Multi-Tiered System of Supports

What is School-wide PBIS?

• Proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments.
• Instead of using a piecemeal approach of individual behavioral management plans, a continuum of positive behavior interventions and support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, buses, and restrooms).
• Positive behavior interventions and support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs.
• Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary / core (school-wide), secondary/ supplemental (classroom), and tertiary/intensive (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making targeted behaviors less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.
   

Purpose/Benefits of PBIS

• Development of a leadership team in your building that focuses attention on social emotional needs of students and improvement of climate and culture of the building.
• Focuses attention and resources on prevention of problem behaviors.
• Prioritizes resources and staff development to increase all staff skills in dealing with problem behaviors.
• Supports the use of a common language across staff, students, families and the community.
• Teaches staff to implement a system for data based decision making.
• Decreases discipline referrals and thus decreases administrative time devoted to problem behavior.
• Increases instructional time and student achievement.
• Fosters a calm, safe environment and improves the climate and culture of the building.
• Can increase both student and staff attendance.

District staff are responsible for providing proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments for all students, identifying those students who need additional supports, and implementing interventions based upon student need. If you feel that your child needs additional supports in the area of behavior, please contact your child's teacher, guidance counselor, and/or principal. Together we will work with you to ensure that your child is successful.

What is a systems approach in school-wide PBIS?

• An organization is a group of individuals who behave together to achieve a common goal. Systems are needed to support the collective use of best practices by individuals within the organization.
• The school-wide PBIS process emphasizes the creation of systems that support the adoption and durable implementation of evidence-based practices and procedures, and fit within on-going school reform efforts.
• An interactive approach that includes opportunities to correct and improve four key elements is used in school-wide PBIS focusing on: 1) Outcomes, 2) Data, 3) Practices, and 4) Systems. The diagram below illustrates how these key elements work together to build a sustainable system:

• Outcomes: academic and behavior targets that are endorsed and emphasized by students, families, and educators. (What is important to each particular learning community?)
• Practices: interventions and strategies that are evidence based. (How will you reach the goals?)
• Data: information that is used to identify status, need for change, and effects of interventions. (What data will you use to support your success or barriers?)
• Systems: supports that are needed to enable the accurate and durable implementation of the practices of PBIS. (What durable systems can be implemented that will sustain this over the long haul?)