MARYSVILLE – When is getting a ticket a good thing? When it’s a ticket for good behavior.

In the Marysville School District, thanks to the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports program, tickets take on a positive meaning.

Most of the schools at least started PBIS last year, but this year, at least at Marshall Elementary School, “we’re all doing it,” Principal Kelly Sheward said.

Administrators and teachers are excited because they see kids doing good things, and they reward them right away with a blue ticket. Kids are excited because they are rewarded right away for good behavior.

Sometimes an entire class deserves a ticket. In those cases, the class gets a golden ticket.

Sheward said the coolest thing to watch is the kids looking out for one another and holding each other accountable.

“Kids remind each other of the rules,” Sheward said.

The students learned about the Railroad to Success at the start of the year. Their goals are to be respectful, responsible and safe. They were all shown how to behave in the lunch line, walking in the hallways, etc.

“It’s proactive,” Sheward said of PBIS. “They recognize the right thing.”

Having the kids help out has been successful.

“There’s more of them than us,” Sheward said of adults watching over 700 kids.

The principal said statistics at the school show about two dozen students cause about 75 percent of the trouble. So, by using PBIS, adults can focus on them because the others will be responsible for their own actions.

“We can counsel those with the most needs,” she said.

Elly Zika, 9, was one of the third-graders who got to be part of the ice cream party Oct. 4. Hundreds and hundreds of tickets were turned in with students names on them. All couldn’t win, so there was a drawing, with 20 names picked out.

Elly said even though she was happy she won, she “felt bad for those who didn’t.”

Elly said she “couldn’t keep track” of how many tickets she received. But she remembered getting one for being calm and safe in the hallways.

“Last year I would have been running in the halls,” she admitted.

Sheward proudly talked about the program at the Marysville school board work session Oct. 3.

“The students are really stepping up and helping other kids,” she said.