At Gulf Elementary, PBIS meets school pride in their Behavior Rubric.
Gulf Elementary’s mascot is the Eagles, so their behavior rubric is built around the acronym EAGLES.
Each Category has three associated behaviors for which students can earn or lose points. For example, students are assessed on “completing an assignment” for Engage in Learning, “expressing empathy” for Social-Emotional, and “allowing others to share” for Let Others Learn.
So how did they come up with the rubric items? Gulf Elementary turned to its students. Each grade level worked collaboratively to develop a wishlist of behavior they wanted to see on the rubric.
We LOVE this. Student buy-in is essential for PBIS to work. What better way is there to build buy-in than to bring students into the process?
Student-led PBIS also ensures your PBIS matrix truly reflects your school culture.
Giving others a voice, leading with empathy, and actively participating in the learning process are all cultural values that students at Gulf Elementary take pride in and want to grow across the community and within each individual. Their Insights data makes these shared values clear: five months into the school year and students have received 281,000 points for these PBIS expectations.
Now, back to the process of building the behavior expectations. Once each grade completed the behavior wishlist, the PBIS committee reviewed the submissions and developed the final rubric, which is called Eagle Expectations. Travel the halls of Gulf Elementary and you’ll see a bright poster boasting these PBIS expectations.