Merced elementary recognized for growth in positive behavior

Students at Ada Givens Elementary School transformed the Green Street campus into a luau Tuesday in celebration of a new award that recognizes their growth in positive behavior.

The school recently achieved “gold level” status for its five-year implementation of the nationally recognized Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports system. Principal Dalinda Saich, said her school is the first in Merced County to reach the gold-level status.

The acknowledgment came from the Fresno County Office of Education, which offered Ada Givens the training for the development of the program.

Saich explained that the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program is an approach designed under the philosophy that social behavior has to be taught. A positive social culture at school, she said, is key for academic success.

“We hope that the positive behavior is being spilled into homes and the community,” Saich told parents during an outdoor assembly Tuesday morning.

Saich explained that, as part of the approach, students are taught to follow five simple rules: Be prepared to learn, be respectful, keep hands and objects to yourself, play safely and if you need help, talk to an adult.

“Even the youngest of our students can recite these rules by memory,” Saich said.

Doug Collins, director of pupil services of the Merced City School District, said the purpose of the system is to teach students how to express behavior inside and outside the classroom.

The positive behavior program operates in three tiers. The first level targets all children with instructions like the five simple rules.

About 10 percent to 15 percent of the student body, Collins said, usually needs additional help to grasp all of the behavior teaching. These students are addressed in tier two, where they’re provided with extra layers of support, he said.

About another 5 percent of the students have a really difficult time adjusting and following set rules. Those students are helped in tier three, with specific services such as counseling with behavioral analysts.

“The level of support increases as the need increases,” he said.

The biggest accomplishment of Ada Givens, Collins added, is the consistency in following the positive behavior approach. Teachers, staff, school bus drivers and custodians all speak the same language when teaching behavior, Collins said. The goal, he said, is to develop consistency throughout the entire Merced City School District.

All of the schools in the district have implemented the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports system. Collins expects all 18 schools to reach Ada Givens’ level of growth in positive behavior within the next three to five years. “Some are very close to reaching that goal,” he said.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Merced elementary recognized for growth in positive behavior."