In considering the entire school team, the leadership team has helped with the monthly incentive parties and participated in the quarterly awards ceremonies for grades 3-5, in addition to serving with the administration on cafeteria duty to help monitor student behavior during lunches. Photos of quarterly awards ceremonies and the Eagle Staff award which staff members pass onto each other each week are attached in the artifacts.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? The team reviews the SWISS data at each meeting and discusses ideas for making improvements, or ideas to submit to administration for additional support.  The team is responsible for taking the data information back to their grade level teams, sharing ideas, and gathering more information to return to the next meeting with.  Data from the current year, the previous year, and the difference between the two years is used in decision making. A copy of a staff survey is attached in the artifacts.

How do you share information with the rest of your faculty (e.g., emails, newsletters, meetings, etc.)?  How often do you share this information? The collaborative model noted above truly facilitates communication working in both directions. Additionally, emails are used, and at times faculty meetings or pre school in-services provide the format for sharing information. Additionally, information is shared with parents at SAC meetings which are very well attended with 75-150 parents coming each month. Copies of SAC meeting agenda and minutes where important information was disbursed is included in the artifacts.

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. The team is comprised of committed staff members who volunteer to be on the PBS team. They function collaboratively both on the PBS team and within their respective grade level team.   They have the ability to analyze data and to recognize what steps might be beneficial to take to make improvements in the plan that will affect the school climate positively. Another strength is the vision, support and responsiveness of the administration.

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 PBS team and the staff as a whole excel in teaching the expectations to our students, even though specific lesson plans are not used to accomplish this.  The Eagle’s Creed is repeated every day on the morning news after the Pledge of Allegiance (see artifact 1). Teachers, assistants and tutors all play a major role in defining expectations, correcting behavior when necessary, and rewarding positive student behaviors. Behavior expectations are also reviewed on the morning news. We also excel in providing positive reinforcement for good behavior because of the many different ways students are acknowledged.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Different stakeholders have observed the students are more engaged in learning and there are fewer disruptive behaviors. The staff noted in a survey that they have observed either “significant” or “radical” improvement in the school environment since last year (or since the fall for staff that began this year). Many students have also noted that there has been a large decrease in the number of physical altercations.   A staff survey showing the perceptions of staff is attached in the artifacts, in addition to a photo of one of our new classrooms which all students will be using as of next fall. When asked what was the best thing about this school year, one fifth grade student remarked it was the incentive plan, because she earned a trip to the Naple’s Water Park by having good attendance, good behavior and by giving her best effort.

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. The main obstacle was the data itself: in choosing not to ignore inappropriate behaviors, in a few of the months the data did not show an improvement in student behavior, even though all stakeholders were able to observe noticeable improvements.  After administration implemented the new incentive plan, the numbers have shown significant improvement over last year. Another obstacle was the loss of 5th grade representation and some lack of buy- in from the 5th grade team in regards to the eagle wings. Interestingly, their use of the eagle wings increased after the implementation of the incentive plan. At the last PBS meeting it was decided that a student survey will be developed to determine if intermediate grades may need different rewards for the eagle wings than students in the primary grades.