1. Acknowledgement Systems: Catch ‘em being Good
Chris Borgmeier, PhD
Portland State University

2. PBS: Defining Features
Teaching Expected Behavior
Increase Structure and Predictability by explicitly teaching Behavioral Expectations and Routines.
Reduce the mystery and chaos by making expectations explicit through formal teaching
Develop a “United Front” across all staff through consistent language & expectations
Increased Structure = Decreased Chaos = Fewer Problems

3. PBS: Defining Features
Reinforcing Expected Behavior
Teaching alone is not enough, we also need to regularly Reinforce students for following expectations
Improving the School Climate
By increasing the number of Positive Interactions between staff and students we are improving the school climate.

4. Acknowledgment Systems
Purpose:
To reinforce school rules, behavioral expectations & positive behavior
Promote a more positive school environment
School-wide 5:1 positive/negative interaction ratio
Regular school-wide celebration of positive behavior
Increase positive interactions b/w staff & students
Prompt busy adults to remember to reinforce positive behavior

5. 5 : 1 Positive Behavior Support is….
What parents, teachers, peers and others do to increase student success---the whole village!
SUCCESS
FAILURE
5 : 1

6. 5:1 ratio, it’s not just for kids
Business teams
High Performance teams = 5.6 to 1
Medium Performance teams = 1.9:1
Low Performance teams = 1 to 2.7
Losada, 1999; Losada & Heaphy 2004
Married couples that last
5.1 to for speech acts and 4.7 to 1 for observed emotions
Gottman, 1994

7. Gottman info.
predicted whether 700 newlywed couples would stay together or divorce by scoring their positive and negative interactions in one 15-minute conversation between each husband and wife. Ten years later, the follow-up revealed that they had predicted divorce with 94% accuracy.
Marriages that last:
5.1 to 1 for speech acts and 4.7 to 1 for observed emotions
Marriages likely to end in divorce:
1 (+) to1.3 (-) ratio likely to end up in divorce

8. Acknowledgment Systems
Big pay-off for limited expense
Immediate reinforcement with tokens that are accessible to all students
Link with school wide celebration of positive behavior
Lottery system helps to keep incentives cheap
Lot of kids have chance to win… but pay out is cheap
Small tangible rewards
Public recognition is often powerful
Make the program catchy – link with school rules &/or school mascot
Cougar paws, Pawsitives, Starbucks, Bravo tickets, etc.

9. To consider when developing an acknowledgment ticket
Must be Easy for Staff to use
Limit writing, and make easy to carry around - fit in pocket
If not easy to use & carry, it won’t be used
Frequent feedback for students
All staff should have tickets
ALL students should be able to access tickets & acknowledgment, even those students with most challenging behavior
At least 50% of the students should get acknowledged every 2 months

10. Train staff how to hand out Acknowledgments
“Sergio, thank you for picking up Jackie’s book for her you are being very Respectful. I want to recognize your good behavior with a Caught Being Good ticket, I really appreciate it when you follow the school rules.”
Always pair the ticket with a verbal explanation that is genuine, clear & specifically identifies the behavior
Link with school rule
It is best to provide the ticket immediately after the student engages in the behavior

11. Acknowledgement Assemblies
Part of regular school routine
Acknowledgment assemblies should happen every two weeks
Be Creative!
System & reinforcers must be developmentally appropriate
across elementary, MS & HS

12. Reinforcer Ideas Middle & High School Elementary Homework pass
Discounts at school store
Tickets to school dance
Time w/ peers
Pizza party
Social & listen to music
Lunch w/ staff
Staff serve spaghetti dinner
In-school movie
Early release from class
Class parties or cultural events
Movie tickets
Elementary
Usually any trinkets paired with public recognition
Toys
School supplies
Bubble parties

13. Websites/ Resources www.pbis.org Under on-line library Freebies

14. Acknowledgment System
What is the token going to look like?
How are we going to train staff & students to use the tickets?
How & where will tickets be turned in?
What is the schedule for Acknowledgment assembly?
How will the acknowledgment celebration/assembly work?
What reinforcers will be handed out to selected students at the acknowledgment celebration/assemblies?

15. Focus of Acknowledgment System
Beginning of year
Heavy emphasis on reinforcing all school rules & expectations
As year progresses, and specific areas of concern come up in the school
Can begin to target specific behaviors or areas in which to more heavily focus use of acknowledgment system
i.e. hallway behavior, appropriate language, etc.
Returning from breaks, or entering months in which there were higher referrals in previous years
May want to re-teach expectations & remind staff to boost up use of acknowledgments

16. Increasing Staff Buy-In
Link incentive program w/ staff incentives
Also recognize staff for using program w/ incentives
Have staff acknowledgement system
Also acknowledge staff when students is drawn
Staff Incentive ideas
Starbucks dollars
Free hour ticket to cash in for principal to cover class
Front parking spot for week/month

17. Frequently Asked Questions
Should we track Positive Referrals?
Track it broadly, not individually
Are teachers going through enough referral pads?
Are grade levels invested in the system?
How many should be given out?
Better to err on the side of more than less
Need to be genuine & verbally paired w/ reason, not handed out indiscriminately

18. Frequently Asked Questions
Shouldn’t students be expected to do these things without being rewarded?
Sure, BUT students are bringing a varied set of experiences and skills to school, unfortunately some students may not get enough acknowledgment at home
How many of you feel you get acknowledged often enough for the work you do?
This system should not replace regular verbal praise and pats on the back for students …all this system provides in addition for most students is a small piece of paper
This system is as much to help remind the adults to catch kids doing the right thing in school… we get busy and too often get caught up focusing on predominantly negative behavior
(5 to 1 ratio)

19. School-wide Foundation
It is important that an Acknowledgment system is accessible to ALL students all the time
Schools can also have other systems for recognizing students
Classroom reward system in addition to school-wide system
Incentives for most responsible class in cafeteria
Class clean bathroom award
Perfect attendance
Honor Roll

20. Tasks Develop or refine your Acknowledgment System Follow-up Tasks
Develop a process for the Acknowledgment System
How to give out & collect acknowledgment slips
Develop & distribute acknowledgement slip
Develop an Acknowledgment assembly schedule & plan assemblies
Develop a list of Reinforcers
Collect reinforcers
Train staff in details of how system will work
Follow-up Tasks
Finalized SW PBS team & meeting schedule
Developing Expectations Grid
Developing Lesson Plans
Developing a teaching schedule for School Rules