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The Problem

Like many schools implementing PBIS, we tried paper bucks and behavior tickets. We tried tracking behavior on a spreadsheet. It was a mess. I said, “There has to be a better way.” Then we found LiveSchool.

The Solution

Behavior bucks were burdensome to our staff, produced no data for us as administrators, and had huge issues with inconsistency. We were researching programs in the summer and found LiveSchool and it solved so many of the pain points we were having.

With our staff, we started by discussing discipline challenges and looking at our behavior data from last year. We discussed the role of school-wide behavior expectations, better data, and building relationships with our students. LiveSchool was the tool to tie these elements together, giving teachers a single place to go to award behavior points, track comments and negative behavior, and share progress data with students and parents.

Most of our teachers bought in immediately. As we began handing out the weekly paychecks, students would even hold teachers accountable - they would actually ask for more opportunities to earn points. In fact, for the teachers who did not buy in right away, one of the things that won them over was the enthusiasm of the students for the system. We had a kind of positive peer pressure that got our entire community involved, and you can see in our data the level of usage that created.

Designing a School Store

I wanted a physical place. I wanted a place kids had to walk in and make decisions with their money. It was also important I could lock it up since we had so many items. Part of my motivation came from what I saw at Chuck E. Cheese and other stores kids love to go to. Then I asked “what do my students want?” I had to be careful in how I set the prices of items - too low and students would buy them all up, and too high and students wouldn’t be interested.

At the end of the year, students could use their excess points to buy raffle tickets. The more extra points you had, the more tickets you could buy. Then I did a raffle for some final big ticket items, which kept our students engaged and motivated through the end of the year.

The Results

Here's what the students of Peeple's Middle School had to say about the changes:

"What I like about LiveSchool is that you can behave and get all the points that you desire!!!!! When I first found out about it I was in shock, I couldn't wait to receive my first paycheck."

"I think that what I like most about it is that it tells me what I am doing wrong and that I should fix it and it shows me what I do good and tells me to keep up the good work."

"I like LiveSchool because if we have enough points we can pay for a ticket to wear jeans, have dances, and buy a ticket to go to basketball games and see the students play against the teachers."

Your School's Turn

There are six clear takeaways from the process at PMS that you can take to your campus:

1. Teach Financial Literacy

Some students will spend all their points on snacks. That’s okay, but we’re encouraging them to save. We’re always encouraging our students to save their points for something bigger, teaching them a valuable lesson.

2. Cold Call Students

Many teachers use LiveSchool to select a random student to cold-call for a question. The student can earn a point right away for participation, and it keeps the momentum positive in the classroom.

3. Fundraise From Local Businesses

We’ve taken money from a local hospital who has “adopted” our school. They give us $1,500 per year. That helps us pay for incentives that get our students extremely motivated.

4. Trivia Question of the Day

Each day, we read an academic trivia question on the loudspeaker. Students submit their answers to a box in the cafeteria at lunch. The next day, we pick a name and announce them over the loudspeaker - they get a 50 point bonus!

5. Incentivize Parent Participation

We were having a challenge with getting parents out to back to school night, so we offered a LiveSchool points bonus for parents attending. It had a big impact on parents coming out because the students were nagging them to get to school!

6. Students as Cheerleaders

Students were the biggest cheerleaders for us to get all our teachers using the system. When some teachers would forget to give out points, students would be proactive and ask for opportunities to earn points in class.