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SAVANNA RIDGE ELEMENTARY

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

1. School District: St. Lucie

2. Grade Levels: Kindergarten - Fifth

3. Student Enrollment: 631

4. Percent of ESOL Students: 8%

5. Free and Reduced Lunch Percent: 59%

6. Percent of Students With IEP's: 18%

School Website

TEAMING:

We have a dedicated Core Team that has administrative support. Our administrators have attended training and play an active role in the PBS process. They actively communicate their commitment to PBS and attend all team meetings. They take an active approach and support the decisions of the PBS Team. We have a broad representation which includes many SAC team members and total administrative support which includes; Barbara Kelley – Principal, Rebecca Goodman- Assistant Principal, Regular Education Teachers - Kerry Rosenbaum and Jane Cox, Alicia Moore - Behavior Expertise-Guidance Counselor, Katherain Smith-ESE Chairperson, Coach Bill Eshleman- Resource Teacher and Sam Gabriel-district level coach.

The team meets every third Monday in the Media Center. At each team meeting the team reviews data to see trends and identify the specific types of referrals that have occurred. We have identified the time of day and where the most referrals are happening and implemented strategies to help alleviate the problems. The administration has actively worked with specific students to help them adhere to the PBS goals.

At the beginning of the year all staff members were trained on the implementation of PBS. We reviewed the Vision, Mission and Goals of PBS. We taught the School-Wide Expectation- S.O.A.R. and discussed and modeled what those expectations should look like. We also taught our hallway expectations- W.A.L.K.S, our cafeteria expectations – T.A.B.L.E and our bus expectations- B.U.S.E.S. All faculty members were given examples and non-examples of each of these expectations. They were able to discuss with their group what each expectation should look like and discuss ways to teach these expectations to the students at Savanna Ridge. We asked all faculty members to teach the expectations during the first three weeks of school. The staff was also trained on the use of the PBS Observed Student Behavior Form and the District Referral Form. All staff members were able to discuss interventions for behaviors that they observe.

Our team always tries to get feedback from the faculty and use this feedback in the decisions that are made. The faculty is given the opportunities to offer suggestions and to help decide how to implement the PBS program at Savanna Ridge. After monthly school wide events, teachers are asked if this was an activity that their students liked or disliked. As a team we are always asking for other suggestions that the students might enjoy as a monthly event. During the monthly faculty meetings the administration reminds the staff of the goals of PBS and motivates the staff to use the crane currency to reward students that are demonstrating the Crane Expectations.

The overall strength of the team is that each team member is highly motivated to do what is best for the students at Savanna Ridge. The team works well together and wants all students and staff to have a positive support system which enhances a safe and orderly learning environment. The team continually works to ensure that the reward system guidelines and procedures are implemented across the campus. Each team member works with other staff members to help support them in the implementation of the PBS system. The team is committed to the groups’ goals and the team members volunteer for roles and activities to help the group accomplish what needs to be done.

IMPLEMENTATION:

At Savanna Ridge the Positive Behavior Support System is an integral part of the school climate. During the morning announcements the Crane Expectations are stated and recited by all students – S – Show Respect, O- Obey Safety Rules, A- Act Responsibly, R- Ready to Learn. These expectations are posted throughout the school and in the classrooms so all students and staff are reminded daily that we want a positive environment that is safe and orderly. Our school uses a variety of methods to reward the students for positive behaviors. At Savanna Ridge we use the “Crane Currency” to reward good student behavior. The students have the opportunity to buy tangible items at the school store and they also can attend monthly activities or events. The team provided the students with a Christmas Store so they could use their cranes to purchase gifts for family members. The students have enjoyed the 4-H Wildlife Program, Movie and a Treat, Jersey Day, Reptile Adventure, Ice Cream Social, Dance and a Bounce House this school year. Other activities that the students have participated in are eating on the stage, joining a book club, raffles, and many other activities that the teachers have posted in their classrooms. Students can use their cranes to eat with the teacher, be the line leader or door holder, buy the class a movie, and have extra time on the computers and many other cost free incentives. The students are asked what they would like as incentives and the team takes these suggestions and tries to implement them.

All teachers are required to teach the expectations during the first three weeks of school. The teachers are given ideas during the initial training on how and what to teach. Many teachers use role playing, modeling, poster making, books, videos and many other creative activities to teach each of the expectations. Many lessons are embedded into subject area curriculum. The teachers remind students of the behavior expectations throughout the school year and re-teach the expectations when needed. Parents are encouraged to participate and learn about the PBS plan. The monthly newsletter states the expectations and tells of the monthly events that have occurred. Parents are encouraged to volunteer at our school and help the team during the monthly events. The staff acknowledges that creating a positive learning environment takes constant re-teaching of the expectations each day for all children.

Each teacher is expected to give out 60 crane currencies each week. All staff members are encouraged to give out Crane currency in a variety of settings other than their own classrooms. Teachers are encouraged to praise other classes and students when the students are following the Crane Expectations.

OUTCOMES:

Savanna Ridge’s teachers and staff have worked together to improve the climate of each classroom. The students understand the expectations because all teachers are consistent with the program. Our data shows that we have had a decrease in number of referrals each month. The team reviews the data each month and the data reveals the problem areas. As a team, we have dealt with the problem areas to alleviate the issues. The teachers consistent application of the PBS initiative has been to raise our school letter grade from a C to a B. We believe that our grade improved because teachers spent more time on instruction rather than behavioral issues.

OBSTACLES:

The largest obstacle that the PBS Team had to overcome was that most of the core team was brand new. The new team members were very fortunate that the PBS plan was well established and very well implemented in the past years. The new team members were able to work with the existing team and continue implementing the existing PBS plan. Having such a well written established plan, we were able to implement and train new staff members and students with the existing PBS plan. The new staff members received PBS training during the preplanning week so they could implement the PBS plan with their students from day one. The team works well together and helps each other implement the PBS plan. The core team will work together to strengthen the existing plan to include lesson plans that the teachers can use in their classroom to teach the Crane Expectation. This summer we plan to meet and develop these lessons so we can be sure that the Expectations are being explicitly taught across all grade levels. We will continue to strive to provide support for students and staff which enhance a safe and orderly learning environment through emphasis on the principles of responsibility, safety, readiness to learn, and respect of others.