PBSIS is an accredited program utilized by schools in an effort to foster a more positive school environment. Officially titled Positive Behavior Support In Schools, PBSIS is a system that encourages students to do good by receiving points, which then later help students gain a reward of their choosing. With a touch of a button, you can skip the lunch line, have a chance of winning a surprise present, or even something as simple as receiving candy. But does it affect the motivation of the students at Fords Middle School?

PBSIS was established with an opportunity that each day, students could receive an average of two points per class. Having six classes a day, students would have a total average of twelve points each day. If that’s the case, by the end of the school year, students of good behavior could potentially have a total of two thousand, one hundred sixty points. Sounds enticing, right?

With data from the students at Fords Middle School, it’s become clear to me that earning thousands of points is simply not possible, or just perhaps more easily said than done. The district’s initiative to reward students with good behavior by awarding them points has hit a snag. Fords Middle School data reveals that not all teachers consistently give out points, making it difficult for even well-behaved students to earn the points they deserve. Even for those students with good grades and good behavior, not every teacher awards points in every class, making it impossible to buy expensive rewards at the school store, given the high prices. Despite the promise of earning twelve points every day, students find it challenging to accumulate enough points for even lower-priced rewards. Moreover, the pricing at the store is not standardized, with point values ranging widely. At the school store, prices range as low as ten points for raffle chances, all the way up as high as one thousand points for items like a school trip. The individual teacher store price ranges depend on the teacher from whom you are buying your reward. While this structure would be reasonable if the system was working as intended, it is currently challenging for students to earn enough points to purchase many items. We must take immediate steps to address these issues so that students’ hard work and good behavior do not go unrewarded.