emphasis may be placed on re-teaching a specific behavioral expectation if the data shows a preponderance of referrals in a specific area. Targeted intervention efforts may be offered to students who are frequently receiving discipline referrals (Rock Stars have individual goal setting monitored weekly and are selected based on behavior referrals or academic struggles). Data is also used to compare previous year’s office referrals to the current year in order to track progress and identify patterns. This information is shared with our schools staff and also available to the district as a measure of progress and accountability.

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 monthly through our team leaders. E-mails are sent at least monthly asking for staff input concerning agenda items for upcoming PBS events and meetings. Information is also communicated at periodic faculty meetings. Information regarding school wide guidelines and suggestions for reinforcing and implementing these expectations at home is provided in the school newsletter. Faculty was provided an in-service at the beginning of the year to review the PBS goals and expectations.  More extensive training then occurred at each grade level team with new features and previously weak areas addressed. Optional in-services on Tier II interventions were also made available later in the year. New PBS members were trained and encouraged to view a PBS training DVD.

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 rewarding students for following school wide expectations. We are consistent in providing opportunities for reinforcement. We also are getting more effective at teaching replacement behaviors. We have a system that distributes “Paw Bucks” to reward student behavior. These can be exchanged for entrance to special events or for items available at the Paw Market. This year we also added the Wheel of Choice which students are to refer to when unsure of an appropriate behavior. Teacher also redirect student to the wheel when teaching a replacement behavior.
Teachers have a “Ladder of Choice” they use to facilitate with decisions regarding behavior. Lesson plans, student action forms and minor and major tracking forms are all documentation that PBS is being used consistently during our second year of implementation. We have also added a system of reinforcing teachers for supporting our PBS goals.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). PBS implementation has resulted in a decrease in our discipline referrals. Students are more respectful and the learning environment is positive. Teachers, non instructional staff and students all understand what is expected of them. In addition, our team is becoming more adept at using and analyzing data to make sound decisions regarding the running of the school. We are hopeful that this approach will facilitate continued emphasis on utilizing data and research based interventions for problem solving at all levels within our school.

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. There is some staff who may not fully implement the PBS program. Efforts have been made to offer them additional training and support, often on a voluntary basis. Teachers are asked to provide classroom aide time to help properly supervise the big events, sometimes this has been a challenge. We also are working on ways to insure fidelity so that teachers aren’t inappropriately rewarding students with Paw Bucks so that the entire class can attend big events. As budgets tighten we are challenged to continue to find new community resources and incentives for students that are motivating and inexpensive. Our team is positive and becoming more creative in addressing these obstacles.