Perkiomen Valley School District Seeks to Reinforce Positive Behaviors Through New Program

COLLEGEVILLE – Perkiomen Valley School District will be rewarding good student and staff behavior this year through the School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (SWPBIS) approach, an initiative that kicked off at South Elementary School during the first month of the 2016-17 school year.

An SWPBIS approach teaches behavioral expectations in the same manner as any core curriculum subject, and stresses character traits such as respect and responsibility. Faculty and staff are trained on how to reinforce and reward positive behavior in all areas of the school, from the classroom and the bus, to the cafeteria and the playground.

“After investigating what other school districts across the state were doing to promote positive social and behavioral results for their students, and in consultation with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and PaTTAN (PA Technical Training Assistance Network), we decided as a District to implement this tiered framework of behavior intervention support starting at Evergreen Elementary in the 2015-16 school year, continuing with South Elementary this year, and expanding to our other two elementary schools in future years,” said Ann Marie Lucas, District level coordinator for SWPBIS. “The enthusiasm and energy during the SWPBIS kickoff assembly at South was exciting to witness and we feel encouraged as we move forward with this multi-year approach to promoting a positive school climate.”

South Elementary School faculty and staff spent the 2015-16 school year participating in professional development activities to develop a SWPBIS decision-making framework to further enhance academic and behavioral outcomes for students. The school came up with a framework to stress that students, faculty and staff should be “Respectful & Responsible, Safe, and Kind.” Signs have been created for all areas of the school providing students with guidance on how they can be respectful, responsible, safe, and kind wherever they may be. For example, in the hallways, students can be responsible by staying in a single file line and facing forward. They can be safe by using handrails in the stairwells or reporting problems to staff members. They can be respectful by keeping their hands and feet to themselves and being quiet as they pass through the halls.

South Principal Dave D’Andrea spent much of the first week of school introducing the concept to students through televised morning announcements and during lunches. Teachers and other staff members also reinforced the program during their instructional time with students. Parents were introduced to the program through an email message sent following the building kick-off assembly on Sept. 30th.

When students are observed exhibiting the one or more of the South behavioral expectations, they are given tokens with numbers that correspond to spaces on a board in the school lobby for the “South 200 Club.” The child’s name goes onto a magnet that is placed on the board. Parents are notified by a phone call whenever their child gets a magnet to place on the board. Once 10 magnets in appear in a row, those 10 students receive a certificate and a “mystery reward.” Faculty and staff can also receive prizes (such as a primo parking spot in front of the school) for nominating students on a regular basis.

Skippack Elementary School is beginning the professional development phase of SWPBIS this year, and those involved include everyone from the principal and secretarial staff to faculty members and bus drivers. The intent is to secure grant funding so that the approach can be implemented in all buildings to promote positive social behaviors across the entire school community.