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From the moment they arrive in the building as sixth graders, students at Hazelwood North Middle School learn about the school’s positive behavior program.

Called Paws for Applause (the school’s mascot is a panther, hence the paws), students are “written up” by staff members after the adult witnesses the student following one of the four Paw Laws – being safe, respectful, responsible or positive. This is part of the school’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program.

“We teach the kids what we expect them to do while in school,” said Laurie Birkenmeier, the school’s principal. “The premise is to be very pro-active and to recognize kids when they perform to those expectations.”

“The important thing is that the kids get feedback on their behavior,” Birkenmeier said.

“Every week, we recognize 18 students (three from both teams at each grade level) with drawings three times a week,” Birkenmeier said.

Birkenmeier said students have won school supplies, gift cards, footballs, basketballs, sports caps and other items. A big prize draw is a school-owned Nintendo Wii game system on which they can challenge a teacher to play the student’s favorite sports game or the student can play with a small group of friends.

The school staff tracks its PBIS data, noting past and possible future trends so they can prepare for them. For October, the PBIS lessons focused on encouraging students against disruptive behavior and insubordination with goals of increasing positive behavior by 20 percent.

In November and December, bullying will be the focus of the school’s PBIS efforts. (Story and photo courtesy of Hazelwood School District Communications Department)

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