Building Your Own Student-Run PBIS Rewards Store

A common refrain from teachers is that students lack intrinsic motivation for any number of tasks in and out of the classroom. But the discussion often grinds to a halt when brainstorming ideas for building motivation within students instead of it being applied from outside sources. 

When you attach your school-wide expectations the student reward store can serve as a fundamental building block for developing internal motivation. It’s amazing what a sense of purpose can do for students who are given valuable roles within the system. 

Your students are going to love this process so much that you’ll have to start taking applications for student workers!

What is a PBIS Rewards Store?

Just like any retail store, the student reward store allows students to spend the currency that they earn each day. Once your school establishes a point system for positive behaviors, those points can accrue and be used on any number of incentives or items.

For example, when speaking with LiveSchool, Vanessa Thomas of Antioch Middle School explained how students are grouped into “Houses” and receive points for meeting PBIS expectations such as being prepared, on time, respectful, working hard, and listening. 

In their model, the students are able to see where their group stacks up on the leaderboard each week and can choose to spend their points on:

• School Supplies
• Movie Nights
• Classroom incentives like Brain Breaks or Trips to the Treasure Box

And other rewards from the school store, as well as other school-wide incentives. This system has positive impacts on students on the individual, classroom, grade, and school-wide levels.

Beyond incentivizing positive behaviors and reinforcing expectations, the student-run program also adds additional opportunities for leadership and accountability. 

Establishing Your Student-Run PBIS Rewards Store

Establishing the student-run rewards store is a relatively simple process; it requires stocking the store, setting a schedule, and filling the positions, all of which are at your school’s discretion.

In the model at Antioch Middle School, Vanessa Thomas discussed the variety of rewards that are offered in their Paw Mart: cell phone passes (their most popular seller), candy, toys and trinkets, snack foods, and miscellaneous school supplies. The items in the school store are replenished either by purchasing through school funds or by donations from families and community members. 

Next, students can apply for a position in the store. Antioch Middle established a work schedule for students and “paid” them in points that can be used in the store. To be considered for employment in the school store, students must meet the following criteria:

• Must have a C or better in all classes for the grading period
• Must have 1 or fewer behavior referrals for the grading period
• Must be available to work the store at their assigned time

Establishing these or similar criteria in your school will help students understand the expectations and can further reinforce your school-wide PBIS expectations by tying the criteria to those standards.

Once students meet the criteria that you establish, it is time to consider the positions that need to be filled in your store and what the requirements are for each position. Antioch Middle’s successful program entails five positions for students along with descriptions outlining the expectations for each:

• Account Verifiers are responsible for looking up student names and recording the number of points they have earned on their purchase sheets
• Cashiers are responsible for deducting points from student accounts after checking the items the students have chosen
• Item Distributors check the purchase sheets that students bring and retrieve the items for the customers
• Stockers are responsible for bagging items sold and for keeping the store organized
• Line Managers ensure that students are ready with their purchase sheets and that the lines are orderly by acting as security for the store

→Download Your Free Student Store Application

After the store is stocked, students are hired, and schedules are established, you will be ready for your grand opening. At this point, students can be given access to purchase lists that include items sold in the store along with the price in points for each. 

Students can fill out their personal information and requests according to the available balance on their sheet, then take them to the store. While it will be necessary to have adult supervision, the students are responsible for making sure the store operates as it should. 

Time to Open Your Own PBIS Rewards Store

School stores can be fantastic opportunities to provide your students with incentives that will encourage them to meet your school’s PBIS expectations. Taking that a step further, allowing students to run the store’s day-to-day operations provides an added layer of accountability and buy-in for your students while simultaneously alleviating the pressure and demands on your teachers’ time. 

For more ideas on handing over the reins to students, you can check out the student rewards plan at Von Tobel Middle School as well.

Not only is the store great for reinforcing PBIS expectations, but there are also myriad connections to your curriculum that are flexible and applicable to students of all ages. Antioch Middle School’s example of 17,000 positive behavior points awarded and 3,000 student rewards during the course of the 2021-2022 school year exhibits the transformational potential of student-run rewards stores. 

These additional opportunities for celebrating positive student behavior and placing the responsibility in the hands of students can help take your school’s PBIS program to new heights. To hear more of Vanessa Thomas's story you should check out her webinar here or you can take the next step in your culture journey with the complete guide to rewarding students. You can also add our podcast, the 6 steps to building a student-run rewards store, to further your research on school culture.