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Lawson Elementary School 5th Graders in Savanna Green’s class pose with their first place PAWS poster. A song, “Lawson PAWS,” describes the program. The students learned the lyrics and a dance, in which they show their palms, or paws. Part of the school’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports effort, PAWS symbolizes the school’s mascot, a wildcat and it stands for Prepare for learning, Accept everyone, Work together and Stay safe.

At Lawson Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District, the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program has a theme song.

“In order to make PBIS fun and relevant for the students, our school counselor, Jazell Thomas, had a song professionally recorded,” said Elena Amirault, the school’s instructional specialist. “‘Lawson PAWS’ sounds like a rap song but it explains the specifics of our school expectations. All of the kids have learned the words to the song, along with a dance in which they get to show their paws (hands)!” Amirault said. “They absolutely love it.”

While PAWS symbolize the school’s mascot, a wildcat, it has another meaning. P stands for “Prepare for learning,” A stands for “Accept everyone,” W stands for “Work together” and S stands for “Stay safe,” explained Amirault.

PBIS is a District-wide behavior initiative that teaches positive behaviors. Through it, students learn about behavior expectations at school – in the classrooms, the hallways, the restrooms, the cafeteria, etc. Grade-level assemblies explained PAWS and elaborated on the school-wide expectations. Students learned the rewards and the consequences of the PAWS program. Every month, staff members analyze discipline data to determine which areas students need extra support and then they brainstorm fun ways to help the students succeed.

“This program brings consistency in behavior expectations among students and staff.  It encourages good citizenship and builds character and integrity,” said Thomas.

Students earn PAWS tickets for good behavior. These tickets are deposited into a bucket in each classroom for a chance to win a prize. Classes may earn hall PAWS for good behavior. When a class earns 15 PAWS tickets, they may choose either a 15-minute dance party or 15 minutes of free time as a reward. A special, large paw hangs in the hallway near their door.

The school’s goal is to earn so many hall PAWS that they connect from room-to-room around the building. When all of the PAWS connect, the school will have a celebration. Lawson’s ultimate goal is to show the students how working together achieves big things.

“PAWS help us to be kind to each other,” said Claire O’Brien, a third grader and winner of PAWS tickets.

Two prominent PBIS components are positive feedback and universal language. Each time a staff member redirects students for negative behavior, they praise them with positive feedback four times.

“This program encourages us to give students the specific feedback on the behaviors we would like to see,” said Amirault.

Universal language makes sure all staff members use the same phrases, such as “active listening,” “I Messages” or “line basics.”

Lawson assigns 30 minutes a week to teach PBIS lessons. In addition, students spend another half-hour on Fridays in a class meeting. At these meetings, students praise classmates, discuss problems and help each other brainstorm solutions to these problems. The students respond best from peer encouragement, instead of from rules made by a teacher. Each class meeting ends with a unity component in which the students join together in a song, a dance, a poem or a choral reading.

“I like learning how to be a leader so I can help other kids in my class,” said Rayven Harrell, a second grade student and a member of the PAWS leadership group.

Good behavior extends to the buses at Lawson. “On the Road to Success” is an incentive program meant to encourage bus riders to display good behavior at all times. On a poster at school are construction paper school buses. Every day a bus has a good run, one with no behavior problems, the paper version of that bus rises a step on the poster. A morning and afternoon ride equal one step. When a bus reaches the top of the poster, the students who ride that bus receive a prize. If students misbehave, their bus goes to the bottom and must begin again. (story provided by the Hazelwood District Communications Dept.)

Another Lawson PBIS incentive is the Golden Paws Board. Teachers may nominate students displaying exemplary PAWS behavior. That student has their photo taken and posted on a special board with an explanation of their behavior.

“PAWS shows everyone how to act and if they see other people acting right and being rewarded, then they will want to act right, too,” said Jonathan Parker, a fifth grader and a Golden Paws winner.

Lawson’s PAWS are not just for its students. Staff members who support and encourage each other may earn Pawtastic Staff PAWS. At monthly drawings, a staff member receives a gift certificate. Lawson Student Council members who are also known as PAWS Ambassadors also have a special reward that they can pass out to other students displaying paw behavior.

“We’ve seen a large improvement in student and staff attitudes since implementing our PAWS program,” said Lawson Principal Dr. Betty Scheller.

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