Struble Elementary kicks off fifth year of its School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Initiative
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
It’s easy to let the stresses of daily life take a toll on our ability to be a decent human being. After a long day at the office, maybe we’ll “beep” at a few too many slow drivers on the ride home. Maybe our tone is a little too aggressive toward loved ones who just want to spend a couple of minutes with us. Too often, the ideas of “respect” and “kindness” fall to the wayside, and excuses of being “busy” and “stressed” are regularly used to justify our actions.
To help students stay away from this societal trend and instill core values as early as possible, Bensalem’s Russell C. Struble Elementary is once again participating in the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Initiative. Now in its fifth year, the program provides lessons on how to incorporate positive behavior into everything students do.
“The overall concept behind PBS is to instill four characteristics within our students. We call them our four B’s. They are to be safe, to be kind, to be respectful and to be responsible,” said kindergarten teacher Kate Covey, who serves as the PBS team leader. “Our goal within the program is to have students portray those characteristics inside of school, but then to also carry them out into the community and bring them back to their home life.”
During the academic year, students in kindergarten through sixth grade learn how they can practice the four B’s anywhere they are, whether it’s the hallway, cafeteria, bathroom, playground or classroom. Teachers incorporate a variety of lessons into the curriculum to showcase each B, including stories for the younger students and role playing, all of which demonstrate how to practice positive behavior. To help remind students of the four B’s, easy-to-follow rubrics are posted around the school.
“Students can visually see that this is the expectation in the hallway, this is the expectation on the bus,” said Struble principal Lana Judy. “And then if a child does have a minor or a major infraction, when they come into my office, as the principal, I will constantly ask those questions and reinforce.”
For the students who do find themselves in Judy’s office, they can expect to have a productive conversation rather than receive instant punishment. In these situations, Judy will hold fast to the idea of the four B’s, asking questions such as “was that being safe?” “was that being respectful?” and “was that decision a kind decision?” According to Judy, the students are usually honest with her, and understand how they could’ve made a better choice in their actions.
A major highlight of PBS is that it’s rewards-based. If a student is seen practicing a B by a staff member, they’re granted a Struble 200 Ticket. Once a student receives a ticket, they’re called to the school counselor’s office the following morning, where they choose a popsicle stick with a number on it. That number corresponds to cards on a massive bulletin board. Once the board has 10 cards on it, those 10 students get a surprise reward called a Mystery Motivator.
“Through those Struble 200 Tickets, these four B’s are just constantly being reinforced and the students are being rewarded for their behavior,” Covey said.
At Struble, the four B’s go both ways. Just as the students show respect and kindness to teachers and administrators, Struble staff does the same. Students are surveyed on rewards they’d like to receive and types of assemblies they’d be interested in seeing.
“By allowing the students to make their voice heard and to kind of advocate for themselves, it gives them a part of ownership of the program,” Covey said. “That makes them feel valued. It makes them feel wanted and important in their school. They’re not just another face.”
Judy shared a similar sentiment.
“When you have children that are going to come to school and feel welcomed and valued and respected, that will directly impact student achievement as well,” she said. “Over time, you see great growth and improvement in decision making.”
As part of the PBS initiative, a number of events are held to drive home the idea of the four B’s and serve as an extra Mystery Motivator. The first took place on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 20, when Struble welcomed BMX bikers.
“The students and the staff loved that event,” Covey said. “It was high energy. It was impactful. They incorporated things about how to be safe.”
The remainder of the 2018–19 Mystery Motivator events are being kept under wraps for now, but Covey promised she and her fellow teachers work tirelessly to make each year’s surprises better than the last.
“It’s kind of like we’re competing with ourselves to make it a better program,” she said.
Covey explained that although there is a core team of nine teachers who lead the PBS initiative, every educator at Struble has a hand in its success. Currently, there are 11 subcommittees of teachers who are involved.
“It’s really a school philosophy with everyone being a part of it, everybody owning this philosophy and making it a part of their everyday curriculum inside of their classroom,” she said. “It’s not a select group of teachers. Everybody’s involved, which makes it just more powerful.”
In addition to her fellow teachers, Covey also credits Judy for helping PBS thrive.
“Our team is successful because of Mrs. Judy’s trust in us as educators. She trusts us to do what is best for our students and school at large,” Covey said.
Since its inception five years ago, Struble’s PBS initiative has expanded to all elementary schools in the Bensalem School District. Covey and her team have also received recognition outside of the community. Last May, they were invited to give a presentation at the state conference in Hershey for school-wide positive behavior support, which they hope to attend again this year. ••
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
