PBIS

As a part of the Multi-tiered System of Supports intervention program of North Carolina, Gravelly Hill Middle School has adapted a PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports) system to promote a positive behavioral intervention system to meet the needs of each student who attends our school. The goal of PBIS is to reward students who are meeting and exceeding the behavioral expectations of GHMS, while providing a supporting structure for students who require behavior interventions to best support their individual needs.

Gravelly Hill Middle School's PBIS matrix of rules are guided by "ROAR," which promotes a consistent expectation that students are Respectful, On Task, Always Safe, and Responsible at school. Our ROAR matrix can be viewed here. The matrix is posted in each classroom to ensure that the same rules are followed everywhere there are students on campus.

In the event that a student chooses to not follow our ROAR matrix, a student will receive a behavior infraction from a staff member that will be marked in their student planner, which is expected to be with a student at all times. The infraction will be marked by a number and staff initials. The number will indicate a chosen behavior that correlates with a list at the bottom of each planner week, stating what type of behavior occurred. Students will receive the following behavior consequences for the number of infractions given by each teacher in a given week: Behavior Consequence List. At the beginning of the next week, student infractions return to zero and each student receives a fresh start to make good decisions.

When a student demonstrates a behavior that goes above and beyond the expectations set by our ROAR matrix, a teacher may stamp a Grizzly Paw in the student's planner. Each Monday during homeroom students will receive a Grizzly Buck for each Grizzly Paw stamp they earned the prior week.

Each week, parents or guardians are expected to sign the planner to let the teacher know that they have reviewed the planner's contents. There is a space for comments where a parent may communicate back with the teacher or where a teacher may have added a note from the week.

Each quarter, students can earn the privilege of attending a PBIS Reward Party, where they get to choose to engage in activities such as outdoor time, a movie, laptop games, board games with friends, and more. At the beginning of the quarter, students are told what will qualify them for the PBIS Reward Party. During the first quarter, for example, a student must get no more than three infractions for seven out of the nine weeks in order to be able to attend the PBIS Reward Party. Homeroom teachers track this information each week. Students who are assigned In School Suspension or Out of School Suspension are not eligible to attend the PBIS Reward Party for the quarter in which they are suspended.

If a student demonstrates that they need more support than Tier I of PBIS provides, students will move to Tier II of PBIS implementation. Within Tier II, a student may join our Check-In Check-Out program. Students participating in this program will meet with a staff mentor before and after school. The mentor will help the student set goals for the day. Throughout the day, the student will present each teacher with their behavioral goals chart. The teacher will mark, each class period, whether or not the behavioral goals were accomplished. This way, the student can visually see a direct correlation between chosen behaviors and consequences in a timely manner. At the end of the day, the mentor and student will celebrate the goals that were accomplished and brainstorm ways to improve upon the goals that were not accomplished. Each week, these students have the opportunity for a reward based on the number of goals they accomplish. Each night, parents/guardians sign the behavioral goal sheet so that they are also informed of behaviors and effectiveness of the Tier II plan.