STUART,FL--Most teenagers make responsible choices. Those that don't end up making the news.
There is a program underway in Martin County High School that focuses on students who are doing the right thing and getting rewarded for it.
Getting a traffic ticket can ruin your day. But a getting a little yellow ticket can make it! Student Kelly Barerra at Martin County High says, "This little tiny ticket--you feel kind of embarrassed when you're the one kid in class that walks in and doesn't get it! Everyone is counting how many tickets they have."
You can't buy them you have to earn them. Student Chelsea Levy says, "Being on time to classes following the dress code." Or doing something nice for a fellow student some of the many ways that can earn a PBS ticket. Jack Valerio is an administrator at Martin County High. He says,"
"PBS is positive behavior support a program sponsored by the University of South Florida...it's not just here it's at hundreds of schools around the country."
The tickets are signed ...then put into drawings for great prizes....like gift cards, homecoming tickets, a digital camera...even an I-pod nano. Jack Valerio: "The object is to take the 80% of kids who do the right thing almost all of the time and give them a reward. For the other 20% it shows what you can be rewarded with so you learn those good behaviors."
Student Kyle Weiss says, "Yes, I definitely see a difference. You see people trying to be on time...trying to do things that will get them a PBS ticket everyday."
And apparently---good behavior is contagious....discipline referrals are down at Martin County High School....thanks to more students wanting to "follow the leader"...and do the right thing.
The positive behavior support program is also being done at Jensen Beach and Southfork High Schools. It's going to be a district wide initiative--and be in all Martin County schools--sometime soon. Community donations are used to pay for the prizes.
