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 works well because there is consistency and cooperation in our team. The majority of the PBS team members have been present on the team since our first year of PBS implementation at Trafalgar Elementary. As the administrator, Marie Vetter is both the facilitator at our meetings and the mentor to the staff. She assures the school staff is following the procedures set forth in our action plan and as a mentor, she quickly assists or finds guidance for those staff members that might need assistance.

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? During each of our team meetings, up to date data is reviewed and used by the PBS team when looking at areas of need. Students or teachers of these students, needing guidance or assistance, are given the opportunity to come to the meetings, voice their concerns, and the team offers suggestions or assistance.

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 from the team meeting, is usually shared with the staff at the school through either e-mail (when it concerns a particular grade level) or by grade level representatives on the team. There is a member on the PBS team responsible for taking the information back to each grade level. In turn, each grade can go to their representative if they have a concern they want presented at the meetings.

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. The strengths of the Trafalgar PBS Committee are:

1. Continuity of PBS team members – There are 10 members on our team.  Five members are from the first year of PBS. The remainder of the members, were added to the team as the result of staff members transferring out of the school.
2. Staff Buy In – The beginning of each year, team members introduce the PBS program. They explain how it works, describe the purpose and present documentation on its successes.
3. Representation on the team – There are representatives on the PBS team from most areas of the staff. Team members work together to problem solve concerns in the school, but they also work with individual staff members if they have concerns. There are representatives on the team

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.
Trafalgar Elementary is proactive in incentives. We stress the positive with the students. There are many incentives for doing the right thing, both behaviorally and academically. Rewards are in place, both in the classroom and in the school for students choosing to follow the rules and demonstrating the PBS ideas. Teachers model the positive expectations in the classroom, but they also show the students the wrong way to do things so they will know what those activities look like (along with going over the consequences). Demonstrating the positives sets the tone of what is expected of students, on a day to day basis. There is a program in place in the school where students earn charms and dog tags to wear on chains. Examples of activities where students can earn charms or dog tags are: Honor Roll, Pier Awards, Student of the week, Track Club, AR (reading), Pride Awards, Principal Award. Parties are held for students wearing their charm necklaces to school. The team discusses additional incentives that can be placed in the school to honor those students and staff demonstrating the Expectations in the school. Staff members are asked how the incentives are working and if additional incentives need to be added. The team is also proactive in assisting new teachers with learning how to implement PBS in their classroom. We can demonstrate examples and non examples of the expectations and give assistance in helping to teach them to the students. The expectations in the school are that all teachers participate in the process. Student expectations are high. If we expect the students to do the right things and show them how, they will meet those expectations. Data based decision making – When the new data is presented to the PBS team, it is reviewed, analyzed, and recommendations are made to assist with the concern. Then those recommendations are discussed among the team and decisions are made.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Data: Major referrals averaged 1.1 per day during the 2006/2007 year. During the 2007/2008 year that average dropped to 0.6. Minor referrals average increased during the 2007/2008 year due to the fact that Uniform infractions were included in the number of minor referrals and the majority of infractions were for uniforms.

Climate: Trafalgar Elementary is a positive environment. When you walk into any classroom in the school, you will find posters with the schools expectations. Posters are also located in the media center, the cafeteria, and the Special Area classrooms. Students are able to see the posters throughout the school and they are very knowledgeable when it comes to state the expectations and understanding them. Visitors to the campus comment on the behavior of the students in the halls and classrooms.

Since Trafalgar Elementary has also been working toward becoming a Kagan school there is a positive correlation between Kagan teambuilding and class building activities for setting that positive school climate and building the “will” to work together. Our behavior has improved since we became serious about Kagan and used it hand and hand with the principles found in Positive Behavior Support!

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. One of the biggest hurdles has been teacher buy in to the process at the beginning of the year. To overcome this, during pre-school week, the PBS team presented the information to all staff members, explained the data, gave the reasoning behind PBS, and demonstrated why it works. Staff members are now knowledgeable when it comes to the PBS process and they know they can approach the PBS team if they have a concern or a question.

Another concern has been funding. Inexpensive items have to replace choices that might cost more.  When funds are needed for some items, PTO is eager to assist. Donations are also solicited from parents and the community.