GROVELAND, Fla. — A Lake County middle school is named a model school for behavior intervention. Cecil E. Gray Middle School in Groveland was named the 2023-2024 Bronze-Level Florida Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports System Model School. It’s a program they started three years ago.

Once a month, students with enough gator bucks are rewarded for their good behavior.

“You should always have goals; you should always be respectful. It’s something adults should practice, and kids should practice. It’s setting us up for success,” said Luke Bollinger, 7th Grader at Gray Middle School.

Each month, students are immersed in a new topic, teaching them the expectations of how to behave in the classroom. Once they showcase that behavior, they are rewarded with gator bucks that allow them access to that month’s festivities.

It’s a lesson that Principal Missy Frana says was much needed after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We noticed that the students were really having a tremendous difficulty communicating with each other, especially during times of conflict. We were seeing a lot of negative behaviors from them. We thought PBIS would be the best way to teach our kids how to interact with each other,” Frana said.

Now students are celebrating with an hour-long “Minute to Win It” game.

The game is part of a system called the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports System. It involves making changes to the school by acknowledging positive student behavior and using data to grow within the classroom.

“It helps us academically because when the behaviors are under control, the students [can] perform academically. But more than anything it brings me so much joy to see the kids so excited, they’re happy, they’re joyful and they are interacting with each other in a positive way,” said Frana.

It’s something the school is seeing much success in. Within the year of the program, Frana says the school saw a 67% decrease in violent behaviors. This year they set a goal for a 10% reduction in referrals. As of now, discipline problems are down 27% compared to last year.

“Grit is a character trait that will affect them positively for the rest of their lives. We’re all going to have conflict, we’re all going to have setbacks, but unless our mindset is to go through it or go over it we’re going to be held back,” said Frana.

It’s not just the smile and laughter on the kids’ faces, but the life skills they take from these lessons learned that add to the benefits on this program.