PBIS: Year Four

Cannon Falls Elementary is very excited to build upon the success of our first three years of PBIS implementation. The whole school has been a part of the PBIS initiative, creating a more peaceful, respectful learning environment throughout the school. We look forward to another successful year of PBIS at Cannon Falls Elementary as we strive to increase respect for everyone at our school!  

Cannon Falls Schools keeps it R.E.A.L!
Respect + Effort + Attitude = LEARNING!

Cannon Falls Elementary School is proud to practice Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS).  Through the generosity of an implementation grant provided by the Minnesota Department of Education, a leadership team is receiving two years of training in developing our PBIS system and will continue to receive access to ongoing professional development activities and support.  

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports is a framework from which good behavior is systematically described and taught through expectations and rewarded when observed. An example is a teacher complementing a student who is walking quietly in the hall instead of verbally quieting other students.

PBIS encourages:

• Direct teaching of positive, expected behaviors in all locations of the building.
• Frequent positive reinforcement of behavioral expectations.
• Public acknowledgement of positive behavior.
• Consistent consequences for rule violations. 

PBIS exists to improve school-wide pro-social behavior, by implementing consistent wording and expectations for all staff to use when reinforcing positive behaviors. The expectation is to witness gradual improvement of social behavior in all students and staff throughout our school as well as the community of Cannon Falls. Our school strives to "Keep It R.E.A.L!" when it comes to PBIS!

Expectations:

There are behavior expectations for the hallways, cafeteria, commons areas, bathrooms, classrooms, buses, and recess playgrounds as well as other smaller environments. These expectations are taught to children and all staff members. All expectations focus on respect, effort, and attitude.  From bus drivers and lunchroom helpers to teachers, all follow the same set. After expectations have been taught, the PBIS leadership team in our school evaluates discipline referrals to determine where additional lessons – cool tools – should be focused.

Rewards:

Students and staff at Cannon Falls Elementary are recognized for meeting behavior expectations through praise and the distribution of Keep It R.E.A.L! tickets. If your child mentions that s/he earned a Keep It R.E.A.L! ticket or even brings it home to show you, give them a high five and ask them to tell you how they earned it. You'll enjoy learning about how they follow the rules at school.

Children are encouraged to put their Keep it R.E.A.L! tickets in our weekly school-wide drawings.  If drawn, they'll get their picture in our local newspaper The Beacon as well as our website. Eventually, they may also earn a place on the wall of fame, or other incentives such as a speed pass for the lunch line, VIP seating during assemblies, or their photo taken with the staff member of their choice.

The big award comes when an entire class earns a "Keep It R.E.A.L!" Ticket – classrooms are in competition with each other to see who can get the most. These certificates can be seen displayed in many classroom windows.

Also, our students participate in Celebrations of Good Behavior every twelve weeks to mark their successes. After reaching certain school-wide goals, there will be school-wide celebrations, including "Drop Everything And Read" time, math games, and special science activities, as well as fun and exciting assemblies to thank our students for always being well-behaved!