PBIS at Pine Grove Middle

A General Overview

            The main focus of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is to provide a clear system for behavioral expectations at Pine Grove Middle School. While many faculty and students may have assumptions of what is expected behavior, we cannot assume that everyone shares the same belief.  PBIS supports Performance Goal 4 as stated in the Blue Print for Progress:  All students will be educated in school environments that are safe and conducive to learning.  Through PBIS, we will work to create clear and consistent expectations for all students in order to create a safe and orderly learning environment.

 

Proactive Approach to School-Wide Discipline

Schools that implement school-wide systems of positive behavior support focus on taking a team-based system approach and teaching appropriate behavior to all students in the school. Schools that have been successful in building school-wide systems develop procedures to accomplish the following:

1. Behavioral Expectations are Defined. A small number of clearly defined behavioral expectations are defined in positive, simple, rules. Pine Grove Middle School’s Code of Conduct is:

·         Respect

·         Responsibility

2. Behavioral Expectations are Taught. The behavioral expectations are taught to all students in the building and are taught in real contexts. Teaching appropriate behavior involves much more than simply telling students what behaviors they should avoid or what they have done wrong. Specific behavioral examples are:

• Being respectful means raising your hand when you want to speak or get help. 
• Being respectful means using a person’s name when you talk to him or her.
• Being respectful means speaking with appropriate language and volume.
• Being responsible means to be on time.
• Being responsible means to be prepared with assignments and materials.
• Being responsible means to clean up your area in the cafeteria.

Behavioral expectations are taught using the same teaching formats applied to other curricula. The general rule is presented, the rationale for the rule is discussed, positive examples (“right way”) are described and rehearsed, and negative examples (“wrong way”) are described and modeled. Students are given an opportunity to practice the “right way” until they demonstrate fluent performance.

3. Appropriate Behaviors are Acknowledged. Once appropriate behaviors have been defined and taught, they need to be acknowledged on a regular basis.  PGMS has designed a formal system that rewards positive behaviors.  T.RA.C.S. are forms used by the individual teacher to reward students for being respectful and responsible.  Teachers can award T.R.A.C.S. to students, whether they teach them or not.  Students are rewarded by any staff member at any point during the day.

4. Behavioral Errors are Corrected Proactively. When students violate behavioral expectations, clear procedures are needed for providing information to them that their behavior was unacceptable. Teachers will follow the Behavior Management Process flow chart.  When addressing students about unacceptable behavior teachers will speak in an unemotional tone and inform students that their behavior does not follow TRACS.  Then teachers will state what the corrected behavior would look like referring to the teacher matrix of expectations. The student is then given an opportunity to correct “practice” the appropriate behavior.

 

PBIS WORKS!!

     Pine Grove Middle’s Positive Behavior Intervention support program (PBIS) allows students to be recognized for doing all the right things in school.  As TRACS are earned (green ticket or stamp form) they can be “spent” at the PBIS store each morning.  Business at the store has been very brisk!!

      To keep a supply of interesting items at the store throughout the year, we sure could use some help!  If any parents are able to, please consider a donation of: cash, items in very good shape that your children don’t use any more, promotional items form your work site, coupons for free or discount items, gift cards, etc., etc., etc.

      Questions can be emailed to Mrs. Dellone (jdellone@bcps.org), Mrs. Morgan (jmorgan@bcps.org) or Mrs. Pluemer (mpluemer@bcps.org).

      Items can be delivered to the office or room 56 any morning before school or after school. 

            THANKS FOR HELPING OUR STUDENTS STAY POSITIVE !!