GALION — The Galion Primary School was one of more than 100 schools throughout Ohio recognized for its Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program by the Ohio Department of Education. The Primary School received a Bronze Award for 2018.
The Primary School’s PBIS team, consisting of staff members Deanna Albert, Kerrie Zeuch, Cindy Conner, Katy Erlsten, Kristi Naumoff, Melisa Watters, Andrea Murphy and Kristy Grimwood meet at least once a month to analyze and make changes as needed based on data collected throughout the building.
“We continue to emphasize the “Big Rocks” for positive student behavior (Responsible, Respectful, Problem Solving Leaders),” Second Grade teacher and team member Cindy Conner said. “Primary School teachers do a great job implementing the lesson plans we develop around these principles to help students learn appropriate behaviors.”
Learning stations are located throughout the building where all students are taught the same expectations by the same people. Several learning stations link expectations to building’s The Leader in Me program.
Students learn responsibility by being asked to collect their tickets until they have 10. Once they have 10 tickets, they can trade them for a Golden Ticket.
“A student’s first Golden Ticket each month is their pass into the monthly incentive activity,” Primary School Principal and team member Melisa Watters said. “Once they have earned their Golden Ticket, they can start saving for other Golden Prizes (bring a stuffed animal to school, wear slippers for a day, eat at the Tiger Table at lunch, tell a joke on the announcements, etc), which is a “no cost” investment to allow for long term sustainability.”
The monthly incentives vary. Examples of past incentives include an Outside Game Day, Hayrides, and Indoor Game Day.
“This is another example of the incredible work by our Primary School staff to help develop well-rounded students in the Galion City School District,” Superintendent Jim Grubbs said. “The Primary School PBIS Leadership Team works diligently to find new and innovative ways to help encourage positive student decisions about their behavior, and this award is a testament to their dedication to a strong PBIS program at Galion Primary.”
