Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Engagement Attendance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bethel Elementary credits house system, PBIS and project-based learning for attendance gains
Summary
Bethel Elementary School presented a suite of student-engagement strategies — a Ron Clark–style house system, PBIS incentives, project-based learning and community partnerships — that administrators said contributed to improved attendance and lower chronic absence this year.
Siobhan O'Brien, principal of Bethel Elementary School, told the Clover School District Board of Trustees on Monday that the school’s house system, positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), project-based learning and community partnerships are central to recent gains in student engagement and attendance.
O’Brien said the house system — adapted from the Ron Clark Academy — gives students an immediate sense of belonging, and the school pairs that with PBIS points that students redeem for events such as glow parties and a snowball fight. “When they see the students doing things that are above and beyond…those points are so valuable,” said Sean Davis, assistant principal at Bethel.
The district presentation tied those daily engagement tools to larger academic and enrichment efforts: students described project-based learning units including a “zoo” investment project, a pizza fraction unit that involved Clover High School’s culinary program, and a mock trial that the school staged as a multiweek learning experience. “It really helped academically with text evidence,” said a student participant about the mock trial project.
Bethel staff also described partnerships that bring community members, alumni and other schools into classroom work and field trips. The school’s 4-H program and a range of clubs were cited as ways students build connections beyond the classroom.
Administrators told the board the school used incentives and community partnerships — including a bicycle giveaway tied to 95% attendance — in an effort to reduce chronic absenteeism. The presentation cited a decline the school reported in chronic absence compared with the prior year; the meeting transcript gave the figures as a range, which the district presented verbally at the meeting.
Administrators asked the board to view Bethel’s strategies as models that can be scaled to other schools in the district. The school’s team and student participants concluded their remarks by emphasizing both social-emotional and academic benefits of the programs.
Board members commended students and staff, with one member saying the mock trial was among their favorite experiences as a board member.
The presentation was delivered during the superintendent’s report portion of the board’s regular business meeting and drew several student speakers and multiple staff presenters.
