Implementing School-wide Positive Behavior Support

1. Implementing School-wide Positive Behavior Support Rob Horner, George Sugai and Anne Todd University of Oregon Center on Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports www.pbis.org

2. Goals • Define steps for SWPBS implementation • Clarify major barriers • Provide planning and evaluation tools • Implementation Schedules • Team • Coaches Training

3. Major Dangers: Things to Avoid • Begin implementation without staff commitment • Begin implementation without resources. • Implement without a coach. • Rely on coach or lead person to “do it all” • Implement insufficient elements, and obtain no effect. • E.g. Failure to teachbehavioral expectations • Implement so slowly that commitment is lost. • Implementation without on-going evaluation. • Focus first on extent to which elements are implemented • Focus second on impact on students

4. Six Steps to Implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Support(Use the Team Implementation Checklist) • 1. Establish Commitment • 2. Establish Team • 3. Self-Assessment • 4. Establish School-wide Discipline System • 5. Establish Information System for Decision-making • 6. Establish systems for Function-based behavior support for students with intense needs

5. Step 1. Establish Commitment • Establish Commitment • Administrator supports PBS effort • Personal commitment (public endorsement of social culture needs) • Attend training with team • Attend team meetings at school • Commit resources for team training and student training • Behavior support is one of top 3 goals for school • 80% of faculty support effort • Commitment to at least three years of effort • Actions: • Self-assessment survey with team • Faculty presentation and vote • Written School Improvement Plan Goals

6. Establish Commitment for Need then Action. • Focus first on student behavior. • “Are we satisfied with the behavior of students in our school?” • Summarize and share student behavior data • ODR/100 students • Focus on evidence-based practices • “Are we doing what research indicates is most helpful and effective for improving student behavior?” • Collect staff self-assessment (team checklist, EBS Survey) • Build priorities • “Is development of a positive social culture one of the top three priorities of our school?” • Do not expect student behavior to change if adult behavior does not change. • Context matters.

7. Build commitment by emphasizing efficiency • Don’t add new initiatives without identifying what you will stop doing. • Use faculty time strategically • Focus the energy of your faculty • No more than three major goals • Do the job well • Two mantras • Never stop doing things that work • Always look for the smallest change that will have the largest impact. • Don’t do everything you can think of

8. Action Time: 10 MinutesBuilding Commitment • Review the ODR data patterns. Do the data indicate (a) intervention is needed? (b) celebration is in order? • Review the EBS Survey results from different schools. Identify how faculty feedback can be used to guide development of “commitment.” How would your faculty score the EBS Survey? Also at pbssurveys.org 3-B Data 3-A Data 3-C EBS Survey 3-D EBS Survey data

9. Step 2: Establish and Maintain Team • A team has a mission to improve behavior support systems.(common vision, language, experience) • The team is representative and includes an administrator • The team has access to a district/or local coach • The team has a scheduled meeting time • Every week, every other week? • The team has efficient internal processes • Team has culture of care • Action: • Audit of committees/initiatives… Access to coach

10. Working Smarter • Eliminate all initiatives that do NOT have a defined purpose and outcome measure. • 2. Combine initiatives that have the same outcome measure and same target group • 3. Combine initiatives that have 75% of the same staff • 4. Eliminate initiatives that are not tied to School Improvement Goals.

11. Action Time: 7 Minutes • Review the Sample Team Matrix. Identify at least two recommendations you would have for improving the efficiency of staff time in this school. • Given the guidelines for team organization identify (a) the teams in your school, and (b) the extent to which you believe your school uses faculty/staff time efficiently.

12. Sample Team Matrix

13. Step 3. Self-Assessment of Behavior Support Needs • Focus behavior support efforts • Retain strategies that are working • Only adopt procedures that address needed outcomes • Work on achievable goals (one system at a time) • Work from an action plan with clear outcomes. • Actions: • EBS Self-assessment (with team, with faculty) • Build Action Plan using Team Checklist/EBS Survey

14. 4. Establish School-wide Discipline System • Define School-wide Behavioral Expectations • Teach School-wide Behavioral Expectation • Monitor and Acknowledge Appropriate Behavior • Use a Continuum of Consequences for Inappropriate Behavior • Actions: • Develop Teaching Matrix with faculty • Build Teaching Plans for school-wide expectations • Clarify responses to problem behavior

15. 4a. Defining and Teaching School-wide Behavioral Expectations • Define 3-5, positively stated, memorable expectations. • Build Curriculum Matrix (Expectations X Locations) • Build Teaching Plans • Teaching individual Expectations across locations • Teaching all Expectations within a location

17. 4b. Build Reward Systems • Systems for Acknowledging Appropriate Behavior. • Students should be acknowledged regularly (at least every 2 weeks) • 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative • Always build toward independence • move from “other” delivered to self-delivered • move from frequent reward to infrequent • move from concrete to natural • Build on person-to-person relationships

18. Action Time: 5 MinutesDefine a desired behavior and current consequences in your school.

19. 4c. Building Consequence Systems • Systems for monitoring, interrupting and discouraging inappropriate behavior. • Consistency across staff and administration • Predictability but not rigidity • Clarity about what is handled in class vs office • Establish efficient record keeping system to allow rapid response to behavioral error patterns. (office referral form… clearly defined problem behavior categories)

20. 4d. Institutional Memory • Handbook of teaching plans • Agenda for children • Minutes from team meetings • Action: • Develop and maintain school-wide handbook

21. 5. Establish Efficient and Valid Information System • Use Information for Problem Solving • Gather information • Summarize information • Report information to the right people at the right times • Use the information to make decisions • Report to faculty, board, community • www.swis.org

22. Data need not be a four-letter word • Using data for decision-making versus evaluation • Decision-cycles • Weekly • Monthly • Annual Plan Compare Perform Measure

23. Action Time: 5 MinutesWhat data sources do you and your team use for regular decision making?

24. 6. Build capacity for Function-based Behavior Support • Build capacity for function-based behavior support • Personnel with knowledge of behavioral theory • Systems of assessment, plan development, intervention • Coordination of intervention time and procedures.

25. Team Action Planning • Review the Team Checklist responses. • Come up with a single set of responses for the whole team • Identify an action step for each item scored as “partial” or “not started”

26. Activity: 35 minEBS Survey • Turn to EBS Survey • Complete School-wide • Identify process you would use to (a) introduce material to faculty, and (b) review system • EBS Survey online: pbssurveys.org

27. Outcomes Needed to Implement SW-PBS • Administrator endorses PBS effort • Coach identified and supported by state team • School team established, operating • Commitment from staff (80%) • Behavior Support one of top three goals • Self-Assessment Completed • By Team • By All Staff • Action Plan Developed