A in-depth look at what a school with a positive culture can do for students.
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
Jordan resides in Lexington, Kentucky. He has experience in Public Education as an Administrator, Science Teacher, and as a Coach. He has extensive experience with School Discipline, PBIS, SEL, Restorative Practices, MTSS, and Trauma-Informed Care.
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
How does a positive school culture affect a student’s day?
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
How does a positive school culture affect a student’s day?
That’s the question I wanted to answer when the LiveSchool team visited Freedom Crossing Academy in St. Johns County, Florida. FCA opened its doors in 2018 to K-8 students, and they have already been recognized as one of the top schools in all of Florida for their work integrating PBIS into the fabric of the school community.
We work with a ton of schools that are in all sorts of various stages of PBIS implementation. It can be a lot of work and it’s often tasked to professionals who already have too much on their plate.
Some places see results instantly, others have a hard time making it past their initial rollout.
At FCA, Assistant Principal Melissa Lime and her team have made it over the hump and are all systems go when it comes to PBIS and school culture. Administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff are all on the boat, rowing the same way.
This running diary is dedicated to highlighting the result of all that hard work; a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.
So if you are in the early stages of your PBIS rollout…keep going…it’s worth it. Keep reading to see exactly what that positive school culture looks like from a student's perspective.
8:00 am
The team and I arrived at FCA. It’s been a long journey, but I can already tell it’s going to be worth it. This is spirit week at school, and today is “Funky Falcon Spirit Day”. Most schools do spirit weeks, I have been in a lot, and they have varying levels of participation. But when I say everyone was in, believe me, everyone was in.
The falcon mascot was out and about taking selfies with students (and maybe a few LiveSchool team members) as they get off the bus.
Many students had actually made welcome signs to hold up in the car-rider line to greet their friends as they entered. All the students were in spirit wear, and all the teachers had matching “rock-your-school” shirts.
The first-period music class just happened to be “Guitar 1,” so naturally, they were lined up outside by the flagpole to provide some tunes for all that passed by on their way into the building.
The whole entrance vibe made me recall being sent off to play in a state tournament when I was (much) younger. If you’ve ever experienced that, it is a very cool feeling. Everyone is proud of you, everyone is rooting for you, and everyone wants you to do your best.
But this wasn’t a send-off…it’s just how the school day starts at FCA! The result was the same. Students entered the building knowing that they were welcome and that everyone was invested in their success. Powerful.
Now you may be asking how they got this level of participation. Very small incentives were being issued to anyone participating by volunteers from FCA’s awesome PTO.
So if students were involved or dressed in spirit wear they were getting greeted by parents with a fist bump and some very small prizes like silly bands or pencils.
8:25 am
The first stop is the LiveSchool cart. On Friday, FCA rotates which grade level can shop at the LiveSchool cart before school begins. Parents run and operate the cart:
1. They take the cart to the section of the building where the grade level of the week has their homeroom classes
2. Teachers use sticky notes to verify students have points to spend before allowing them to leave the room.
3. Students arrive at the cart and show their sticky notes to the volunteer to confirm they have the points necessary to shop.
4. Students select what they want.
5. Another volunteer with an iPad checks them out using use the LiveSchool store.
6. Students are then on their way back to class.
This is an awesome way to begin your day as a student, and you could tell from the smiles that they had been looking forward to the LiveSchool cart all week!
Need more information on building your own student rewards store? Check out episode 35 of our podcast.
8:30 am
Time to start the school day, and for us, it was time to visit some classrooms.
Next stop; 1st grade. The first classroom we entered really painted a clear picture that this wasn’t just a fun day at FCA, this was how things are.
As we entered, Neeti Gregg’s class was in the midst of their morning meeting, which is a time to look at schedules, review expectations, and intro class for the day. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by an impressive youngster at the door who instructed me to sign a poster on the wall.
That poster was the social contract that was developed by the class. It’s a set of behavior standards they all proposed and agreed upon as necessary for their success. By signing the poster I was agreeing to also adhere to that standard. So cool!
It is one thing to have expectations on the wall, it is quite another for your students to really take ownership of those expectations.😊
On a side note, this is something that comes up from a lot of our travels and correspondence…schools that create opportunities for student voice and leadership have a really positive impact on the entire community.
9:25 am
On to 2nd grade! Brooke Dougherty’s class was in the middle of their “March Madness” lesson when we entered. This consisted of an in-depth analysis of 2 different books, and then the class got to vote on a winner that would move on to the next round of their book challenge bracket. A very fun way to liven up your ELA standards!
But the fun didn’t stop with the bracket…Brooke has actually added an engagement incentive for her kiddos. When they complete the book analysis and submit their vote, they can retrieve a small basketball and shoot for LiveSchool points!
From a student's perspective, this is amazing. The number of hands going up during the lesson was off the charts…because they knew that by completing the activity correctly and really understanding the content they would get to participate in the bonus baskets opportunity at the end!
A perfect way to weave PBIS into your classroom!
10:30 am
On to 6th-grade science! When we arrived students were working in small groups on a project. What was cool about this was the level of participation as I walked around observing the groups.
All the groups had great discussions and students who understood the concepts that their teacher, Sarah Holman, had taught were actively helping others. This also just happened to align quite well with “The FCA Way” as I would certainly say that these students were
“committed to responsibility”.
There is an old adage, you get what you emphasize. In this case, students were more likely to feel a responsibility to help their peers as that was really woven into the fabric of their school. So cool to see this result play out!
11:15 am
Time to see some classroom rewards in action. For this, we visited Stephanie David’s classroom. In Stephanie’s classroom, she has set up her own store where students can spend their hard-earned points on snacks and prizes or they can use those points on some very cool free experiences.
Experiences like sitting in her chair, eating lunch with her, or they can choose her hairstyle for a day!
12:20 pm
After lunch we got to visit Cadie O’Hearn’s room. We got to see student jobs in action here! In her room, she rotates classroom jobs and students get to take ownership of how the room will be managed. Jobs like greeter, social contract manager, supplies, and even “affirmer”.
This means they are in charge of providing some extra positive vibes in the room by way of affirming their peers during class. What a cool way to improve classroom culture!
Students are awarded LiveSchool points for doing well in these roles and the class runs smoother as a result!
12:45 pm
We arrived in 5th grade to see Katie Kusiak close out her class before heading to lunch. Many teachers like to use exit slips or simply use the last couple of minutes to recap or discuss the lesson of the day.
This is a good way to check for understanding, but it does leave you with a stack of exit slips to grade or a very skewed take on understanding as only a few may participate in the discussion.
Not in Katie’s class. Her students get LiveSchool points for correctly answering questions that correlate with the content being taught that day. So students are super attentive during the lesson and when it's time to check for understanding all hands are firing up.
From a student's seat, you want to take in the information for its own value but also because you know you get a chance to put that content into action and earn some points at the end!
1:30 pm
We arrived at Aimee Wiles-Banion's elementary art class. Students were participating in a very fun activity that just simply wouldn’t be possible without the positive culture at work here.
Overhead lights are off, black lights are on, we have glow paint on the desks, and students are creating their own glow-in-the-dark jellyfish paintings.
Activities like this are hard to put together and behavior infractions can really discourage teachers from attempting this kind of lesson. The culture here allows teachers to take chances without being limited by behavior concerns.
Not only is the teacher experience better as a result but the student learning experience is far richer!
3:30 pm
Time to meet with the folks who make the FCA culture so strong; the PBIS committee! Once a month the team meets in the library to look at behavior data.
They are using any instances of exclusionary discipline and pairing them with LiveSchool-sourced classroom data to find trends and identify problems before they begin.
If they see trouble spots they know it's time to address those specifically with incentives and events that can be used to remind students of “The FCA Way” while motivating them to improve in those areas.
The Spirit Week going on during our visit was a perfect example of this! March is historically a high-behavior month, so the team decided to flip that narrative and celebrate good behavior during the first week of March!
Instead of being warned that bad behavior wouldn’t be tolerated during March and reminded of expectations… students at FCA got to start off the month celebrating all the great things they are accomplishing at school.
The specific culture we experienced at FCA may not be exactly replicable in your building. But the results are replicable. Talk with your stakeholders. What is the best version of your school? What will it take to create that version of your school?
Identify those pieces and start working towards them. I wanted to share this day with you because sometimes it's helpful to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That culture you envision for your school is real. You can do it and it’ll be worth it when you create it.
For more ideas on incorporating PBIS into your classroom check out our deep dive into getting your student council involved or read more about the magic happening at one of our fantastic partner schools: Bowmar Elementary.
All the behavior resources you need to create the positive culture your school community deserves.
