Quincy, IL -- The Quincy Public School District implemented a new district wide program this year to change the way teachers and faculty educate today's youth.

At the beginning of the school year we introduced you to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports or PBIS.

We showed you why QPS chose to use this system.

For more on that story click on this link www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=339128

KHQA checked back in with one of the schools in the district to see how it's not only using this behavior transformation system in schools, but how it's impacting students.

Since PBIS was introduced the overall response from both students and staff at Baldwin School seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Teresa Barns is one of several parents I spoke with that told me about the positive difference she's seen in her child since the beginning of the school year.

"He's happier with school this year and he knows what the expectations are at school."

PBIS is a new and different approach to educating. Baldwin staff says it has been so successful so quickly. PBIS sets clear social, academic, and behavior expectations of students and directly teaches students about those expectations.

"It's really a success story as the school as a whole. The expectations are the same in all 3 sections. You see the positive behavior in all 3 sections. It's a different way to help students correct behavior verses being punitive all the time it's a positive way to correct behavior," said Connie Bloch PBIS Internal Coach for Baldwin North.

One example of how PBIS is utilized in schools is a black line that goes down the middle of hallways at Baldwin School. It's similar to the way traffic lanes work and staying on the right side of the roadway.  But students also have to keep to themselves and remain quiet.  Systems like these are in place to teach the correct behavior to the point that it becomes a habit.

And QPS staff says making it habit means the child is more likely to repeat the correct behavior even when there is no teacher parent or guardian around.

"I think because the students have some ownership we've seen a lot of positive things from the students. When you come in it's a much more controlled atmosphere, friendlier environment," said Bloch.

"I think PBIS has especially helped my older son to know the expectations on structural times such as recess and lunch," said Tenille Sonethongkham, Parent.

But teachers know students aren't perfect, that's why there are reminders set up in Baldwin on how a student is supposed to behave and what they are to do in different situations.

"We have a matrix of what the expectations of what the expectations are throughout our building on the busses on the playground. Took kids at the beginning of the year through all of those places and what the expectations were in each one of those places," said Bloch.

And since the focus is on the positive behavior, rewarding it with positive reinforcement is the key. Anyone from the janitor to the principal at Baldwin can hand out SOAR slips for good behavior… and staff agrees its working better than they could have imagined.

"They want those SOAR slips and so they've focused on that behavior. They're focused on it and not always us correcting…they're focused on correcting each other," said Bloch.

Students at Baldwin can turn in those SOAR slips for items at the school store. Classrooms also have rewards separate from SOAR slips with simple things such as more read time or classroom cheers.

The district wants to get parents more involved and incorporate PBIS into their homes.  Follow this link www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?d=377315  on how parents can incorporate it at home, plus other ways good behavior can be rewarded that's not always monetary.