PBIS
PBIS Framework at LSHS: A Reflection
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional and academic success.
One of the foremost advances in school-wide discipline is the emphasis on school-wide systems of support that include 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 support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as corridors, buses, and restrooms).
The PBIS Team at LSHS worked tirelessly to ensure that all systems were in place for the roll-out of the initiative in September 2016. The Team accessed training and support opportunities provided by the Ministry of Education, under the leadership of Sean Cahill.
The Team was tasked with ensuring a smooth and effective implementation of the framework by completing the necessary groundwork.
This included:
a. Developing 3-5 broad behavior expectations that are applied school-wide and apply to all students and staff.
b. Developing a school-wide behavioral matrix composed of behavior rules that are aligned to the 3-5 behavior expectations and specific locations in the school where the most problem behaviors occur.
c. Teaching 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. Actively supervise and positively reinforce expected behaviors.
d. Providing training to teachers on how to incorporate better classroom behavior support systems to ensure higher rates of predictability for students.
e. Establishing a token or reward system and provide positive feedback and reinforcement for students. Our token system, the ‘Brac Buck’ worked well throughout the year, with students receiving one or more Brac Bucks for exhibiting appropriate behaviors in the various settings. The rewards system also included other tangible and non-tangible acknowledgements to students.
As a result of this initiative, we experienced an increase in higher rates of positive contact and reinforcement in general among staff, while promoting a more positive and nurturing environment where all students feel valued and recognized.
