The Positive Behavior Support (PBS) core team at Chumuckla Elementary is comprised of a combination of classroom teachers, special area teachers, support staff, and administration. This team consists of 70% of the school’s staff who volunteered to attend a three day summer workshop. After hearing the overview of PBS, we collaborated and chose team roles.

Our team works well together due to the open communication between members. Team members feel free to express thoughts and concerns. We make an extra effort to review and consider every concern or suggestion to make the program work best for our school and students.

Our administrator is a member of the core team and attended each day of training with us during the summer. Everyone who attended the original training bought into the program immediately and became excited about how to implement the program in our school using the Chumuckla Indian theme as a base.

The team felt it was important to begin the school year with the PBS program in place so we met during the summer to develop ways we would introduce and implement the program with the teachers who did not attend the training and the students. The first day of staff pre-planning the program was presented to the staff by different members of the team. As a faculty we determined what actions would be considered major and minor offenses, and the flow chart that would be followed with each type of offense.

That first day we also led the faculty through the school stopping at different areas and discussing the expectations we had for that area. Each area had been given a list of rules that used the acronym “TRIBE”. Each teacher, staff member, and paraprofessional walked through the hallways, cafeteria, library, and bus area and learned what was to be expected from the students. This allowed each person on the school campus to use the same language and share the same expectations.

Our team uses tracking reports to determine the places and times behavior problems occur throughout the school. This is the first documentation of student misbehaviors. When a staff member sees an inappropriate behavior and a warning has already been given, a Tracking Report is completed. The teacher explains the behavior, where and when it happened, and what they did to remediate the situation such as re-teaching an appropriate behavior, loss of a privilege, calling parents, etc.

We have also developed a Home Report which provides reciprocal communication between families and teachers. After three entries on the Tracking Report, a Home Report is completed and sent home for a parent signature. These reports provide documentation of inappropriate or unacceptable behavior, and that the parent has been notified of that behavior. If the behavior occurs once more in the classroom, the child is then sent to the office for more formal discipline with the school administration.

By using these two reports, it is easy for the administration to see what has occurred in the past, what strategies have been attempted to change the behavior, and what the parent response has been when a student is sent to the office. They are also useful during parent conferences for the same reasons.

The team then uses this data to make accommodations and/or changes at the locations where inappropriate behaviors are occurring such as additional staff, rearrangement of seating in classrooms and cafeteria, and/or clarifying the rules in a certain area.

Our data specialist enters the referral information into the SWIS program each month and then reports it to our team leader. She then compares last year’s behavior referrals to this year’s using this tracking computer program.

Our PBS team meets monthly to address any staff concerns, look at the progress being made in the number of referrals, and to discuss any accommodations that may need to be implemented. After these meetings, e-mails are sent school-wide for clarification of procedures discussed during the core meeting, reminders about future meetings, meeting notes, etc. During monthly faculty meetings the team leader informs all stakeholders of the progress that is being made in the reduction in the number of discipline referrals.

We feel our team’s strength is a shared goal of high expectations and genuine care and concern for our students. Each staff member has the same expectations for all students and speaks the same language whether they are in kindergarten or sixth grade. Because the program was started at the beginning of the school year and each class was walked through the various areas of the school, told the expectations, and practiced them that day, each child is explicitly aware of what is expected of them.

Another strength of our program is that over 70% of the staff attended the initial training in the summer, including our Principal. At that training we chose our team roles and used the rest of the time utilizing the opportunity to concentrate on the actual implementation of the program. Everyone who attended the training bought into the program quickly and worked to make the program work.

Our team members also feel free to share their opinions and/or the opinions of a colleague freely at meetings. The team is willing to listen, discuss, and change, or modify, the system to better meet the needs of our staff and students. It is apparent that the implementation our Positive Behavior Support system has improved our overall school climate. PBS is working for us!

We are the Chumuckla Indians. Like all Indians we belong to a TRIBE. Our TRIBE sets forth the expectations for our behavior: T – Trustworthy R – Respectful, Responsible I – Indians B – Believe in E – Excellence.

Our students are explicitly taught each of the expectations through the use of our ITV program, guidance lessons, and violence prevention lessons. The school’s official TRIBE expectations were modeled, molded, and memorized beginning the first day of school. Each special area teacher has adapted the expectations to their particular area. These TRIBE expectations are posted though out the school for reference.

When a student is demonstrating the expectations correctly, he/she is rewarded with a paper feather. Feathers are giving out by every person in a leadership role at our school (teachers, teacher assistant, special area teachers, administration, lunchroom workers, bus drivers, and custodians). The students spend their feathers like money at our school “Trading Post”. The Trading Post is open bi-weekly. Students can spend their feathers on school supplies, popcorn, toys, gadgets, or gifts for their friends or family members. Students can also choose to save their feathers for a big ticket item. Feathers can also be used as admission fees to special events such as a magic show.

Our teachers have also been rewarded with special donated treats such as feather pouches, gift cards, massages, and manicure/pedicure certificates. All stakeholders were given an opportunity to enter and names were drawn on NDN News, our school morning ITV show.

Our staff members do an excellent job teaching each of the TRIBE expectations. Students from kindergarten to sixth grade could recite the TRIBE expectations the first week of school. Students can also give examples and non-examples of each character trait. By using the same language from kindergarten through sixth grade there is a consistency for our tribe members throughout the school. Each teacher has the same expectations and uses the same terminology when modeling the expectations.

Whenever there is a school-wide program the Principal leads the students in reciting the TRIBE expectations. They are then asked which traits will be needed during the performance. This is used as a reminder for the students of what is expected of them during the assembly. Afterwards, the Principal again talks with the students about which expectations were used and examples of them. Every chance that can be used to incorporate the TRIBE expectations is used to the fullest. School programs, field trips, and visitors to the school all provide opportunities for the students to demonstrate their pride and knowledge of the TRIBE expectations.

The change in behavior seen on our school campus was evident after the first week of school. The students seemed calmer and everyone involved at the school was excited and talking about the TRIBE expectations and “feathers”. Students were telling every adult they saw the TRIBE expectations for their reward of a feather. During the first month of school this year two formal referrals were written compared to eleven referrals last year.

As students move through the campus all staff members now use the same language when commenting on behavior. Someone going up the stairs too loudly is told “easy feet” and they immediately know they need to walk quieter. This shared language has also helped in faculty meetings during discussions of discipline throughout the grades. When we discuss major and minor offenses everyone is clear on what actions are being discussed.

The students in the school seem more respectful at assemblies and school-wide activities this year compared to years in the past. We have also had more visitors comment on the students’ appropriate behavior. As the Student Council lead tours around the school campus for visitors they explain the TRIBE expectations and are able to give real-life examples of each one.

In January, the team developed a survey that was given to the teachers to complete asking if they agreed, agreed somewhat, or disagreed with each statement. Seventy-nine percent of the faculty stated that they have seen an improvement in their class’s behavior using PBS. Ninety-two percent of those people surveyed felt that PBS was beneficial to their classroom.

At the end of the year, the team is planning to conduct an additional survey asking parents, students, and staff members their opinions on the program. To make the survey more user-friendly we decided to have the primary grades fill in a “happy face” or “sad face” to answer their questions. We would also like to color code the different groups’ papers so we can differentiate between the different groups’ answers. This would allow us to see how different populations feel about the program and be able to compare the various groups.

Each month this year, we have had fewer formal referrals completed. Overall, our total number of formal referrals this year has decreased by 46%.

Some obstacles we have overcome at Chumuckla are a lack of volunteers to run the Trading Post, getting feathers sorted and returned in a timely manner, keeping the program fresh and new, and the long term consistency in each classroom.

In the beginning, the Guidance Counselor solely manned the Trading Post for each class throughout the day. This caused her to miss seeing her students one day a week. Our first attempt to fix this obstacle was to have students visit the Trading Post every two weeks, but this caused concern especially in the younger grades with consistency and the idea of immediate feedback for appropriate behavior.

Another attempt at solving this dilemma was to enlist volunteers to run the Trading Post. This worked for a few weeks, but eventually the volunteers dwindled to a certain few. We have now solved the lack of volunteers by enlisting our school “foster grandmother” (sponsored by The Council on Aging), and supplementing her with other reliable volunteers.

At first we thought we needed to identify which teachers were using the program and which were not by keeping track of the number of feathers given by each teacher. As the feathers were spent at the Trading Post they were collected and counted. Trying to count the feathers each week caused two issues, keeping track of the numbers and the actual construction of so many feathers. Through trial and error, we decided that identifying teachers’ usage of the program was not a high priority at this time.

Another obstacle we have encountered is keeping everyone interested in the program throughout the year. We tried to add excitement by adding special silver feathers that could be used for “special” treats. These were mainly used and distributed by the Guidance Counselor during her character education classes and when she observed appropriate behavior. Each feather was numbered and could then correspond to a number drawn for raffles, extra prizes from the Trading Post, and candy.

We have also had the local Perdido Bay Tribe of the Southeastern Lower Muskagee Creek Indian tribe talk to the students and share their Indian heritage, clothing, music, and character traits that are found in successful tribes. Our Indian friends also came when we had an FCAT Pow-Wow to encourage our students to do their best and strive for excellence during the FCAT testing. Students wrote reading strategies, testing expectations, and words of encouragement on special feathers to make headbands and necklaces and shared these words of wisdom during the Pow-Wow.

Our biggest challenge has been long term consistency in the classrooms. We discuss this difficulty at our monthly meetings and try to modify our practices to make them more teacher-friendly. The Tracking forms and Home Reports seem to be the most confusing to the classroom teachers. We have changed how we use them slightly throughout the year, and continue to look for better ways to document and keep track of inappropriate behaviors.

We continue to discuss changes that will take effect next school year such as modifying our forms for easier use and changing the Trading Post day so it does not interfere with other events at our school. The key for Chumuckla Elementary PBS team is to be flexible and willing to try something new to ensure the success for our students, school, and community.