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PBIS - Positive Behavior Interventions and SupportsUniversal Team MissionTo foster and promote a positive school climate that enhances student learning through teaching and recognizing positive behavior. We will use data to guide the implementation of this program. A Letter from the PBIS TeamDear Families, Building respect, responsibility, and integrity at ConVal is the goal of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program we are beginning to implement this year. Our opening assembly on August 30 featured three students' comments on what respect, responsibility, and integrity mean to them. We heard about the difficulty and importance of making responsible decisions as a high school student, the example of integrity on a school bus ride when one student confronted another who was making anti-Semitic insults, and the goal of respecting the differences that make each one of us unique. Throughout the year, we will be addressing specific actions that demonstrate respect, responsibility, and integrity at ConVal. Periodically we will "roll out" a behavior to concentrate on for a period of time by defining what is expected, practicing the behavior to make it routine, and recognizing students who demonstrate the behavior. As each target behavior becomes part of the repertoire of most of the school, we will move our focus to another target behavior based on data we collect about student behavior throughout the school. We started with the responsible behavior of arriving to class on time. On September 5, teachers in every class explained that arriving to class on time, or "two feet in the door," means being all the way into the classroom before the late bell rings. This is a simple concept that many would say should be second nature by high school, yet teachers reported students being tardy to class as one of the most frequent infractions of school rules last year. During the "roll out" period, teachers recognized students who met the expectation of arriving on time to class. Students who took this small but important step were recognized with measures ranging from positive comments to receiving bonus points on quizzes to being entered in a school-wide raffle if they had perfect attendance and timeliness in a class. We are recording every student tardy through the School Wide Information System (SWIS). This system tracks patterns of difficulty and allows the administration to take action beyond teacher-delivered consequences for repeat offenders. As guardians, you will receive a copy of any infraction managed by the principal or assistant principals. We want families to know when their students are doing well behaviorally as well as when they are having difficulties. As another facet of PBIS, teachers will be sending out Gold Cards to guardians of students who demonstrate exemplary respect, responsibility, and integrity. The principal or assistant principals will sign each Gold Card before it goes home, allowing them to see the positive side of student behavior at ConVal and to know your student better. PBIS is a process that takes three to five years to fully implement at the high school level. After building school-wide expectations and positive behavior, the SWIS data gathering system will allow staff to improve our work with the small group of students who need more intensive interventions and supports to demonstrate positive behavior. In most high schools, about 80-85% of students will consistently meet behavior expectations when these are clear and consistently recognized, 10-15% will need small group or individualized attention from school and family to determine and address the reasons they are not behaving positively, and 5-7% will need intensive "wraparound" support from school, family, and community members to move toward more positive behavior. Back to the small steps that make a difference - if students arrive on time to class, they will be settled and ready to learn when the teacher starts teaching. They will be available to think about what is going on in class, not out of class getting into trouble. They will be building the habit of timeliness that will serve them well in other educational and career settings. By focusing on the simple actions that embody respect, responsibility, and integrity, we will continue to make ConVal a better environment in which to learn, think, and grow. Sincerely, Members of the ConVal PBIS Universal Team Ann Moller, Dana Wood, David Aines, Erin Sweeney, Lisa Cochran, Steve Bartsch, Leah Ryan, Lisa Shingler, Deb Coyne, Eric Bowman, Jean Nannicelli, Kristin Ingram Downloadable DocumentsYou may download the following PBIS documents as PDF files: For additional information about PBIS visit the ConVal district site through the following link; http://www.conval.edu/sup_corner/curriculum/pbis.htm |
