All Kennedy MS PBS members are passionate about the success of the program. Our Principal, Dr. Susan Keller, is incredibly supportive and provides excellent leadership. One administrator, Melissa Andress, is the Co-chairperson of the team while the other administrators, Paul Kurek and Claudius Effiom, track behavior incidents which provide the team with critical data to aid in prioritizing and finding solutions to our problems. Our Chairperson, Linda Renz and our school-based coach, Renee Daniels, both provide superb leadership. All team members participate in activities and/or report information and share ideas at faculty meetings. We have an excellent balance of leaders and support members.

We apply data to aid us in prioritizing our discipline problems, devising solutions, and creating ways to implement procedures. Another way our team uses data is to present information at faculty meetings that will encourage the staff to support our decisions and to participate in PBS activities. The PBS Team distributes a survey to the staff each spring to use for planning for the following year.

Team members make PBS presentations and/or share data at regularly scheduled faculty meetings once a month. Emails are posted for upcoming PBS ceremonies and activities on a regular basis. Every month, we select a PBS Behavior Strategy that we ask a teacher to implement in his/her classrooms. They then report on the success of that strategy at the Faculty Meetings. This “Behavior Strategy of the Month” is written on the back of the Meeting Agenda. PBS successes and/or events are written up in the newsletter.

Our greatest strength is that our team members are focused on the same mission. Our team consists of dedicated team members who share a common belief: We will do whatever it takes for our school “to maintain a safe environment that is conducive to learning and pleasurable for all to attend and work.” Also, our team has the necessary ingredients for a team to achieve success: a good balance of leaders and support members. Every marking period, students who have demonstrated Positive Behaviors are rewarded with Master Cards that provide certain daily privileges.

Due to the expertise and skills of all our PBS team members we have successfully implemented several PBS initiatives. KMS teachers volunteered to be Student Advocates for students identified as “top offenders” and/or needing extra TLC. All students are assigned to a home room teacher. Referred to as Morning Raiders, home rooms meet 2-3 times per month. This provides students with a home base and one teacher throughout the year with whom positive relationships can be established. PBS Lesson Plans, aligned to Sunshine State Standards, have been developed, integrating PBS, Character Education and Transportation. Teachers deliver these lessons monthly during Morning Raiders. Positive Referrals are being used extensively. Students who receive a Positive Referral are called to the office and receive a reward as well as a heavy dose of positive attention. Pizza Parties are held for randomly selected students who have received Positive Referrals. Tardy Challenges randomly occur. Staff will pop into classrooms unannounced. Classes that have 100% of students in class on time are rewarded with a party and their teacher receives coverage for a free period. The Golden Steering Award has recognized every one of our bus drivers. Drivers get a red carpet reception with all their riders, along with PBS members, applauding and singing “The Wheels on the Bus”. Drivers also receive a certificate and a Yellow Bus T-shirt. All these initiates have resulted in a very significant reduction in discipline referrals.