May 2011
Hi, my name is ********** ***** and I have 3 children in the Wenatchee school district...a 7th grader, a 4th grader and a kindergartner. I am here to express my continuing hope that the school board will look for improvements in our behavior management system in the WSD.
I don’t think we can legitimately discuss effective behavior management without talking about PBIS or Positive Behavior Intervention Supports. There has been over 30 years of research conducted on behavior management in schools, and PBIS is the compilation of best practices borne out from those years of research. It is important to know that PBIS is a model or a framework for schoolwide behavior management. It is not a program. The foundation of the PBIS model is that we must treat behavior as we do academics, meaning that we teach and reteach the skills we want students to learn behaviorally and then support those students who need intervention using data to guide decisions. To reject PBIS would be akin to rejecting the RTI framework for academics, because PBIS IS pRTI for behavior. In fact, in DuFour’s book on pRTI, PBIS is chapter 9. Also, it is important to note that PBIS is the only behavior management model specifically recommended in the IDEA and NCLB education laws.
Once we recognize PBIS as a model of evidence-based practice, we can then ask ourselves if MYD fits within this research driven framework. There are pieces of MYD that are evidence-based and pieces that are not. We could then ask ourselves what changes need to be made? The most fundamental part of effective schoolwide behavior management is to make certain that we have a solid Tier 1 approach. In other words, what are we doing with all kids? Evidence based practice would dictate that we focus on explicitly teaching expectations with the understanding that we will need to reteach throughout the year. Expectations should be positively framed, observable and measurable. Students should receive acknowledgement for meeting expectations more often than they receive acknowledgment for not meeting expectations at a rate of no less than 4:1. Also, a simple behavioral assessment given early in the school year along with continuous data collection and analysis will ensure that kids are identified for intervention when needed.
Once a school has a positive climate and a solid Tier 1 approach, most students (80-90%) should be successful behaviorally. If we have more than 20% of kids failing, then we have to look at the environment. What changes need to be made to help kids be successful? Then, for those students failing the Tier 1, we must have a way to quickly identify them and provide an intervention. The same holds true for those few students failing Tier 2 interventions...those students must be quickly identified and provided an individualized plan.
This all brings forth 2 of my greatest concerns with our current system. First, we have a Tier 1 approach that easily becomes exclusionary (facing the wall away from instruction, sitting in buddy rooms, suspension) and one that is too heavily focused on public, negative consequences. Second, we don’t have a systematic way to identify kids needing support, nor do we provide information to teachers or principals on how to best support these kids. Once those kids have failed the tools that MYD provides, we need different strategies. I have seen some kids sitting in buddy rooms or in the school office sometimes every week, for years. Likewise, I see kids who don’t “make their day” several times a week for long periods of time. Repeated step 1s, step 4s or MYD slips should be used as an identifier for an increased need for support, not as an end unto themselves.
I’d like to give an example of an evidence-based Tier 2 intervention called “Check and Connect”. At *********, we decided to try this intervention on a 4th grader who has struggled with behavior since kindergarten. He has had 2 suspensions, countless step 4s and often didn’t “make his day”. Last year, I discovered that he didn’t know 1+1 in spite of being a smart kid. No doubt, the time spent away from instruction negatively impacted his ability to learn. The Check and Connect program has the student connect with an adult in the building who serves as a encourager. The student checks in with that adult every morning and checks out every afternoon. The adult works with the child to establish behavior goals and then simply cheers the child on. This intervention has been working so well for him, that four other 4th grade boys came to request that they also be allowed to be on the program. This student’s self-esteem has improved, he now says he loves his teacher and he is “making his day” almost all of the time. There are many kids in our district who could benefit from this simple intervention. A 2 year research study from the UW showed that 70% of Tier 2 kids were successful with this intervention at about 4-8 weeks.
In WA state, we have a PBIS board made up of researchers and practictioners from the UW and EWU and they head up the non-profit organization tasked with assisting schools implement evidence based behavior management practices. They would prove to be an incredible resource should we choose to use them. There are over 400 schools currently using PBIS in our state and over 10,000 schools using it in the U.S.
My hope is that the school board would form a subcommittee to study the possibilities of evolving our behavior management program into something that more closely parallels evidence-based practice. PBIS.org is the national website and a comprehensive resource. Flint Simonson PhD (Eastern Washington University) is the trainer for Eastern WA and has worked already with our special education department. Flint can be reached at
flintsimonsen@centurytel.net. The Highline school district is an example of district-wide PBIS. Their school board just approved increasing their PBIS support by another 1.0 FTE, in spite of budget cuts, because of the results they are seeing. Last year, they presented their academic and behavioral data to Randy Dorn and OSPI. The network is seeking a statewide initiative to assist in implementing PBIS in schools.
Resources:
www.pbis.org (national clearinghouse)
www.pbisnetwork.org (Pacific Northwest network)
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