If students follow the cafeteria rules, they could be crowned a VIP and dine on the stage in the cafeteria with a friend while classmates recognize them for their behavior.
At Cranberry Station Elementary School, this is an example of an incentive under the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program, a state program intended to reward positive behavior and reduce office referrals and suspensions.
Carroll County?s Cranberry Station, Robert Moton Elementary and East Middle schools have been recognized by the state for their best practices.
Since Carroll County joined the initiative in 2002, 14 of its schools have implemented PBIS practices. More than 600 schools in the state participate in the program.
The program teaches children behaviors such as respect and responsibility, said school psychologist Dr. Melissa Leahy.
Each school defines the acceptable behaviors and what is expected of children in each area of the school, such as the classroom, hallways, cafeteria and bathroom. The schools then determine how to reward the students, such as presenting coupons.
“Each school has their own take on how they would define these behaviors,” Leahy said. “So every teacher has the same set of expectations when the kids move from one room to another.”
The program has allowed schools to decrease the number of students sent to the principal?s office, Leahy said. “We?ve done away with minor complaints and misdemeanors,” she said.
Kim Muniz, a school psychologist who worked as a coach for Robert Moton Elementary last year, said the program is proactive in dealing with behavior problems. “There?s a change in the school?s climate,” she said. “The students and staff are focusing on positive behavior.”
Leahy said some critics might fault this program as bribery, but Muniz said administrators are rewarding positive behavior after it happens, rather than giving incentives to coax a certain behavior.
