School Board Meeting 2-28-12

Wenatchee School District Board Meeting - Citizen Comment

February 28, 2012

Good evening.  My name is Jennifer Talbot.  I have six children and have been a parent in the Wenatchee School District for 14 years.  I am currently the leader of a group of parents, students, staff, and community members concerned about the impact of Make Your Day.

Over two years ago, the School Board was asked to consider an alternative to Make Your Day[i].  During that time, a model called Positive Behavior Interventions & Support or PBIS was introduced to the School District[ii].

How do PBIS and Make Your Day compare?

These are the similarities:

The philosophy of Make Your Day is for the most part a PBIS model[iii]. 

Both have a common goal of reducing disruptive classroom behavior, the number of office referrals, and the number of suspensions at a school.

In order for a PBIS model or the Make Your Day program to be successful, parents, staff, and students need to support it and receive effective training.

These are the differences:

PBIS is a model formulated by a collective effort of research and by education and behavior scholars.  PBIS is evidence based and sites over 130 research publications dated from 1983 to 2009.[iv]  Make Your Day is a packaged program formulated by teacher, Earl Brown.  Make Your Day sites one unpublished doctoral dissertation written in 1990, one overview of research written in 2003, and one evaluation report produced in 2006.[v]

PBIS uses Pyramid Response to Interventions or (RTI) and the Positive Behavior Support (PBS) elements: Outcomes, Practices, Data, and Systems.  An RTI and/or PBS model is already being implemented in our District's special education[vi], high school PAWS program[vii], Pioneer Middle School Six Day Project[viii], District Improvement plan[ix], and learning targets & language objectives[x].  In other words, our staff and administration are familiar with this evidence based practice and its results.  Make Your Day uses two basic methods that require extensive staff training to implement correctly and lacks extensive research and evidence of their effectiveness.

PBIS is acknowledged and supported by the United States Department of Education and the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.  The National Technical Assistance Center on PBIS is a collaboration between the United States Department of Education and 11 technical assistance units across our nation.  The National Technical Center on PBIS provides everything from training, program development, and technical assistance[xi].  PBIS has a large network of support available at national, state, and local levels[xii].  Make Your Day makes no claim to any of these networks or supports.

I have researched and studied the debate over the past three years.  My observation is that our teachers, administrators, parents, and students share a common goal - a behavior program that is effective, supports academic achievement, is consistent among teachers within a school and schools within the district, and meets the needs of all learners.  I believe as do many others in our community that PBIS is conducive to achieving these goals.  I am lobbying the School District to take action this spring towards replacing or altering our Make Your Day program with a PBIS model.

In recent years, our School District has been earning a B average grade for behavior management in our schools.  We have the opportunity to strive for an A+ through education on the merits of PBIS.

On Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Wenatchee Community Center, our Time for Change group is hosting a public information meeting -Positive Behavior Support for our Schools.  I am publicity extending an invitation to our School Board members and School District staff to attend and support this meeting.

Jennifer Talbot

CC:

Brian Flones, Superintendent

Gary Callison, Board president

Jesus Hernandez, Board member

Kevin Gilbert, Board member

Dr. Walter Newman, Board member

Laura Jaecks, Board member

 

[i] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 25 May 2010

[ii] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 12 June 2011 & Lewis & Clark PTA Board

[iii] www.makeyerday.com

[iv] www.pbis.org

[v] www.makeyerday.com & makeyourdayparents.com

[vi] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 11 May 2010

[vii] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 8 June 2010

[viii] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 13 April 2010

[ix] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 9 March 2010

[x] Wenatchee School Board Minutes, 24 November 2009

[xi] www.pbis.org

[xii] NorthWest PBIS

---

Positive Behavior Support for our Schools

Monday, March 12, our group is hosting an information meeting on PBIS.  I will be extending an invitation at the School Board meeting on Tuesday, February 28.  Below are the flyers in jpeg.  Feel free to invite friends, neighbors, community members, and so on!

Videos on PBIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coMXxnS2XZQ&feature=share

Watch both Scott's video and his mother's video.
http://www.pbis.org/swpbs_videos/pbs_video-pbs_forum_08.aspx

Meeting with Brian Flones, Wenatchee School District Superintendent

Date - February 23, 2012

Attendance - Brian Flones; Jennifer Talbot

Mr. Flones and I met for a little over an hour.

We discussed Make Your Day feedback and history.  We agreed that the community does not support returning to the way things were in the School District pre-Make Your Day.  Staff and parents alike appreciate having a common behavior model and guidelines for classroom management.  We agreed that Make Your Day despite training and re-training has methods that can become punitive or negative.  We agreed that teachers and staff only observe the school-wide effects of Make Your Day while parents may experience other and long-term effects.  We agreed that it is difficult to measure those effects.  As Mr. Flones talked about the history of Make Your Day, I was interested to learn that Earl Brown was very involved when the program was initially implemented and that he cautioned that it might not be a good fit for all the schools in the District.  I learned that Orchard Middle School and Lewis & Clark Elementary School were the first schools to adopt Make Your Day.  Many of the other schools asked for the  program because they had observed results at the two schools and were hungry for a behavior support system to help reduce discipline issues.  I learned that one of the challenges over the years was continuing to support the program now that Earl Brown is no longer directly involved.  Currently, the Make Your Day program training and facilitation is directed by Ron Brown, Director of Instructional Technology and Assessment. 

I challenged that the goal of the school system and the community is to partner in school-wide behavior management.  Because of the ongoing controversy over Make Your Day, parents and school staff are being divided.  This creates an unhealthy climate for our community as we work to make positive changes in the six key areas developed through the Wenatchee Learns process (reference - INSIDE Wenatchee Schools, February 2012).  As a school district, an option called Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) was presented almost two years ago for behavior management that would satisfy our need for a positive support system as well as offer guidelines and intervention strategies for staff (reference - Wenatchee School Board Minutes, June 14, 2010). 

We discussed PBIS.  Mr. Flones stated that he had presented information at a principals meeting and a teacher association executive board meeting.  He is impressed with the research and evidence surrounding PBIS.  He appreciated learning that other schools in the state of Washington have transitioned away from or modified their original Make Your Day program. 

Mr. Flones was presented with the following documents:

o   Email correspondence with Edie Reclusado, Principal of Olivia Park Elementary School, Mukilteo School District

o   Email correspondence with Tom Edwards, Principal of Keithley Middle School, Franklin Pierce School District

o   Email correspondence with Shaun Carey, Principal of Elmhurst Elementary School of Franklin Pierce School District.

o   Example of schools in Washington State currently using Positive Behavior Support that were or are Make Your Day schools created by Jennifer Talbot.

We discussed Wenatchee Learns.  The process has generated lots of feedback.  A significant amount of the feedback deals with Make Your Day and behavior management.  Based on this feedback, Mr. Flones will recommend to the School Board that a committee be formed to discuss behavior management.  He noted that this is a 2-3 year process.

I challenged that the School District promised to take a serious look at our behavior management program over 2 years ago (reference - Wenatchee School Board Minutes, March 2009 & May 2009).  I stated that the School Board has already had an opportunity for discussion and that it was time to start taking action.  I challenged that this spring would be a good time to send staff members to a PBIS conference and that a school could be approached to pilot a PBIS model or modify Make Your Day to fit into a PBIS model this fall. 

According to Mr. Flones, the Educational Service District (ESD) is hosting a PBIS meeting this April in Wenatchee.  Mr. Flones stated that the School District was looking into having a group attend. 

Mr. Flones stated that based on the Wenatchee Learns comments, he is asking the board for additional support in developing behavior management and citizenship and character models.  I challenged that this needs to be addressed in a public manner at a School Board meeting or as a press release in a newspaper.  Mr. Flones promised that behavior management would be on the agenda at the public School Board meeting on March 13, 2012. 

I talked about the accountability of the School District to our community.  I asked that Mr. Flones consider how the perception of our school system affects the local economy and support from our community.  I reminded him that I am not just one parent and that I represent parents of future, past and present WSD students, staff that are too intimidated to speak up, and community members.  I asked him to consider the information that is available to the public: newspaper articles, school board minutes, and information on websites about Make Your Day and PBIS.    

I communicated to Brian Flones the following:

·         I will be attending the School Board meeting on Tuesday, February 28, 2012.  During Citizen Comment I will extend an invitation to our community information meeting, Positive Behavior Support for our Schools, on March 12, 2012. 

·         I will be attending the School Board meeting on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.

·         I have scheduled a follow-up meeting with Brian Flones. 

I will be holding Mr. Flones accountable for the following:

Are we indeed sending a group to the ESD-PBIS meeting in April?  Who will be attending?  How can we support these staff members?  Is this meeting sufficient to create an action plan? 

Is part of the agenda for the School Board meeting stating an action plan and support for modification of our current behavior management?  Have we formed a committee at the School District level?  Who will be on that committee and when will they be meeting?

by Jennifer Talbot

Wenatchee, Washington

Anonymous letter from a parent

Anonymous letter from a parent:

"One of my child's teachers loves Make Your Day.  Her class is orderly and most of the kids do what is expected.  Another one of my child's teachers wished there was a more positive approach to behavior, but likes Make Your Day.  She is glad that all the teachers practice the same methods and that there is a behavior plan in place.  When I come in for a conference, the teachers explain the Make Your Day program to me.  I seem to understand and agree that my child needs to work on changing these behaviors and to do what is expected, but...

Many times my child comes home moody, depressed, or angry.  My child sometimes seems to focus on who got in trouble that day at school.  My child is easily frustrated.  Sometimes my child is anxious about another child who got on steps or didn't make their day.  My child when doing a simple task comments, "I am so stupid.  I can't do anything right."  My child struggles academically at times, but...

I go to the school night and look at the all the great stuff my child is learning.  I see the projects on the walls in the classrooms and hallways.  What is wrong with my child?  What am I doing wrong as a parent?  Is it the school?   Am I the only one feeling this?  Am I imagining things?  I lay awake at night wondering." 

Sample Letter for School District

Sample Letter

Brian Flones, Superintendent

Wenatchee School District #246

P.O. Box 1767

Wenatchee, WA  98801

Month, day, year

Dear Mr. Flones:

I would like the School District to consider using a Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) model as an alternative to our current Make Your Day program.  I believe this model would provide our teachers with classroom management tools, keep our schools safe, and increase academic performance.   

Add other comments or personal experience.   

Sincerely,

Your name

School, if applicable or desired

Contact information, if desired

Action Plan #2

Many of the objections to Make Your Day center around the methods not the philosophy or reason  we have a school wide program.  We want our schools to be safe and have discipline.  We want all our schools and classrooms to be consistent in both behavior and academic programs.  We want our children to learn how to behave by listening in class, following directions, giving their best effort, having a positive attitude, showing respect, being responsible, and keeping themselves and their classmates safe.  

Despite more and better training, the methods of Make Your Day tend to be reactive, negative, and time consuming.  Furthermore, a system of intervention and data collection is missing.  This doesn't allow for school staff to evaluate the effectiveness of a program or identify students needing more help learning positive behavior. 

The methods in a Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) model are based on principles of applied behavior analysis and the prevention approach and values of positive behavior support.  PBIS is a prevention-oriented way for school personnel to (a) organize evidence-based practices, (b) improve their implementation of those practices, and (c) maximize academic and social behavior outcomes for students.  PBIS supports the success of ALL students.

Our School District Superintendent and Board Members were presented with a proposal for transitioning from Make Your Day to a PBIS model in August 2011.  Many Make Your Day schools throughout Washington have already made this transition.  A few of our elementary schools currently have positive behavior models in their school.  I believe as do many other concerned parents and staff that we need to convince our District leaders to explore using School Wide PBIS. 

How are we going to do that?

1. Education - Learn more about PBIS by visiting www.PBIS.org.  Learn more about our current Make Your Day program by visiting the School District website under Make Your Day.  Compare the similarities and differences.  Share your knowledge with others.    

2. Letter writing - Write to your principal, school board members, and district leaders.  You can email or mail letters.  Contact information is available on the Wenatchee School District website.  Save a copy of your letter or email.  A sample letter is posted in "docs."  Who should write?  Parents of current, future, & past students, current or past students, staff, and community members.

3. PTA meetings - Talk to your school PTA about Positive Behavior models.  If interested, we have a parent that attended the NorthWest Annual PBIS conference and created a Power Point presentation.  Send me a message and I would be happy to set up an information presentation for your PTA or concerned parents group.    

Jennifer 2-15-12

Action Plan #1

The Wenatchee Learns was started in the fall of 2011.  This initiative invites parents, students, and members of the community to tell the local school system what they care about most when it comes to learning.  The first phase was a questionnaire that could be filled out online or on paper.  The second phase is "Direction."  This form is not as limited as the first one.  It asks, "What does our ideal system look like?" 

I believe that many of the aspects of the Make Your Day program have stifled academic progress and growth and reduced morale in our students, teachers, and administrators.  The feedback from the first phase of Wenatchee Learns was summarized into 6 themes:

·         We treat each person as an individual.

·         We develop the entire person.

·         We make learning relevant and useful.

·         We include all learners.

·         We prepare people for a successful future.

·         We provide a solid academic foundation.

I reflect on the complaints and stories from frustrated parents and students concerned about the Make Your Day program.  I read the 6 themes again.  How does the current Make Your Day program in our schools facilitate these goals? 

·         Does MYD treat each person as an individual OR does it foster conformity and neglect individual learning styles?

·         Does MYD develop the entire person OR does it erode self-esteem, compassion, and independence? 

·         Does MYD make learning relevant and useful?  At the end of the day, do our students reflect on all the exciting things they learned at school OR whether or not they "interfered with the learning and safety of others."  Why are we settling for "do what is expected and do it the best you can" when we can strive for doing better than expected and doing it because we may?

·         Does MYD include all learners?  My response: Thank you to the parents who have had the courage to step forward and advocate on behalf of our children by writing letters to the school board and district, meeting with principals and teachers, and working for change.  2010 WSD Parent Survey asked whether parents found Make Your Day fair and reasonable.  20% of parents disagreed.  So, does MYD include all learners?

·         Does MYD prepare people for a successful future OR does it encourage students to publically evaluate the faults and failures of those around them.  Imagine at the end of the workday your boss and co-workers gathered around to "record points."  You would rate yourself to determine whether you did your job to the best of your ability.  Your co-workers would have a chance to express their concerns about how your behavior affected their right to do their job to the best of their abilities.  Your boss would facilitate resolving the issue.  This is what our students do every school day multiple times throughout the day.

·         Until we address the negative issues surrounding MYD, how can we move forward to provide a solid academic foundation?  We have the best academic programs.  We have talented teachers.  As a whole learning community, we need to work past this issue first.

PLEASE ACT BEFORE FEBRUARY 15!

Parents & Students - Fill out the Wenatchee Learns form that came home this week and return it to the purple mailbox at your child's school. 

Anyone - Go to www.wenatcheelearns.com and click on "Share what you envision with others." 

Anyone - Write a letter stating your concerns about and frustrations with the Make Your Day program.  Your letter can be anonymously placed in any purple mailbox.  You may send letters to our school district superintendent and elected school board members.  Contact information can be found at www.wednet.edu.

Everyone - Spread the word to other parents, students, and community members to respond.  You may cut and paste and forward this document if you desire.

Purple mailboxes are located at all the schools, Cafe Mela, Chelan County PUD lobby, Wenatchee World lobby, Wenatchee Valley Museum, and the School District office.

What does our ideal local learning system look like?  My dream is that the School District would allow parents, teachers, and students to partner in finding a positive behavior management strategy that is a good fit for our schools.  If we can learn from what works and what doesn't work with the current Make Your Day program in an open and honest environment, we can move forward together with confidence in our School District and its leaders.

Jennifer 2/7/2012

Response to Wenatchee Learns - Discovery Comment

http://www.wenatcheelearns.com/

What does our ideal local learning system look like?  My dream is that our School District  has adopted Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS).  Parents, staff, and students were bothered by some of the methods of the old system and worked together to bring about change.  The new PBIS addressed our School District goals of treating each person as an individual, developing the entire person, making learning relevant and useful, including all learners, and preparing people for a successful future.  Student academic performance has increased District wide.  This new system has fostered the community's confidence in the Wenatchee School District and its leaders.  It has changed the learning environment in our schools from negative to positive for not only students but teachers, staff, parents, and administrators. 

Jennifer 2/11/2012

PBIS Boosts School-Wide Behavior and Academics

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin535.shtml

Great article!

Alternatives to Make Your Day

http://www.pbis.org/

http://www.peacebuilders.com/

http://www.safeandcivilschools.com/index.php

Email from a concerned parent

Email from a former Wenatchee School District parent when she heard about Wenatchee Learns and the possibility of an alternative to Make Your Day.

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 5:09 PM

Subject: Re: Wenatchee Learns Survey

Dear Jennifer

I no longer live in Wenatchee, but wished to share a few comments. We left Wenatchee in summer 2010 despite how much we loved the area. Jobs were an important part of the reason for our move, but even more so was the school system. We loved the area enough, that I considered a career change to stay there, but I did not want my children to attend public school in Wenatchee. It is the only place that they "hated" school. I looked at the private schools, but one was too militant and the other was not entirely fitting our belief system. I considered home schooling, but was not ready to make that leap. I attended meetings and try to be an involved parent while in Wenatchee, as I felt the MYD program in Wenatchee was much too punitive. I remember that the first person I met when registering my then first grader was the disciplinarian. Honestly, I don't know what her title was, but instead of "Hi and welcome", it was an explanation of what would happen if my daughter misbehaved in school.

Our current school district is night and day compared to Wenatchee, from the first day. My children did well academically in Wenatchee, but now they are excelling and love school, again. They are no longer anxious about  going to school and I do not have to fight to get them up and out the door, as was becoming the case in Wenatchee. They no longer have headaches and stomach aches unless they are actually ill. I know that major life decisions are seldom based on one factor, but  schools were one of the primary reasons for our move. A parent has only so many years to make a difference in a child's life. If needed, I would make a career change to keep my kids in school where we live now.

Danielle

mother of Risa and Keith

Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: Wenatchee Learns Survey

Thank you so much for sharing your story.  It gives me strength and courage to continue to advocate for change in our schools.

Jennifer

Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 8:00 PM

Subject: Re: Wenatchee Learns Survey

Good luck. If using my story or any part of it is useful, you may use it, though, I am sure that you have plenty of stories from parents of school age children and it is likely unnecessary. If I were still in Wenatchee, I would do all feasible to push the school district to adopt a positive evidence based program. 

Danielle

MYD to PBIS at Olivia Park Elementary School

Email correspondence with Principal Edie Reclusado of Olivia Park Elementary School, Mukilteo School District - A former Make Your Day school

Jennifer,

Over the course of my time as the principal – eight years – at Olivia Park, I have guided our staff in a study of what we value in terms of behavior, discipline and citizenship.  We have spent time evaluating whether the MYD program was highly effective in supporting those values.  We also worked with parents in a manner that allows us to partner in teaching their students about positive choices, productive outcomes, and natural consequences.  Finally, year by year, we began to make adjustments to the program to better suit our needs.  As more and more staff were new to our building, it only seemed right that we devise a plan that was organic – one that my staff members were invested in because it reflected their values, supported their ability to teach in the classroom, and had an educational component that would help children learn from mistakes.  Compassion was at the heart of our work.  And, being a Title I school, we read Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty.  It is essential to know and understand the population you’re working with and what their familial norms might be.

We now have what we call the POLAR (our mascot is a polar bear) Plan.  We teacher our children to be: Proud, Organized, Leaders, Accountable, Respectful, and Safe. “Offenses” are categorized into two areas – those that are minor and those that require a time-out, problem-solving, call home, or possible suspension.  Children may be sent to our Solution Center (manned by me and the dean of students) where we can talk, devise an individual behavior plan, make restitution, or select a natural consequence.  The idea that changing behavior takes time and energy has to be confronted by everyone; and the truth of the matter is, change will only happen if the child is motivated and sees how it  is to his/her benefit, and is willing to change.  We have seen amazing results this year with full implementation of our program.  Students are beginning to think for themselves, evaluate the nature and effectiveness of their choices, and determine great consequences for themselves and hold one another accountable.  Finally, we are seeing less frustration from the adults about repeat offenders, more appreciation by the adults for children who experience growth and make better choices, as well as a great sense of community by all of the adults as we guide the children together.  As a school, we’ve experienced incredibly fewer serious infractions, resulting in significantly less suspensions, and a great deal more parent partnership.  I am pleased with our journey!

I am happy for you to share what I’ve written and would welcome questions, etc.  Some solid resources for you: Jim Fay, Love and Logic and The Leader In Me from Franklin Covey.  Good luck!!

Edie

From: Jennifer

Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 4:37 PM
To: Reclusado Edie L.
Subject: Re: Make Your Day

Thank you for your response, Principal Edie.  Our school district currently uses the Make Your Day program.  MYD appears to have positive behavior as a philosophy, but I feel the actual program is more negative and stifles academic growth.  I am trying to get our district to consider an alternative using a Positive Behavior Interventions and Support model or PBIS.

I would love to hear more about how your teachers and staff transitioned away from Make Your Day.

May I share this email with other parents in our district interested in an alternative?

Jennifer

----- Original Message -----

From: Reclusado Edie L.

To: 

Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 7:52 AM

Subject: RE: Make Your Day

Jennifer,

The Make Your Day program was in place when I became principal.  While I could see the merits of this program and wanted to honor the hard work done by the staff here, I struggle with some of its components philosophically.  Initially, with the guidance of Earl, we made some modifications to how we implemented the pure program.  Then we just experienced difficulties as a staff – those who were part of the initial training had one vision and I had another.

We are no longer a Make Your Day school, but we still have a progressive discipline policy.  We have moved our focus away from stringent script and elevated consequences to a model that more realistically reflects “real life” and offers a large educational component.  Our aim is to change poor behavioral choices through increased awareness and knowledge.

Let me know if I can be of further service,

Edie

From: Jennifer

Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2012 10:29 PM
To: Reclusado Edie L.
Subject: Make Your Day

I am an interested parent in another school district in Washington.

Olivia Park Elementary School of Mukilteo School District is listed on the Make Your Day website as being a school that uses the Make Your Day program.  Are you still using this program at your school?  

Thank you,

Jennifer

PBIS proposal follow-up letter to Wenatchee School Board

August 11, 2011

Dear Brian,

As a follow-up I put together a brief overview of the Positive Behavior Intervention Support model. This is the tip of the iceberg, but I have included the rationale for having a strong, proactive, positive Tier 1 approach, with a foundation of teaching as well as examples of both Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.

I know that a proposal to change the way we address challenging behavior in our district would be met with a fair amount of resistance. I would like to provide some responses to common objections.

1. There is no need for change. What we are doing right now works for most kids. No program is going to work for everyone.

First, is it well established that kids with challenging behavior NEED a proactive, positive approach. That is why PBIS is written into the major education laws. It is true that most kids will be able to survive punitive approaches. That speaks to their flexibility.  However, negatively focused practices will not work for the very kids needing behavior management (generally about 20% of students). The research on this from the last 30 years is clear. If we are going to invest time and money into behavior management, let us make sure that it works for the target population, not just for the students who were going to be successful anyway.

Second, do we really know how well our current system is working? We are not using data to track the students needing intervention, nor are we tracking how well interventions are working. Currently, a student could sit facing the wall several times a day, for years, and never get a behavior support plan. It is not enough to simply remove the student from instruction. We would not find this acceptable for kids with academic challenges and we should not find it acceptable for kids with behavior challenges.

2. The “good” teachers are already doing the positive pieces of classroom management. The “bad” teachers are going to do what they want, and we can’t change that.

        Instead of referring to teachers (and students) as “good” or “bad”, we should instead be thinking about lack of skills. All people, child and adult, want to experience success. Teachers who are relying on punitive practices, likely do not have the skills to have a positive classroom. Under our current system, they also have little motivation. With PBIS practices, we can empower teachers to use different tools, proven to be effective for improving student behavior.

3. We shouldn’t have to teach behavior in schools. That is the parents’ job. Teachers don’t have time to teach behavior with all of the other demands put on us.

        There is not much point in spending time “admiring the problem”. While parents certainly play a significant role in the success or non success of their kids at school, blaming the parents does not lead to any real solutions. The reality is that many kids are coming to school unprepared, academically and socially. What we do while the kids are in the school setting is what matters.

        Foundational to the PBIS model is that we treat behavior as we do academics. We would consider it unreasonable to expect a child to come into school knowing how to read, and to punish the child if they didn’t.

        Additionally, there are different social skills needed for a school setting than a home setting. Not all kids are going to come into a classroom knowing how to appropriately ask for help or how to ignore distractions, as examples. We have to teach this.

        With regard to time spent, wouldn’t we rather spend the time upfront, proactively teaching behavior, knowing that it will pay off later in the year, with less behavior problems?

4. I hear that PBIS model rewards students for positive behavior. Students shouldn’t be rewarded for doing what is expected. They need to be intrinsically motivated.

        The reality is that we adults get rewarded for our behavior. We should  ask ourselves how likely it is that we would continue a behavior without any positive reward attached. How many of us would stay at our job without a paycheck? How long would we stay on a diet if we never lost weight?

Foundational to evidence based practice is the recognition that all behavior has a function. We must understand that a student’s chronic misbehavior is working for them. Their misbehavior has rewards for them, as contradictory as that might seem. They wouldn’t exhibit the behavior over and over again otherwise. For example, many of our students are seeking attention from adults. Some have figured out that negative behavior is the quickest way to get that attention. Others are overwhelmed by academics and have figured out which behaviors will get them removed from the classroom setting. One goal of  PBIS is to teach kids to get their needs met in more appropriate ways. Natural reinforcers  would eventually maintain new behaviors, but contrived reinforcers can be helpful while establishing new habits.

Also, we can remember that rewards do not have to be tangible. A simple, verbal positive acknowledgement from a teacher is powerful for most kids. Rewards can also be social. For example, kids can be rewarded for positive behavior with the opportunity to work in the school kitchen, or given time helping students in a lower grade level, as examples.

5. As teachers, we are overwhelmed by all of the initiatives that we are supposed to adopt. We have RtI, PLC, now PBIS? It is too much.

        The good news is that PBIS is RtI for behavior. The three tiered model of a strong foundation for all students, with built in supports for kids who struggle is the same for behavior and academics. Collaboration and the acknowledgement that we must all be learners, embedded in PLC are crucial for the success of the RtI/PBIS model.

I hope this and the included PBIS overview will be helpful.

Sincerely,

Michelle Jobe

ljskidawg@gmail.com

cc: Kevin Gilbert

      Laura Jaecks

      Dr. Walt Newman

      Jesús Hernández

      Gary Callison