The PBIS reward card was recently used as an incentive to curb tardies, but their effectiveness remains uncertain.

“I don’t think [the PBIS incentive for tardies was effective] because I think that the tardies and the late arrivals are the same students over and over again,” Dean Mary Trowbridge said. “Those students who may have been tardy a few times might be better and a teacher might know that, but we don’t see that because we don’t track it. So it’d be interesting to find that out whether the PBIS card have an affect.”

The PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention & Supports) cards were handed out to students who have a record of arriving to class on time, encouraging them to continue the act; even though this seemed like a possible resolution to the deans of the school, it was not enough to encourage all students to arrive to class on time.

“I know from experience because I’ve gotten more than one PBIS card. I’ve either given them away to other people or they’re just in my bag. And I do not use them at all; they have no affect on me,” freshman Sienna Feliciano said.

The intention of rewarding students who are on time is to encourage the late students, those who do not exactly have an excuse for their tardiness, to arrive to class on time. The students could earn the card, and turn the card into the deans office for a reward or turn the card into a drawing for a bigger prize.

“One of the things that research shows us is that students, or anybody, typically reacts better to rewards and motivators than they do to consequences and negative motivators, so hence the PBIS thing, so trying, to reward people who do the right thing,” Trowbridge said.

Trowbridge also explained that just because positive behavior is rewarded, doesn’t mean the behavior gets better,  and it doesn’t mean that those watching the others get rewarded will then change their behavior.

“Right now we are reinforcing the students who do the right thing who are on time, we will give them a PBIS reward. Students who are tardy often and we try catching them on time and giving them a reward, that may have some affect. But the reward has to be meaningful to them. So sometimes the best reward is just recognition,” Trowbridge said.

Student response to the rewards varies. While some students actively use their cards, there are those students that just don’t want the reward or think that it is not worth it, no matter what the reward may be.

“I don’t like PBIS cards because I never have the time to go down and turn them in for a prize and I feel like the prizes just aren’t quite worth the effort that it takes to go down and go all the way back. Also, I feel like they don’t work. Like, nobody ever tells you you’re going get a PBIS card if you’re not late one day, so it’s kind of a surprise. They just don’t excite kids; they’re just like so pointless. I have three in my bag right now, and I’ll never probably turn them in,” Feliciano said.

There are some students who feel the same way about the cards, too. When the cards are handed out to the students who have earned them, they usually don’t turn them in right away, or at all. Some teachers also agree that the cards just aren’t interesting students at all.

“I don’t give out too many of them, [referencing the PBIS cards] and I don’t think that they work very well for high school students,”  instructor Shelly McCarty said.

While some teachers like McCarty are skeptical  of the PBIS effect on tardies, others take a different perspective.

“I think it’s nice to reward kids for doing what they’re supposed to be doing because I think a lot of times the “good kids get frustrated because they see other kids getting stuff because the one time they show up we’re like ‘Oh the one time you’re here you get like, candy and prizes or whatever-’ and so I think it’s nice to catch people doing something right and reward them for that. And I think that’s kind of the purpose,” instructor Nora Boyd said