Camden pilot school program encourages positive reinforcement

The teams of seventh-grade students huddled over stacks of playing cards on the table, exchanging strategies for how they could best build a tower out of them. They spoke quietly, and when a makeshift tower collapsed, the students griped in good-natured frustration but quickly moved on to try out another idea.

The mood in the classroom of Camden's H.B. Wilson Family School on Monday was calm and polite - just what teachers and administrators hope to encourage, as the school becomes one of five in the district to adopt a program aimed at rewarding students for good behavior instead of solely punishing them for bad.

"A lot of kids, when they walk into school, the first thing they hear is what the rules are," Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard said. "We're hoping for a shift in that thinking."

The national program, known as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), was launched in Camden on Monday. Teachers in the pilot family schools in Camden - Wilson, R.T. Cream, Veterans, Wiggins College Preparatory Lab, and Cooper's Poynt - have been trained to recognize and encourage orderly behavior in students, such as speaking respectfully to peers. The program also calls for educators to guide students through problem-solving exercises to help kids work together better.

Students in the pilot schools, which go from pre-K through eighth grade, can also earn "scholar dollars" for anything from coming to class prepared to walking quietly in the halls. Those points can eventually be redeemed for school supplies like stickers and rulers, or opportunities such as extra gym time.

The initiative has been adopted by 162 schools across New Jersey, including ones in Cherry Hill and Trenton, and is used in more than 18,000 schools nationwide.

Critics of the program, largely teachers' organizations, have said it is time-consuming for educators and that the long-term benefits are unclear. But school officials on Monday said that national data show that schools using the program report fewer behavioral incidents and out-of-school suspensions.

The cost, primarily for teacher training, was paid for through a federal grant secured by the mayor's office, said district spokesman Brendan Lowe.

If the program shows signs of success in the pilot schools, Rouhanifard said, the framework may eventually be applied to the rest of the district.

"We need to see what's working here first," he said.