The Holley Central School District is dedicated to creating a positive climate with a research-based approach to discipline called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS). 

 

PBIS is an approach for teaching children appropriate behavior and providing the supports necessary to sustain that behavior. The goal of PBIS is to reduce challenging student behavior through a proactive, positive, and consistent manner across all school settings and to improve academic achievement and social competence.

 

Our three anchors (core character traits) in our PBIS framework are RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, and SAFETY. Common practices and language are used district-wide to maintain consistency and sustainability. 

 

The PBIS Mission is: We develop confident, continual learners who are caring community members through respect, responsibilities and safety. 

 

Students who consistently demonstrate positive behaviors will receive a character certificate recognizing their Good Character. Those names will be entered into a drawing each month and several of those names will be chosen to participate in the Character Club Activity of the Month. Activities may include a craft, project, or service that will benefit a community group, such as the nursing homes, veterans and our school. We feel that these activities will reinforce the concepts we are teaching.

 

Also, each month a student from every classroom will be chosen for the honor of Student of the Month. Students who go above and beyond to demonstrate RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, AND SAFE behaviors will be chosen for this award. Students who receive this award will be given a personalized certificate with their name and picture, along with a description of why they were chosen for the award. A copy of the certificate will be placed in a special binder that will be archived in the Elementary School Library. The award winners will also be entered into drawing and the chosen few (10 students from each building) will be treated to a special breakfast. 

 

At the end of the year, at the Flag Day Ceremony in June, each classroom will award one student who has demonstrated excellent citizenship throughout the school year. This student will receive the Good Citizen Award. This is the highest character honor for the students. These students will also have a copy of their certificate archived in the Elementary School Library.

The Positivity Project is another school-wide character strength program. The program is rooted in the belief that other people matter, and the pillars of the program are kindness, bravery, gratitude, collaboration and instilling a love of learning.  The language and teachings of the weekly character strengths are integrated with daily morning announcements, daily classroom mini-lessons and reinforced throughout all areas of the school. In conjunction with the Positivity Project, the elementary mental health staff designed an extension of the program called Hawk Heroes. It was created to acknowledge students who have exhibited a specific character strength that the Positivity Project focuses on. Each month, staff will nominate students who they feel best exemplify the monthly trait. The mental health staff then randomly pulls names and recognizes those students with donated gift cards and special tokens of appreciation.