Mountain Creek Academy is beginning the 6th year of PBIS implementation. Year before last they began to look for ways to make this program meaningful to the population they serve, as many students were placed there for punitive measures. They decided to use the Boys Town model to teach social skills in conjunction with the PBIS framework. This additional curriculum gave the academy the push it needed to move from emergent to operational status on the list of PBIS schools kept by the Georgia Department of Education. Office discipline referrals were reduced by 460%, and the climate of the school was changed. The most significant changes were experienced by the students. They learned necessary social skills and achieved success. Many have been able to generalize those skills to other settings, and many now choose to remain at Mountain Creek Academy due to the feelings of being successful and respected in that environment
