Greenville was able to attack this head on and instituted a PBIS system called PAX. PAX is a universal preventative intervention system focused on student ownership of behavior. Almost all kindergarten – fourth grade teachers were sent to be PAX trained. While getting teachers and students to change their mind set from a punishment system to a positive behavior system is not always easy, Greenville Elementary has had great student and teacher buy in. This has created a positive student and teacher community focused on doing good things.
As you enter our Elementary today, you will notice the elements of PAX everywhere. You will see teachers focusing on praising students for doing the correct things and many times their verbal praise is coupled with incentives. Some teachers give their own form of prizes called “Granny’s Wacky Prizes”. Another incentive you may see involves popcorn tickets being given to those with positive behavior. Popcorn tickets are then put into their classroom bucket, giving them a chance in a drawing to receive a bag of popcorn from the concession stands on Fridays. However, the prize most loved is being a “Wave Wonder”. Each month, one student from each class is chosen to have a special lunch with Mr. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Copas, and then Mr. Fitzgerald plays a game with those kids after their lunch. One student said, “Being a Wave Wonder was already the best thing of this school year!”. Another student said, “It was so much fun to be able to spend time with Mrs. Copas and Mr. Fitz. I loved playing Zombie tag with him!”. As you can tell, PBIS and PAX are no longer just an intervention system but rather have become the driving force for the positive culture of our school.
Written by Jake Fitzgerald, Greenville Elementary School Asst. Principal