PBIS

What is PBIS?

PBIS is used by schools nationwide to help young people work through behavior challenges in order to suceed academically and socially in their schools and communities. PBIS focuses on the prevention, teaching, and use of postive reinforcements rather than punishiments to help students find ways to learn and demonstrate expected behaviors.

Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all by making targeted misbehavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional. PBIS uses an evidenced-based three tiered framework for improving and integrating all the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day.

Data
Schools generate multiple pieces of data about students every day. Within the PBIS framework, schools use data to select, monitor and evaluate outcomes, practices and systems across all three tiers.

Systems
The way schools operate are their foundational systems. In PBIS, these systems support accurate, durable, implementation of practices and the effective use of data to achieve better outcomes.

Practices
Key to improving outcomes are the strategies to support students at every level. In PBIS, these interventions and strategies are backed by research to target the outcomes students want to see.

Outcomes
The outcomes from PBIS are what schools achieve through the data, systems and practices they put in place. In PBIS, outcomes might be improved student behavior, or fewer office discipline referrals.

PBIS Process

School Wide Behavior Expectations

The Mount Horeb Area School District expects all students to follow the three Rs: Responsible, Respectful and Ready.
The Mount Horeb Middle School has developed a behavioral matrix that outlines key expectations in different locations of the building and grounds. These expectations are specific, measurable, age appropriate, succinct, and stated in positive wording.
All faculty and staff teach expected behaviors using a direct instructional approach: explain, model, incorporate different teaching modalities, allow time for role play/practice, and give reminders and prompts/pre-corrections. All faculty and staff actively supervise and positively reinforce expected behaviors.

Ongoing System of Acknowledgement

All faculty and staff use specific, verbal reinforcement to promote a more positive and nurturing environment where all students feel valued and recognized.
All faculty and staff also acknowledges expected behavior by using tangible rewards and acknowledgements, “Caught Being Good Tickets”, intrinsic rewards (i.e. extra time at P.E., free pass to the library, etc.) and social recognition (ie. name on bulletin board,name over intercom, postcards sent home to families, behavior assemblies, kid-nominated procedures).
“Caught Being Good Tickets” are used by all faculty and staff members to Increase higher rates of positive contact and reinforcement in general amongst all staff, promoting a more positive and nurturing environment where all students feel valued and recognized. Tickets can be redeemed at the time they are given and are also put into weekly drawing. Students whose names are drawn are publicly acknowledged; a postcard is also sent home to those students’ families.

Establishing a Site-Specific Discipline System

Mount Horeb Middle School has established which behaviors are handled by staff (minor problem behaviors necessitating verbal re-directions, teacher consequence, pre-correction and restatement of expected behaviors, etc.) and which are handled by the office (major and/or repeated problem behaviors).
Procedures exist for ongoing data entry, monitoring of problem behaviors and evaluation.
Middle School staff meet regularly to review the school’s behavior data to move forward with problem-solving, interventions and decision-making.

PBIS Behavior Supports

Three Tiers of Support

PBIs is a multi-tiered framework - three tiers - to be exact. Each tier aligns to the type of support students need.

Tier 1 ~ Universal (For All)

Tier 1 systems, data and practices impact everyone across all settings. They establish the foundation for delivering regular, positive support and preventing unwanted behaviors.

Tier 1 practices include:

The teaching of school wide positive expectations and behaviors.
Established classroom expectations aligned with school-wide expectations.
A continuum of procedures for encouraging, supporting and acknowledging expected behaviors.
A continuum of procedures for discouraging unwanted behaviors.
Procedures for encouraging school-family partnerships.

Tier II ~ Targeted (For Some)

Tier II systems, data and practices provide targeted support for students who are not successful with Tier I supports alone. The focus is on the prevention of unwanted behaviors, and these supports help students develop the skills they need to benefit from core programs at school. The supports at this level are more focused than at Tier I.

Tier II practices include:

Increased instruction and practice of self-regulation and social skills.
Increased adult supervision.
Increased opportunities for positive reinforcement.
Increased pre-corrections.
Increased focus on possible function of unwanted behaviors.
Increased access to academic support.

Tier III ~ Intensive Individualization (For Few)

At Tier III students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve behavioral and academic outcomes. At this level schools rely on formal assessments to determine a student’s need.

Tier III practices include:

Function based assessments.
Wrap around services.
Cultural and contextual fit.

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