Civic Engagement in Action : Helping Students SCORE through Positive Behavior Support Summer Cook Service Activities My involvement with S.C.O.R.E. was on the soccer field. While my peers provided academic support to students throughout the week via small group tutoring, I had the opportunity to be a part of the behavioral reward system. When I began my service it was difficult to feel that my presence on the soccer field playing with the students, who had been identified as at-risk youth, was as important as the presence of my peers in the classroom. After only one hour of engaging with the students, I realized that being on the field was not just about playing- it was about being a role model and a positive adult figure. One of the underlying principles of the S.C.O.R.E. program is the mentality to focus on the positive behaviors students are eliciting. I thought that this practice was obvious and easy to embody, that of course it was better to catch students doing something good, and not scold them for doing something bad. I was challenged during my second week by a student who was bullying his peers. My initial response as an educator was to address the student and the behavior he was eliciting and enlist an appropriate consequence. However, I knew this was not the approach my agency wanted me to model. I was not there to be a referee but a positive role model for these students. Relying on knowledge attained through Dr. Humphrey’s class, regarding positive behavior support, I asked the student if he could teach his peers some of the knowledge about soccer he had. When his role changed from aggressor to peer-educator his frustration at his teammates’ lack of skill became his motivation to impart his knowledge. Without directly punishing the negative behavior, he learned the appropriate and positive behavior. How S.C.O.R.E. Changed my Views About Positive Behavior Support Introduction: When I first encountered the concept of positive behavior support in ED-SPED 350, I thought it was a nice idea, but an unattainable one, particularly for secondary students. Was it realistic that students’ behavior could be changed by focusing on only their positive behaviors and rewarding those? Do secondary students even regularly display behaviors worthy of reinforcement? Method: There was nothing particularly methodical about my approach about incorporating PBS into my time at S.C.O.R.E., in fact I was simply embodying their ideals. But I wanted to know whether or not PBS worked, so I practiced it on students and watched one student, “Jack”, weekly to monitor his growth. Results: “Jack”, also mentioned in the narrative at the left, has begun embodying positive traits of tolerance and respect for his teammates. He regularly assists his teammates and he is beginning to focus on what they do right, instead of what they do wrong.  Course: ED-SPED 350 Teaching Students with Exceptional Needs at the Secondary Level, Spring 2010  Instructor: Dr. Michael Humphrey  Community Partner: Boise Capital Soccer Club: S.C.O.R.E.  Community Partner’s Mission Statement: To provide activities and mentoring in underserved primary schools in the state of Idaho. To provide a supplemental program that effectively integrates the positive elements of athletic participation with the critical need for enhanced reading, language and study skills.  Service Project Purpose: To develop a deeper insight into students with exceptionalities and the resources and organizations which strive to enhance their post-secondary outcomes, educational services, social services, and/or family services. And to examine non-school-based entities and their service-delivery model. Reflection: This service learning experience made the course content of ED-SPED 350, particularly content pertaining to behavior and behavioral intervention, directly accessible. My participation in the S.C.O.R.E. program allowed me to experience the effects of positive behavior support, as well its necessity, first hand. As an aspiring secondary educator, I have often been cautioned, “Remember, teaching is about the kids first, content second”. This admonishment has been echoed throughout my service learning; my responsibility as an educator is as much about my relationship with students as it is about my content field. S.C.O.R.E. embodies this ideal as the necessary foundation to help students achieve both academically and behaviorally. My experience has directly affected the manner in which I will engage with my students and taught me a valuable lesson regarding my responsibility to my future students that has yet to be addressed in a methods course.