Webster Elementary School has both a creative and delicious program – Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) – in place to help teach students safety, responsibility and respect in the classroom. While it might sound a little odd, it has become one of the most hotly anticipated programs in the school.
PBIS supports adults, often teachers, in recognizing the positive choices students make. It focuses on thanking students for meeting expectations, thereby increasing accountability. Through PBIS, students earn tickets for meeting expectations, which are turned in regularly and tallied up for rewards. The most popular award: earning a walk with the principal.
– Raj Khillian, Subway Restaurants of Arizona
Each month, the principal selects one student in each grade level who is best demonstrating PBIS expectations in action. Then, she calls the winner’s names during the morning announcements for the entire school to hear.
That same day, just before lunch, each winning student is whisked out of the classroom and taken on a walk with the principal, who heads across the street to the local Subway. The winning students are then rewarded for their great behavior with lunch and some behind-the-scenes fun before the restaurant’s lunch rush begins.
Because most students come from low-income households, transnational families or families living in homeless shelters, a day eating out is something truly special.
In addition to celebrating students, teachers are also recognized for their dedication to PBIS. They receive SUBWAY gift cards when their students win the award.