PBIS
The Lammersville Unified School District was the recipient of a School Climate Transformation Grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS). The funds are being dispersed over the course of five years (2014-2019). Per the grant requirements, funds are being used to guide the planning and implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) at all school sites.
What is PBIS?
- PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. PBIS provides a multi-tiered system of supports for school sites to organize evidence based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all students.
- Evidence based features of School-Wide PBIS (SW-PBIS) include:
- Prevention
- Define and teach positive social expectations
- Acknowledge positive behavior
- Arrange consistent, appropriate consequences for problem behavior
- On-going collection and use of data for team based decision making
- Continuum of intensive, individual intervention supports
- Implementation of the systems that support effective practices
Why PBIS?
- Research has demonstrated that the social culture of a school matters.
- The fundamental purpose of PBIS is to make schools more effective and equitable learning environments. We do this by making school environments 1) Predictable 2) Consistent 3) Positive and 4) Safe
- Schools should provide a continuum of supports that begins with the whole school and extends to intensive, wraparound supports for individual students and their families.
- Implementing School-Wide PBIS has led to a:
- Reduction in problem behavior
- Increased academic performance
- Increased attendance
- Improved social emotional competence
- Improved perception of safety
- Reduction in bullying behaviors
- Improved organizational efficiency
- Reduction in staff turnover
- Increased perception of teacher efficacy
- Research articles, additional resources and information regarding PBIS can be found at PBIS.org and APBS.org
Goals from the grant include:
- Enhancing school cultures with equal access and treatment for all students
- Investing in prevention first, and then providing multiple tiers of support with increases in intensity of research based practices
- Providing common social and emotional development of all students at the elementary school level
- Reducing office discipline referrals (ODR's) and student suspension and expulsion rates
- Increasing student attendance rates