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 is a great cross-section of the school.  There are teachers from kindergarten, first, second, fourth grades and ESE involved.  Our administrator, the assistant principal, was hired and began work in October of this school year. Even though she did not have the PBS training, she has been enthusiastic and encouraging from her first meeting. The team leader is the school counselor.  The personalities of this team mesh exceptionally well. Everyone made a commitment to make PBS successful.  Each member’s team role was assigned based on their individual strengths.  The entire team takes their role seriously and performs whatever task they undertake to the best of their ability

How does your team use data to make decisions on campus? A wonderful example of how we used data is our bus program.  After realizing that our bus issues were causing the most office discipline referrals, one of our members presented us with a plan to implement our PBS approach on the buses.  After working together, the program was put into action mid year and has been very helpful in cutting down on discipline incidents on the bus.

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 PBS plan was presented to the faculty at our annual preschool planning retreat.  The principal gave the team half of the day to introduce and promote all of the aspects of PBS.  The first faculty meeting of every month is designated as a PBS faculty meeting. The entire meeting is handled by the PBS team.  We decide what to present and the team members facilitate the meeting. On several occasions we met with our school paraprofessionals, who are unable to attend the faculty meetings.  Most of our information is shared in this way; however, between PBS faculty meetings we post information to our school wide email Info Board. Recently, the PBS team had an appreciation breakfast for our bus drivers.  We used this opportunity to present specific information regarding PBS and the Bus Crew. We felt it was important  to thank them for their help and cooperation throughout the school year and are hopeful for even more “buy in” next year. 

What do you see as the overall strengths of your team?  Please provide details. Our individual strengths produce our overall strengths.  Each member of the team has a special ability or gift they have brought to the team.  One of our members is very creative and has communicated our message very well, especially to the faculty. One member has done a great deal of work behind the scenes because she prefers to not speak to large groups.  Another team member goes out of her way to offer assistance in whatever task we undertake.  Nothing is too big or too small.   She has been particularly successful in soliciting community support.  We have several teammates who are very organized and keep us all on track. Two members of the team are new to the school and the district.  They have brought new and refreshing ideas to the table. 

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. There are two areas that come to mind – teaching expectations and rewarding students. The team has done an outstanding job of teaching rules and expectations.  Before the beginning of the school year, our team wrote lesson plans for all of our school expectations.  Then, during our preschool in-service, we modeled the lessons and asked each school team to write lesson plans for the school rules.  Teams were given a specific area of the school and asked to write at least two lesson plans. Using this process insured that every rule had at least one primary and one intermediate lesson plan. These plans were turned into the PBS team leader and were then posted on our school Info Board along with the expectation lesson plans. Based on our expectations, a pledge was created.  The entire student body says the Vineland CARES pledge together everyday just before the Pledge of Allegiance. When we began our PBS Bus Crew program in February, part of it was teaching bus expectations and rules. The Bus Crew members are three students, K through 5, from each bus who were having some difficulty behaving while riding the bus.  They were trained and became special helpers for the bus driver.  They are allowed to give Bus Heron Heroes to students who are following the rules.  One of our PBS teachers developed a Bus Rap.  Using a puppet, the rap, and members of the Bus Crew, we filmed and developed a video.  The video was shown every day for a week via closed-circuit morning announcements.  Two of the teachers on the PBS team developed a bus rules lesson.  Our principal provided substitutes for them and our transportation department provided buses and drivers.  Over a two day period, every student boarded a bus, heard the bus rules and expectations taught by our PBS teachers, and participated in a bus evacuation drill.  It was extremely successful.  We continue to play the bus video once a week during the morning announcements.

The other area in which we have been quite successful is rewarding students.  We implemented a reward system using “Heron Heroes”, a token named after our school mascot.  The Heroes are used by everyone in the building to reward positive behavior.  Twice a month the “Hero Hut” is open for shopping.  Parent volunteers run the Hero Hut during lunch.  After each class has finished eating, they shop for items at the Hero Hut. We have items available which have been purchased, as well as more intangible rewards, such as:  lunch with the principal; a nature walk with the assistant principal; extra time in the computer lab; a golf cart ride with the PE teacher; and play a game with the guidance counselor.  The Hero Hut has been very popular with the students.

Discuss the changes you have seen on campus since PBS implementation (e.g., data, climate, morale, etc.). Our monthly PBS faculty meetings have increased staff understanding of PBS. An explanation of our discipline flow chart and administrative consequences for office discipline referrals has improved morale regarding discipline issues. Not all teachers have embraced PBS, but most have come to recognize its positive effects and the majority of the staff uses Heron Heroes for rewards and motivation. As a result, students anticipate Hero Hut where they can spend the Heroes they have earned.  We have even seen students develop more of an altruistic outlook.  Students in one of our fifth grade classes decided to pool their Heron Heroes and purchase a bicycle.  They then donated the bike to a needy student in our school.

A final area where we have seen changes due to PBS is on the buses.  After implementing the PBS Bus Crew, our bus referrals have decreased and our bus drivers have commented that they have seen a difference in behavior on the buses.

What are some obstacles that your team has had to overcome?  Please explain the process for overcoming these hurdles below. The biggest hurdle we have had to overcome is money!  The money allocated to us provided for all of our start up costs for printing and staff rewards, but once we began the Hero Hut, money became a real issue.  The team came up with several ideas.  First, we asked for parent donations of money or items.  We received some.  Secondly, the team got involved with our annual school carnival, the Heron Hoopla.  A staff member donated a gorgeous framed watercolor painting she had painted for our silent auction.  A PBS team member solicited her family and friends and provided horse and pony rides.  This proved to be the most popular event at the Hoopla!  For several years, the school has received a donation from a community ladies group.  This year we asked if the money could be used for our PBS initiative and they were very willing to help us.  The PTO has agreed to put PBS in their budget for next year, so we’ll receive some funds from them. The team is in the early planning stages for some fundraisers next year. We are also planning to use more intangible rewards.

Another hurdle has been time.  There is never enough!  Finding a time when the entire team could meet on a consistent basis was a challenge.  Our principal was very supportive and agreed to pay each team member to stay late one afternoon per month.  This proved to be very successful and was a great encourager to the team.  We put in a great deal of time on our own, so it was nice to be paid for a small part of that additional time. One of the biggest hurdles we faced was people who did not want change. Their bad attitudes were discouraging and sometimes “infected” others.  But, we kept communicating our positive message on a continuing basis and we have seen attitudes changing.