The Importance of Community in SWPBS Robin Smith, Principal Jennifer Ray, School Counselor Roane County Schools

A Little About Ridge View Roane County- high poverty rural area Population of Rockwood 5494 Median household income is $29, students 77% Free or Reduced Lunch Pre-K through 5 th grade

Rockwood, Tennessee The goal of our School Wide Behavior Program is to help prepare our children to be successful members of their community beginning at 5 years old.

Each year our focus has changed Began with faculty and students then moved to community

Year One Make sure the faculty has a true understanding of the purpose of SWPBS Build trust in the process/buy-in Make the SWPBS team non-exclusive and open to all those who wanted to participate. Include students & parents. Divide into smaller sub teams to establish expectations for students. Present expectations to staff for input and suggestions. (missing link) Review and edit lesson plans if needed for the expectations matrix Talked extensively among staff about process and the role each staff member played in making it successful

Involve the Students Rewarding Appropriate Behavior Works at Every School! They experience success! School culture begins to change for the better!

Second Year: Focus on Teaching Expectations in Depth to Students Don’t Just Tell Them What Not To Do… …Teach Them What You Want Them To Do Instead

THE COMMUNITY NEEDED TO BE INVOLVED! Something Was Still Missing!

THAT HAS BEEN THE FOCUS OF YEAR 3 AND 4 4 We realized we needed to take the school to the community first and then work on getting the community to the school!

What Were The Challenges in Doing This? Our parents were not comfortable at school. The sense of the school being the center of the town was gone. Many uneducated community members felt inadequate to get involved. Families and community did not know HOW to get involved.

How do we involve them? Gather staff members who are respected in the community and who know others in the community. Plan some events that were fun and non- threatening and ask for their help. Market!!!!! Put together a marketing team to spread the word about the positives in the school.

What Community Events Took Place A Community Clean-Up Day for the school. Saturday, High School kids, parents, students and staff. Cleaned, painted and repaired. Local church provided hotdogs and chips.

What Community Events Took Place Back to School Pool Party. Held at the community center pool. Local churches donated backpacks with school supplies. Scheduled by grade levels. Teachers came to meet students, eat pizza and swim with students.

What Community Events Took Place Pumpkin Patch. Held downtown at a park next door to a local church. The community was able to walk to participate and many did. S’Mores, Face- Painting, Storytelling, pumpkin decorating were part of the fun!

What Community Events Took Place Veterans Day Program Invited Local Veterans through handwritten invitations to attend a celebration and thank you for their dedication to our country. Many veterans attended including a group of veterans from the local nursing home facility.

A Day of Remembrance Fifth grade students studied the Holocaust in great detail. Research projects were done. Had a memorial in the town square where victims names were read and a bell was rung for each one. Candles were lit by the audience for each name. The entire community were invited and many attended.

Unity Day Against Bullying The Utility Company brought out their bucket truck. Local news reporters were on site. Staff, kids and families stood united.

Christmas Tree Fun Each class decorated a tree for a local business that was on display in that business lobby. Teachers tried to theme them to fit the business itself. Many businesses invited the students to their offices/stores and gave them hot chocolate and cookies as a thank you.

The Results show…. The community shares the vision of the school as evidenced by the increase in participation of school events. Every event includes an element of SWPBS whether through conversation or tickets being given. SWPBS vocabulary is used at all events. Businesses have been more willing to help with incentives and recognition. Students are learning about the community in which they live and are learning to share a mutual respect with the community.

Families who feel comfortable coming to school, who feel a sense of ownership and a shared vision for respectful, ready and responsible children.

Questions and Answers? Robin Smith- Jennifer Ray-