What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
Everything you need to know about PBIS now in one convenient place.
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
You know what they teamwork makes the dream work. These articles have been written by the wonderful members of our team.
Student behavior problems can impact every piece of even the most well-run schools. It is extremely difficult to improve academically if your teachers are constantly dealing with behavior distractions. Not to mention your administrative leadership team is now stuck dealing with the fallout of those issues all day.
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
Student behavior problems can impact every piece of even the most well-run schools. It is extremely difficult to improve academically if your teachers are constantly dealing with behavior distractions. Not to mention your administrative leadership team is now stuck dealing with the fallout of those issues all day.
What can you do?
The traditional responses to these issues tend to ease the issue in the short term, but compound those same problems in the long term. You need a positive approach to school discipline that can decrease negative behavior by focusing on the positive behaviors you do want to see more of in your school.
You need PBIS.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to behavior in your building. PBIS is designed to differentiate between the levels of support your students need.
In short, you set PBIS expectations around behaviors your want to see your students exhibit. You then progress monitor how well your students adhere to those expectations. To incentivize your students to meet those expectations you create a rewards system that recognizes their efforts in building your positive school culture.
Then your team reviews the data to make adjustments and recommendations to the administration on how to continuously improve behavior in your school. For best results in larger communities, you can even take PBIS district-wide
But it isn’t a program you can just roll out and watch work. There are many considerations to make from how to start your PBIS program to what behaviors you want to promote and include in your PBIS Matrix.
Your system needs to account for all of the daily activities your students need to navigate to be successful. That means you need to align your expectations with your student's schedules.
Once you have built your program you still can’t autopilot your way to a positive learning environment. Culture is a moving target. It’s fluid. But the goal is to create a program that promotes your school culture in a way that makes your building a safe learning environment for all of your students.
“Without school culture, the rest of the learning won't happen. We need our school to return to being a WEB school: Where Everybody Belongs. Right now, kids are at each others' throats because of racial tensions, bullying, political beliefs they are parroting from their parents, masking opinions, you name it. They have the emotional and social development of kids two years younger than them, but we are expecting them to perform academically and socially at a middle”
Public School Teacher, Washington from the School Culture Report
PBIS points can promote positive behavior by explicitly teaching desired behaviors to students and reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding them.
Students are given opportunities to be proud of behavior improvements and be rewarded accordingly. Students thrive in environments where rewards are present.
Although it can be frowned upon by some in higher education to have incentive-based learning techniques, this is an opportunity to invigorate student learning, especially in K12.
If you're struggling to plan incentives you might consider polling your students for PBIS reward ideas or for a complete searchable list you can check out our Rewards that Rock. To make your program as efficient as possible you’ll need some school reward system ideas and if your going the extra mile we can also assist you in building a PBIS store.
Now that you have a program established, you need to lean into PBIS best practices to brand your PBIS system for your school community. There are different levers you can pull depending on what level of school you are serving though.
You may need to reference PBIS examples in Elementary School, incentive ideas for middle school students, incentives for high school students, or do some research on PBIS examples that have worked for others in order to find the best path to mold your program specifically for your school. For more on implementing PBIS specifically in High Schools, check out the plan at Wirt High School.
The approach is broken into PBIS Tiers for the same reason we differentiate in the classroom; kids have varying needs and we need various PBIS strategies to meet them where they are.
There is also the idea of equitable vs equal. If all resources were divided equally we would inevitably fall very short in meeting the needs of a great number of our students.
The equitable distribution of resources in a school is an approach designed to give each student the best chance for success. If you're focusing all your efforts on your Tier 2 and 3 students you're likely growing the number of students receiving those services.
Just as focusing solely on tier 1 behavior interventions will likely lead to a number of intensive behavior needs going unaddressed. Thus we need a tiered approach to reach all students.
That being said you can actually improve your tier 2 and 3 systems by improving your tier 1 foundation like our partner Creekside Middle School did.
Positive behavior reinforcement is a way of looking at discipline and behavior management from the perspective of what you want to see in your students as opposed to what you don’t want to see.
A points system can allow any staff member to provide that reinforcement at any point throughout the day. By including every staff member, and not only teachers you can foster positive culture by strengthening your community.
The points can be a big part of house meetings, monthly spirit days, and semester reward events. You can use that positive reinforcement to strengthen initiatives that work well in tandem with a PBIS behavior plan, like Social-Emotional Learning or SEL.
Social and emotional learning is the intentional teaching of skills for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and healthy social relationships. SEL is a powerful tool for rebuilding the skills that were lost during online learning.
The cultural impact of SEL teaching can be profound. School culture is heavily influenced by the relationships between students and staff. So you will want to craft a program that fits your school culture like our partner Global Academies has.
SEL, like PBIS, can be used to develop a common language across the school building for what’s expected and celebrated within a school community. You can develop both programs together like our partner school The Dulles School of Excellence has.
By using a points system to reward students for exhibiting positive behavior you can cultivate a culture of respect and appreciation in the classroom.
Additionally, PBIS encourages the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are important for students to carry with them both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to the points system, teachers can also incorporate PBIS-based lessons into the classroom, such as providing students with strategies to effectively manage their emotions and resolve conflicts.
By incorporating PBIS into their classroom management plan, teachers can create an environment conducive to learning and reduce problematic behaviors.
“We have focused dramatically on SEL for students and staff. It is part of every day, whereas in the past it was random at best. Our goals are to instill in the students that they don't have to be perfect, but they need to try their best and show what they know; take school seriously, and be at school regularly. We built a program that the students love and look forward to daily. “
Charter School Admin, Arizona from School Culture Report
Schools have dozens of options when it comes to choosing a behavior system for their learning environment. Positive behavioral intervention strategies stand out because of the many benefits they offer educators and students alike.
One prime benefit is that it was created with all students in mind. The focus of the system is to teach and promote positive behavior across the board.
Classroom teachers are trained on PBIS interventions and they use these strategies to support all students.
Due to its inclusive nature, students with more complex behavioral needs do not feel excluded. Instead, support is offered to them not only on the Tier 1 level but in the form of Tier 2 behavior interventions and Tier 3 as well.
This, in turn, helps to build dynamic school culture.
Other benefits include…
A PBIS school is one in which organization and safety are evident but not at the expense of student motivation and engagement. It can be a place where teachers want to teach and students want to learn. A place that is genuinely making data-based decisions. A place that aligns their decisions with the culture they are striving to create. It starts with school-wide expectations but extends to the classrooms in the building.
We want organized and well-run classrooms, but we also want rooms where the students are incredibly motivated to learn. This can be accomplished by integrating PBIS and classroom management.
Looking for a place to start your school culture journey? Check out our free PBIS template where you can download a sample to get started or o learn what other educators are saying take a look at our PBIS reviews.
How do you unlock the full potential of PBIS? Check out our resources on harnessing the power of PBIS for your school district. Providing behavior support in today's schools requires that we address behavior problems holistically. Check out how The Dulles School of Excellence is doing just that by blending PBIS and SEL.
For more on PBIS tiers, check out episode 29 of our podcast!
Every day, the LiveSchool Vision becomes reality.
