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.)? We have a very diverse and active PBS team at Sabal Palm Elementary. We have members representing each department/level, including a team member from each grade level (K-5), one Related Arts teacher, a general assistant, and an administrator. Since our team is comprised of representatives from each level/department we are able to look at the whole picture with valid and comprehensive data. Our PBS coach/administrator is actively engaged in PBS, serving as a guide and resource for the team, as well as a vital link between the PBS team and the principal.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? Each month, the team reviews SWIS data. We look for trends throughout the year—where are students getting the most referrals? What types of problem behaviors are we seeing? Are we seeing more referrals at certain times of the year? What can we do to address this problem? Do we need to review expectations? Do we need to implement more structured PBS lesson plans?  This data determines our direction and emphasis. We take this information back to teachers and administrators to guide decision-making.

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 the beginning of the year, our PBS team works together to create and fun and informative PBS training session for staff. Each member, representing the interests of his/her team, offers suggestions to establish the year’s PBS goals, incentives, and reward systems. SPE’s expectations, which were collectively created by the team, apply to students in all grade levels and in all areas (classroom, recess, lunch, bus, etc.). While we do strive for consistency, we realize that incentives may vary by grade level and area. What motivates a kindergarten student may not inspire a fifth grader, so the team works hard to meet the needs of all students.

The PBS team meets monthly to analyze data, reflect, and plan. After each meeting, minutes are sent out to the whole staff and shared at monthly SAC meetings. Members are also encouraged to take this information directly to their teams to discuss during team planning time. All members actively participate in these monthly PBS meetings and use them as an opportunity to express the suggestions, interests, and concerns of their team.

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. The PBS team at SPE works well together. We are respectful of all members, realizing that each person has a unique perspective and is critical to the team ’s success. One person is not responsible for PBS—the entire school is committed to improving school climate. Each member works to maintain a safe supportive learning environment with the best interest of students always in mind.

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 at Sabal Palm Elementary excels in the areas of teaching expectations and rewarding students. Everything at SPE revolves around the five expectations. From the daily pledge to office referrals, students and staff speak the PBS language. At the beginning of the year we hold a PBS kickoff assembly explaining the expectations, rules, and rewards systems to students. Teachers continue these expectations in the classroom, teaching the rules specifically, as well as general character education lessons. This year we held two workshops for teachers. One was a character education/PBS lesson plan sharing session and the other was a “Managing a PBS Classroom” workshop where teachers shared successful positive classroom management techniques. Both were very successful.

SPE also excels at rewarding students. We have a consistent and effective two- level rewards system—individually and by class. Students can earn individual HAWK tickets by following the expectations. They can redeem these tickets in the classroom for small rewards and they can also use them at the school store to purchase items. At the classroom level, students have the opportunity to earn up to two classroom hawks each day, one of which is recess. Once classes meet pre-determined benchmarks, they earn a reward (extra recess to movie parties). This ticket system has been quite effective with students.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Since PBS’s inception at SPE three years ago, it has greatly influenced our school’s culture. All students and staff know our five expectations and are continually learning how to implement and follow them. Rather than punish undesired behavior, we have become more proactive by teaching students how to behave. The majority students and teachers have reported a more positive and fun environment where they know what is expected and feel they are recognized for their behavior. The implementation of PBS has worked to improve student behavior on our campus.

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. Again this year our biggest challenges with PBS have been consistency and funding. It is difficult to get all stakeholders to implement the rules and rewards consistently. Some teachers and assistants were much more generous with incentives than others, so at times our rewards seemed unbalanced. Through continual support and encouragement from the PBS, we did see improvements in consistency. PBS team members helped teachers become familiar with our school’s expectations, lesson plans, discipline plan, and rewards system. Individual training was available when necessary; we really tried to show what a useful tool PBS can be and how much easier it can make things. To encourage consistent teaching and re-teaching or PBS rules, we also created PBS commercial, starring students as a reward, to teach and demonstrate positive behavior in different school settings. We broadcasted these commercials schoolwide, focusing on problems areas and behavior throughout the year.

Funding was also an issue. A schoolwide rewards system does not come cheap—it takes time and money. We solved the time problem by distributing responsibility for rewards among teachers. Each teacher helped reward his or her own class as they reached classroom hawk milestones. This greatly relieved the PBS team and administration. We also wrote PBS into the School Improvement Plan this year so we have access to SAC funding for student rewards in the future.