The PAWS Project
Positive Award Winning Students
Mrs. Theresa Caimi & Dr. Ken Dady
Jersey Shore Elementary School
Our District
•The Jersey Shore Area School District is located in
Clinton and Lycoming Counties in North Central
Pennsylvania, midway between Williamsport and
Lock Haven.
•The district is rural in nature and covers
approximately 384.9 square miles along the West
Branch of the Susquehanna River in the Pine
Creek Valley.
•There are seven buildings in the Jersey Shore
Area School District: one administration building,
one grades 9-12 high school, one grades 6-8
middle school, and four K-5 elementary schools.
•Approximately 2700 pupils
The History
• JSE implemented BARK in 2009-2010
– During this time we developed the framework for PAWS
• PAWS is our Tier 2 intervention
– We used the 4 basic principles of BARK as the starting
place for PAWS
•
•
•
•
Be Respectful
Act Responsible
Remember Safety
Keep on Learning
• PAWS was implemented in 2010-2011
– Positive Award Winning Students
Setting up the Tier 2 Team
• Our Paws Team consists of:
– Paws Coordinator (ours is a classroom teacher)
– Guidance Counselor
– Special Education teacher (one of our LSS
teachers)
– Internal Coach
– Classroom Teacher(s) (recommend 2 or 3)
– PAWS Mentor(s)
Setting up the Tier 2 Team cont.
• Choose wisely (our recommendations)
– You know the strengths of your staff
• Positive (even with the most difficult students)
– Looks for solutions
•
•
•
•
People that make great accommodations for students
Dependable (timely and punctual)
Organized
Flexible (meetings on short notice if needed)
• Dr. Dady’s recommendation
– Pick a great Coordinator to make the program a
success!
– PAWS Mentors have to absolutely love all kids (they
don’t complain about students)
Setting up the Tier 2 PAWS Project Program
• Meet at least once a month while developing the program
– Allow ample time to develop the program (we took a year)
– Develop the Tier 2 program around your Tier 1 program
• The 2 must be closely related to make it easy for the students
• Use the same vocabulary, expectations, etc.
• Make sure the forms are teacher and child-friendly (easily understood) PAWS
PROJECT.doc
• Incorporate goals to specific desired behaviors
• How will you monitor behavior and data?
• Keep the rest of the staff informed and ask for feedback on completed items (increases
buy-in from everyone)
• Provide training for the Tier 2 team
– This team can train the rest of the staff
• Don’t be afraid to make adjustments as needed
– Just be careful about the timing
• Decisions about the program must be a team decision.
– Be cautious administrators!
– Buy-in can be harmed if someone makes a decision on their own.
– Location, Location, Location
Here is how the PAWS Project works:
PAWS Procedures
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Student Nomination
CICO
Reward Systems
Review the Data
Exiting the Program
Student Nomination
• Students are nominated in 2 ways
– PAWS Team Nominations
• Based on SWIS data (Major Violations)
– We look at students with 5 or more majors
– Teacher Nominations
• Teachers may nominate students who may not have many
ODRs, but display consistent minor violations.
• Examples
– Student 1
» Consistent disruptions
– Student 2
» 1 issue students
Check-In Check-Out (CICO)
•
If students are accepted into the program by the PAWS Team, they are tracked
through CICO
•
CICO is an intervention program for students with behaviors that interfere
with their learning and the learning of others. Participating students check in
with a mentor in the morning before going to class. The student tracks
behavior during the day on a PAWS progress sheet and shares the information
with the mentor at the end of the day before dismissal. The student earns
rewards for the positive behaviors displayed throughout the day.
• Teacher’s Role
– Customize the PAWS form for the participating student Primary Student
Intermediate Student
– Discuss behavioral goals with the student and provide feedback on the
progress sheet throughout the day Classroom PE
• Student’s Role
– Be accountable for his or her behavior and receive feedback (both written on
PAWS progress sheet and during verbal discussions) Completed Form
Check-In Check-Out (CICO) cont.
• PAWS Mentor’s Role
– CI: greeting, collect previous days form, go over goals for
the day, prepare students for a successful day. CI
– CO: Go over the days form with the student, provide
feedback, supply goal rewards if earned. CO
– Set goal for reinforcements on the students’ charts (can be
adjusted based on the student).
Rewards System
• Reward System PAWS Project Rewards
System.docx
• Reward Chart
PAWS Chart.doc
• Spinner (prize box)
• PAWS Menu PAWS Reward Menu.docx
Check-In Check-Out (CICO) cont.
• Parent’s Role
– Parental Permission PAWS Permission Form (middle of
school year).docx
– Sign and discuss the PAWS progress form each night
• PAWS Team
– Analyze the CICO data at each team meeting and make any
necessary adjustments or recommendations.
– Set behavior goal for each student (default is 80% - can be
adjusted based on the student).
– Monitoring the number of students in the programs
• Exiting students, moving students to Tier 3, need for more
mentors, etc.
Review the Data
• CICO data through SWIS
– Data from PAWS behavior chart is put into CICO on
SWIS
– http://www.swis.org/
• Data is tracked by the PAWS team at least
monthly.
– Tracked by the principal, mentors, and coordinator
more frequently as needed.
Exiting the Program
• When to exit students
– PAWS Project Exit program.doc
• Self-monitoring
– PAWS Project Self Monitoring Sheet.doc
• Exit & Graduation
–
–
–
–
exit letter.doc
Guidance Counselor checks up on student periodically
Become student ambassadors to new members to PAWS
Alumni Wall Pictures
• Alumni Celebration
– End of the year
Where we are right now…….
• Development of Tier 3
– Students that have TSS for a small portion of the day
• We’ve identified TSS as a Tier 3 intervention
– Students who are not successful in Tier 2, and the
data supports moving to Tier 3, but the parents are
not cooperating
– Incorporating students already in a extensive Tier 3
service into the program – Student Example
• Revisiting the use of the PAWS form by teachers
• Exit phase is new
Our Successes
• Positive outcomes with most students
– Provides evidence for additional services struggling
students may need for a Tier 3 intervention
• Teachers have become more aware of student
strengths through the PAWS behavior chart
• Students have experienced more success in
controlling difficult behaviors which has also
improved self-esteem
• Even students that are struggling to meet their
goal have typically decreased their number of
ODRs