At BKW, we strive to build better students and community members. From the earliest stages of school to the secondary school campus, the district has introduced a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approach. It’s a simple process that engages students to establish a positive school culture while becoming better individuals.
As part of this effort, district administrators and teachers introduce conversations surrounding areas that students can understand and demonstrate within the school community, such as Good Citizen, Respectful, Responsible, Ready to Learn, and Super Safe (GRRRS). Each component area plays a role in how students are introduced to these topics on our campus.
To learn more about this program, we’ve introduced a video to provide a glimpse into its impact for our school community:
In addition, a key and celebrated part of this approach is the “paw” incentive. For students and classrooms, this is the ultimate celebration to recognize their good work. At BKW, students can earn “paw” incentives throughout the day, week, and year when a staff member notices them demonstrating the different characteristics associated with the GRRRS program. Students learn at the start of each school year what positive behaviors are required of them across all school settings (i.e. in classrooms, the playground, hallways, the cafeteria, and buses).
As a result, the paw sheets are collected in the main office and students from each grade level are drawn and announced over morning announcements. There are also five assemblies throughout the year when students and classrooms are recognized for being Good Citizens, Respectful, Responsible, Ready to Learn, and Super Safe in front of the entire school community.
“Over the last several years we have seen a significant drop in negative student behaviors. We believe this can be directly linked to the implementation of a positive behavioral support program that gives all of our students and staff consistent language and clear expectations. When we focus our attention on positive behaviors, the climate, and culture become positive as well,” shared BKW Elementary School Principal Mrs. Landry.
“Introducing PBIS has been a culture-building process for our school campus while engaging our students with why it’s important to practice those key areas to improve our classroom experience,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mundell. “As educators, we are fortunate to build these social skills with our youngest students to give them the opportunity to learn and grow.”