Positive Interventions to Extend PBIS  Leslie Ellis Sussex Elementary School July 16, 2009

Sussex Elementary School on Duck Creek  515 S. Woodward Dr. Baltimore, MD Baltimore, MD   Thomas Bowser, Principal

School Information  Southeast area  Enrollment 361  Grades PK - 5  40 Staff Members  PBIS Trained 2005

School Purpose  Sussex Elementary School will be an environment which supports ALL students through direct instruction and acknowledgement of positive behaviors.

Sussex Code of Conduct  I am respectful.  I am responsible.  I am safe.  I am prepared.

Sussex Referral Numbers * *Possible reasons for spike in referral numbers: Change in data system recording Change in Focus Room personnel Refinement of criteria for major referrals Incoming new students with no PBIS familiarity

Area of Need: More Good News  The School Culture and Positive Behavior Assessment Form given to parents/caregivers in 2008 showed that 20% of our population felt that they did not receive enough good news about their child. (Question 9)

Positive Intervention: More Good News  “Just Ducky” Post-it Notes The Post-it Notes are given to students in addition to the Golden Eggs. The Post-it Notes are for students to take home and share with family members since the Golden Eggs stay at school for counting.

Positive Intervention: More Good News  “Good News” Postcards Postcards were sent out by classroom teachers to every student every month from September through June. Over 3600 postcards were sent out for the school year. Percentage on survey dropped from 20% to 7%.

Area of Need: Booster Lessons Area of Need: Booster Lessons  Using the Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ) results, the PBIS Team needed a way to boost the Code of Conduct matrix lessons to continue throughout the school year.

Positive Intervention: Morning PSAs  The music teacher, along with staff and students, created Code of Conduct videos that emphasized the behavior matrix codes and school areas. The videos were televised each morning as part of the morning announcements.

Area of Need: Star Student Recognition  A weekly, monthly, and quarterly reward system was in place for acknowledging the Golden Egg program but more recognition was needed for the top students receiving star student status.  Last year only 2 students per class were recognized with an ice cream party and a craft activity of decorating a hat.

Positive Intervention: Star Student Celebration  Star Students were rewarded with an afternoon of celebration activities including: a pizza lunch with snacks, a movie, and star student t-shirts.  Names of the 75 deserving students were also announced over the morning announcements.

Contact Information  Leslie Ellis PBIS Team Leader  Thomas Bowser