The Target School Profile
Putnam County Middle School is a public school in Eatonton, Georgia. Eatonton is a city and holds a seat in Putnam County. As of 2016, the population of Eatonton is 6,555; of this population 48 percent is female and 52 percent is male. Race demographics include 63 percent black or African American, 30 percent white or Caucasian American, and 7 percent other (Native American, Pacific Islander, two or more races). Nineteen percent of the people in this city does not have a high school diploma. Eighty-one percent has some form of college or an associate’s degree. Nine percent has a bachelors or higher. The city was named after an officer and diplomat in the First Barbary War, William Eaton. Eatonton is known as the dairy capital of the world. Popular attractions include Lake Oconee and Rock Eagle. The average household income in Eatonton is $28,949.
Putnam County Middle School is located on Sparta Highway in Eatonton, Georgia. It is a middle school servicing middle grades (6-8). With 731 students enrolled, the student to teacher ratio is 16:1. Putnam County Middle School is the only public middle school in the counties school district. Putnam Middle has over 70 faculty and staff members, including Monica Macklin, one of the Assistant Principals. Mrs. Macklin started at Putnam County Middle school in 2017 as a math teacher where she quickly moved into a leader role as an assistant principal.
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Putnam County is a title one school; meaning they do receive federal assistance because of the high percentage of students that come from low income households. At Putnam Middle, they do take the Georgia Milestones assessment. In which, Mrs. Monica Macklin stated “We are trying to move away from it”. They are currently trying to find an assessment that compares to the Georgia Milestones, in which they hope that this will be their last year (2019-2020) taking the Georgia Milestones assessment. She also stated that they have not received the data from the previous school term, therefore, she could not provide me with this information. Mrs. Macklin informed me of the requirements students must meet in order to be promoted to the next grade level. Student must pass all four content area subjects; English language arts, math, science and social studies to promoted to the next grade. They must also perform at 80 percent or higher on content areas measured by common assessments. Additionally, they must earn a grade of 80 percent or higher in connection classes, and meet annual Lexile and math proficiency scores. Eighth graders must earn a proficient score on the state English language arts and math assessments to be promoted to the ninth grade. The district CCRPI score is a 75.4, with Putnam County Middle School earning, 16.826 proportional points, the lowest of the schools in the district. The school received 29 achievement points, 30.9 progress points, 6.7 achievement gap points, 3.3 challenge points in the area of ED/EL/SWD performance points. They received 2 stars for financial efficiency rating and the school climate rating was unavailable. Putnam County Middle School’s score is a 77.4.
At Putnam County Middle, Mrs. Macklin stated they believe in what they call the “Putnam Way”. Meaning the traditional Georgia way, with the best interest of the students! Their mission is to “Inspire, Innovate, and Excel”. The behavior management plan at Putnam Middle has some qualities of PBIS, but not in its entirety. Behavior is managed by teachers and administrators depending on the offence and reoccurring occurrence. Minor infractions such as; class room disruptions, repeatedly off task behaviors, dishonesty, horseplay, dress code, not following directions, excessive noise, etc. are handled by the teacher. When students exhibit these behaviors teachers follow with one or more of the following consequences; silent lunch, detention, loss of free time privileges, seat moved, parent contact, etc. at the teacher’s discretion. Major infractions such as; disrespect, defiance, inappropriate language, leaving assigned areas without permission, verbal aggression, etc. are handled by administrators. When students exhibit these behaviors; the following consequences are to follow; ISS (in school suspension), OSS (Out of school suspension), alterative school, detention, at the administrator’s discretion. Of course these consequences depend on; occurrences and many other factors.
I also asked Mrs. Macklin about positive reinforcement used to encourage and promote good behavior with students. She stated that they use the acronym S.O.A.R which means Self Control, On Task, Acceptance, and Respect. Overall, teachers use their own discretion when rewarding students, however, the school does use a few mechanisms, school wide, to promote good behavior. Putnam Middle also does student of the month; each teacher nominates a student that exhibits classroom leadership. Another incentive that is used is school wide celebrations every 9 weeks. Students are allowed to purchase treats from concessions, bouncy houses with field day activities. To attend this incentive, students must be passing all classes, connections and content areas, and they must not have any referrals, no minor or major referrals. Lastly, students are also able to earn “PCMS Positive Behavioral Referrals”, in which teachers are allowed to complete a form that asks the teacher to explain the student’s positive behavior that they have exhibited. The teacher then submits it into a box for the entire grade level. Once a week, administration pulls referrals from each grade level box and reads it on the intercom system. Mrs. Macklin expressed how this incentive really works with the students and they really like hearing their name and their SOARing behaviors acknowledged so that the entire school can hear them.
When I spoke with Mrs. Macklin in regards to the problem areas in the school, she stressed “disrespect”. She did express that she felt that every teacher’s definition of disrespect is different. She also gave me an example of what she would consider “disrespectful”. And how disrespect and manifest into defiance. “When a teacher asks a student to do something within reason such as; change their seat. The student should do it with no response. When the student begins to ask why they have to move, refuses to move, or justifies their actions, that is defiance.” Macklin expressed how there is a zero tolerance for defiance. When Mrs. Macklin was asked about areas of improvement, she stated that Putnam County Middle School needed improvement in the area of school climate and culture. She also stated that she believed that this needed to start with administration. She also assured me that the administration team was well on their way to creating a culture and climate for all to follow; faculty, staff, parents, students and the community.
PBIS leadership team
The PBIS leadership team is a group of dedicated faculty and staff who are devoted to the widespread PBIS program in a specific target school. This group must be vigorously contributing to the ongoing progress and success of its students and school. The PBIS leadership team needs to have a representative of the student population and the staff population and the community. The student population could be a representative from the student government and the community representative can be a member from the schools PTO.
The staff needs to have a representative from administration, general education teachers, special education teachers, counselors and paraprofessionals. This team will be responsible for creating the PBIS action plan for the school, observing behavior statistics, planning and executing consistent meetings on a monthly basis, communicating with staff, gauging progress and recording results. The leader, or the chairperson of the PBIS team should be someone who is familiar with PBIS, its origin and its purpose. This person should also believe in PBIS and what it can do. The following roles can also be fulfilled by faculty and staff; a recorder, time keeper, data specialist, behavioral specialist, secretary, and treasurer. These meetings would take place in a disclosed location.
PBIS Matrix
I designed this matrix based on the matrix Putnam County Middle School already has and enhanced it based on the information Mrs. Monica Macklin provided to me in our interview session. Mrs. Macklin spoke about how the matrix is simple and it works because it is simple. I added to it to address the disrespect, in which, she stated was the number one area for office referrals at Putnam County Middle School. In the matrix I did not directly address disrespect, but countered it with respect. Instead of telling the students what is not expected of them, I created the matrix to tell them what is expected of them. I spoke about disrespect in the hallway, classroom, cafeteria, assembly and emergency/drills.
Hallways
Classroom
Restroom
Cafeteria
Assembly/Emergency /Drills
Self-Control
Stay with your class.
Keep moving to your destination
Be on time.
Avoid being rude and disruptive
Be patient with myself and others
Work cooperatively
Develop an “I can” attitude
Be organized and focused
Be an active and engaged learner
Learn from my mistakes
Report problem
Encourage good behavior
Keep area clean
Discard food or drink prior to enter auditorium
Enter and exit quietly and orderly
Avoid prohibited activities
Take care of the facilities
On- Task
Walk on the right side of the hallway.
Get all materials in/out of locker quickly.
Have a pass from your teacher.
Take advantage of all academic opportunities
Put forth my best effort
Get in, get out
Wash hands
Keep it clean
Enter and exit quietly and orderly
Wait turn in line
Remain seated
Enter and exit quietly and orderly
Stay in designated area
Pay attention
Acceptance
Honor other students’ learning.
Respect others’ space.
Use appropriate language.
Be on time and prepared
Complete and turn in all assignments
Make responsible decisions
Accept appropriate consequences
Avoid prohibited activities
Take care of the facilities
Use good manners
Keep cafeteria clean
Be aware of emergency procedures
Respond safely and seriously in a drill
Respect
Be respectful.
Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
Keep hallways clean and clear.
Stay to the right and keep moving
Use proper volume level
Remain in dress code
Be courteous to guests
Respect myself
Follow adult directions
Use business language
Use proper volume level
Keep hands, feet and objects to myself
Respect individual privacy
Be courteous
Keep hands, feet and objects to myself
Follow adult directions
Use business language
Use proper volume level
Keep hands, feet and objects to myself
Follow adult directions
Speak only when permitted
Use business language
Use proper volume level
Report problems
Encourage good behavior
Putnam County Middle School Roll-Out Schedule
The type of behavioral interventions that would be for Tier I would be; positive reinforcement, stress control, proximity control, reassurance, daily planner, frequent home contact. The consequences for level 1 violations would include, but not limited to; reflection sheet, minor office referrals, take away privileges, removal from room, etc. The type of behavioral interventions that would be for Tier II would be; self-monitoring, peer tutoring, reward system, RTIs (Response to Intervention), mentoring, etc. The consequences for level 2 violations would include, but not limited to; check in, check out, structured breaks, counselor referral, daily behavior form, behavior contract, etc. The type of behavioral interventions that would be for Tier III would be; RTIs (Response to Intervention), reward system, sensory tools, the praise game, time out, teach conflict resolution skills, etc. The consequences for level 3 violations would include, but not limited to; alternatives to suspension, daily behavior form, counselor referral, check in check out, behavior intervention plan, etc.
Having students “buy-in” works from the top down; in order to have a successful PBIS program. Administration has to be fully invested into the program in order to get the faculty, staff, parents, students and community invested. If administration isn’t going to implement it, why would the staff, faculty, parents, students, and community make the effort?
A way to get staff, faculty, parents, students, and community to buy-in to PBIS would be is to create a daily point system. Set a daily goal for faculty and staff for teachers to see how many points they are expected to award each day. This will allow teachers to keep PBIS on their brain throughout the day. The more aware they are of the daily points and goals, the more they will award points. This helps students become more accustomed to awarding points, allowing the program to become more effective. Another way to get the community involved is to invite local politicians to school events invite politicians to school events. Have student PBIS team leaders give the community leaders and representatives a tour around the school showing and explaining the behavioral expectations, the matrix of behavioral techniques, the program, and discuss how each behavior was taught to the entire school. Have the students talk about what PBIS means to them?
Implementation Schedule
July15-21 (Leadership Team)
- Set expectations for students (2 hours)
- This should involve the administration, faculty, staff, cafeteria staff, janitorial staff, teachers, counselors.
- Create a list of desired behaviors (1 hour)
- Create a PBIS Matrix (2 hours)
July 23-27 (Leadership Team/ Teachers)
- Develop lesson plans for faculty and staff for teachers and staff workshops to implement PBIS. (2 days)
- These lessons should be taught to teachers, faculty and staff to help them successfully implement PBIS in their classrooms.
- PBIS leadership team lead workshops (for faculty and staff) (3 days)
July 30 - August 1(Leadership Team)
- Come up with a data entry system (4 hours)
- What system will be used to enter data
- Who will enter data
- Create award/recognition program: Leadership team should use rapport with students in order to determine the rewards that could be offered to students. If the students like the rewards, they now they want to participate in the program because they want to earn rewards and participate in programs. (1 day)
- Decide on a discipline process for the entire school: Putnam County Middle School already has a discipline rigor scale score. Mrs. Macklin provided with me with this grid and told me that I was not able to share it with anyone. The PBIS team could start with this grid. (1 day)
- Plan out implementation- It has already been established that this year is a planning year, and the PBIS program will not be fully implemented until next school year. This time will allow the team to fully plan out the implementation and make all visuals needed for the school and faculty and staff. (4 hours)
August 2 - 3
- Introduce the PBIS program to students (1 day)
- Assembly to kick off full implementation of program
- Go over Matrix, expectations, rewards and consequences with students
- Dedicate specific time in the day where teachers teach PBIS lessons to students (mandatory) (2 hours)
October 1
- Begin providing incentives for positive behavior
May 1
- Evaluate the program to determine success progress and PBIS going back to the drawing board.
Throughout the Year and Summer
- Continuously develop faculty commitment, buy-in, and participation
Monitoring
Putnam County Middle will use SWIS software to collect, summarize, and analyze student behaviors. This program will allow the leadership team to not only collect data, but make decisions to cater to the student success at Putnam County Middle. The PBIS team leader and data specialist will analyze data and report back to the team for decision making for the PBIS program. Data should be tracked; daily, monthly, every 9 weeks (quarterly), ever semester, and yearly to improve data results and supports. In SWIS, data can be organized by the type of referral, the incident, location, etc. SWIS will allow the PBIS team to adjust the areas, locations, staff, and behaviors that need work, support and/or improvement. At Putnam County Middle School, teachers are also offered incentives for exhibiting great behaviors such as; jean passes and Amazon gift cards. The data for students will also be tracked using the “Big 7”, SWIS reports focus on these 7 aspects of discipline referrals. it is vital that we know the who, what, when, where and how aspect of each referral to minimize the occurrences of incidents. Knowing the number of referrals per day each month, can tell the PBIS team the average incidents that occur each day. Which days do a specific behavior occur the most. Once the PBIS team figures that much out, then they can set plans, goals, initiatives in place to stop or prevent the behaviors. The location of where students are exuding this behavior, can tell us where their needs to be more support or supervision of students. The type of behaviors that are more frequent among a specific population of students or location. This focus area can tell us the overall problem area(s) of the school or grade level. Referrals by grade level can tell us what needs to be worked on in a specific grade level.
Annual Assessment of Program Implementation
Putnam County Middle School does not use any form of PBIS assessment for their schools. The PBIS team should implement the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI). This assessment will be a great way for the PBIS team to self-assess its program. This assessment is an either it is or it isn’t present type of assessment. TFI should be given at the end of the academic school year. I think that it can also be given at any time of the year to self-assess the program and what needs to be done. Not all changes have to take place at the end of the school year. I think that this is the best mechanism that is provided for startup PBIS programs. It entails what a PBIS design program should have. The data collected from the assessment should be used to fix the areas that need improvement for the following school year.
References
- Pbisworld.com. (2019). PBISWorld.com Tier 3 Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports. [online] Available at: https://www.pbisworld.com/tier-3/ [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
- Pbis.org. (2019). Implementation Blueprint. [online] Available at: https://www.pbis.org/blueprint/implementation-blueprint [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
- Gadoe.org. (2019). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. [online] Available at: https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education-Services/Pages/Positive-Behavioral-Interventions-and-Support.aspx [Accessed 17 Aug. 2019].
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