Through the years, the PBIS committee has worked hard to incentivize the good behavior of hard-working students as well as create goals for other students to work hard towards. On October 28th and 29th, the PBIS held the Java Jamboree as the 1st quarter celebration to celebrate the students that had 90% attendance, no more than 3 referrals, no more than 3 tardies and 0 OSS, ASP or social suspension.

The event treated qualifying students to free hot chocolate or iced coffee, celebrating their achievements

Senior Logan Wright felt appreciated for being able to take part.

“…I’m being rewarded for being here.” Wright said “It was very thoughtful. They spent money to get us those things for us so that was pretty sweet.

However, Wright thinks this wouldn’t change his behavior moving forward, saying that’s simply “the kind of person [he] is.”

On the contrary, Senior Eva Throgmorton doesn’t see the usefulness of the event.

“It’s [freaking] stupid,” Throgmorton said. “The coffee tastes like [crap]. …It’s really [freaking] stupid.”

Despite some mixed reactions, PBIS organizers emphasize that events like the Java Jamboree serve a much larger purpose.

“With PBIS, it stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Support,” Social worker, Amy Prudencio said,

“There’s a lot that goes into that. We are a team of teachers and faculty and administrators that meet together to come up with ideas using both data as well as different strategies, suggestions on ways we can help promote a positive school environment, a culture of managing both the academic expectations but bringing some fun into the school.” Prudencio said.

Furthermore, the quarterly incentives, like the Java Jamboree, have shown positive data results when it comes to students’ behavior and attendance. These incentives give something for students to work towards.

For example, the semester incentive, which allows students with a “B” or higher to earn extra points or even skip an exam—has proven to be a strong motivator.

The Java Jamboree was just the beginning. The next PBIS incentive, happening in November, will treat all students with zero disciplinary referrals to free pizza. This way there’s a variety of goals for students to work towards. Prudencio is also open to giving students a chance to voice their opinions about the incentives and ideas for PBIS to implement!