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FLORESTA ELEMENTARY

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

1. School District: St. Lucie

2. Grade Levels: K - 5

3. Student Enrollment: 786

4. Percent of ESOL Students: 6%

5. Free and Reduced Lunch Percent: 36%

6. Percent of Students With IEP's: 6%

School Website

TEAMING:

Our team works well together because we have a common goal to ensure the success of each student. Our team is respectful of our common values and individual differences which is a mirror reflection of what we hope for our student body. Each member believes in the Positive Behavior Support philosophy and serves as a role model to faculty, staff and students. Common PBS language is spoken on the entire team. The administration supports the initiative one hundred percent and approves all activities proposed. The Assistant Principal serves on the Core Team while the Principal serves on a peripheral team. Under their leadership, we continually improve. We have a well rounded representation of staff members. Our Core Team membership consists of one primary teacher, one intermediate teacher, one exceptional student education teacher, the Guidance Counselor, the Student Support Specialist, the Assistant Principal and our coach is a school psychologist. Our intermediate teacher is a National Board Certified teacher. Our peripheral team consists of paraprofessionals, grade level teachers and cafeteria staff members.

We analyze data monthly to make modifications and address areas of concern. Our team utilizes data to target our calendar with positive activities during historically difficult times. We identify weak areas and focus attention based on student needs. The data drives how we instruct faculty and staff to complete referrals and classroom infractions. We also pay particular attention to data to determine training needs of faculty, staff and students.

Information regarding the Positive Behavior Support initiative is shared with staff members on a continual basis. Updates are provided at faculty meetings and information is shared in the weekly staff bulletin (Dolphin Courier). Information is also shared in the monthly parent newsletter (Floresta Forecaster). At the beginning of the school year, training is provided for all staff members to update and re-train staff regarding specific PBS initiatives. A booster training is provided at the semester break to provide staff with any additional information and remind staff of school wide expectations and rewards. A staff survey is completed to determine faculty and staff needs and ideas. Any Core Team member welcomes staff member input and shares that at bi-weekly team meetings. SWIM expectations are reviewed every morning on the morning show.

The strength of our Positive Behavior Support Core Team is a result of pleasant, positive, creative and a dynamic group of individuals willing to discuss and communicate. Being able to speak openly and come to a consensus about all issues adds to our strength. Due to the diverse expertise and strengths of our members, we are able to problem solve effectively and generate new ideas to promote our plan. We maintain focus and remain on task to get the job done. We are motivated to increase student achievement and are aware that in order to do so, we must address student behavior simultaneously. Our team believes in the PBS philosophy and focuses energy on how to provide a positive learning environment for all students.

IMPLEMENTATION:

Our team does an excellent job at educating faculty, staff and students in the philosophy of Positive Behavior Support. As a result, we have nearly 100% “buy-in” from the entire staff. We excel as assuring rewards for students. Our students are well aware of the expectations and understand what they can and cannot do while on campus. They demonstrate positive behavior and work for incentives. We complete student surveys to periodically assure that the rewards being offered are attainable and desired. Our team is also focused on short and long term goals based on the needs of the initiative. We acknowledge that change is necessary and make adjustments as needed.

OUTCOMES:

Faculty and staff members work together to assist students due to everyone speaking the PBS language. Students understand the expectations and teachers specifically teach what they want students to demonstrate. The data indicates a significant decrease in discipline referrals thus allowing teachers to focus on academic goals. We have an increase in the frequency of rewards allowing students to maintain focus and work toward initiative goals. Staff morale has increased and everyone works toward the same goal of student achievement.

OBSTACLES:

Our team has had some comfort and morale obstacles to overcome. The team has gained and lost members to the point it is now a cohesive team. In the past, we had individuals who were less willing to listen and tended to need to take control. Membership on the Core Team is now voluntary and members are willing to put in the additional hours of work required. We have a good mix of personalities and are focused on completing tasks and doing what is best for students. Another obstacle has been reward systems for students. We now have a PBS catalog and an active PBS store where students can spend their Dolphin dollars on a regular basis. We also offer at least one school wide incentive per month. Staff training has also been an issue in the past. This school year time was set aside during pre-planning days for trainings and another day after the return from Winter break to ensure quality training was provided. Training time for the 2007-2008 has already been set aside in the calendar.