Holiday Season is Starting Early for Students at this North Baton Rouge Charter

Baton Rouge Ochsner Discovery (BROD) is finding the balance between work and play with the Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) program to keep students engaged as the holiday season approaches.

Students can earn tickets for displaying positive behavior aligned with the school’s core values: honor, endurance, academic achievement, responsibility, and tolerance. These tickets can be exchanged for rewards like participating in the school’s seasonal events. This year, BROD will have a “pie your teacher” event the day before Thanksgiving break and a hot chocolate party before winter break.

Incorporating fun activities and incentives is a great way to balance the holiday break restlessness that can come with teaching young students according to the school’s assistant principal Ashley Lewis.

“We want to keep encouraging them to stay focused,” she explains. “Yes, we know a break is coming, and they’re excited, but we also want them to keep up those positive behaviors.”

BROD also organizes themed dress days the week before the winter break, helping students stay motivated before heading home for break. Themes range from “Holiday Hair, Don’t Care” to “Wear Red and Green” and “Sweater Weather.”

PBIS is a national behavioral support program designed to create safe, positive, and equitable learning environments. As of 2023, 25,000 schools have implemented evidence-based PBIS techniques. Incentivization is a core component of the system that prioritizes teaching behavior over punishing it.