Example letters of support for PBIS

Three schools in the Wenatchee School District will be attending PBIS training this June.  See Happy dance post for more info.

Have you offered a word of encouragement?  Have you written a letter of support?  If yes, fantastic!  Thank you!

Positive support will yield positive results.  

Below are some examples of the letters I sent to school and district administrators and educators this week.  Feel free to copy and add your own words of encouragement.

Dear

I would like to offer my praise and support to {Lincoln Elementary} school as you prepare to send a team to the PBIS training this year.  I know that there are many parents and community members that appreciate your efforts and are excited about the possibilities for the students and staff at {Lincoln}.

Sincerely,

Example of a letter sent to Wenatchee School District Superintendent and School Board members:

Dear

I would like to thank you for your pledged support of Columbia Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, and Pioneer Middle schools in their training for PBIS this year.  I know that many parents and community members share my appreciation and are excited about the possibilities for our students and staff at these schools.  Thank you for your continued support of Lewis and Clark Elementary and Valley Academy of Learning in their implementation of PBIS.

Sincerely,

Action Plan #4

If you are not aware, March 13 was a historic moment at the Wenatchee School Board meeting. Superintendent Brian Flones presented a recommended action plan in favor of alternatives to Make Your Day:

"In order to address both the concerns from our stakeholders and the need to continually improve and align our student behavior support model with current research and best practices I am recommending the following action:

1. Form a committee of administrators, staff, and parents to review current research and best practices (i.e. PBIS framework) that will be used to improve our current Make Your Day model and for any new model.

2. Allow schools to modify or adjust components of Make Your Day to meet the criteria of the framework and guidelines.

3. Allow schools to use a different student behavior support model that is endorsed by the United States Department of Education as a research based best practice.

The timeframe for the committee work will be over the next three months with a recommendation made to the school board by June 12, 2012. Schools will be allowed to continue with Make Your Day or pursue a new model beginning in the 2012-13 school year."

Excerpt from March 13, 2012 Letter to the (WSD) Board of Directors from Brian Flones, Superintendent (WSD)

I met with Superintendent Flones on March 29 and am concerned about the negative feedback he is receiving from his teachers and administrators. Of course, this was expected as change is difficult and creates fear in any organization. However, I would like to counter this with some "positive behavior support".

If you would, please consider writing to Brian Flones with copies to each school board member. This letter would be a thank you note regarding his action of forming a committee to look at research, evidence, and best practices and his support of PBIS as a model for Wenatchee Schools.

Read Brian's school board letter and the hand-out from the March 12th information night to assist you in letter writing. A letter is preferred over email and copies for board members can be sent to the district office. My goal is to have a massive amount of positive feedback to Brian (and the school board) before our first committee meeting on April 16.

Thank you so much for everything you have done over the past years to pave the way for a healthy change today.

Jennifer Talbot
4/1/12

WENATCHEE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Superintendent Brian Flones

School Board Members

Gary Callison

Jesus Hernandez

Kevin Gilbert

Dr. Walter Newman

Laura Jaecks

MAIL	HAND DELIVER
Wenatchee School District P.O. Box 1767 Wenatchee, WA  98801	235 Sunset Avenue (behind Orchard Middle School)

Action Plan #3

Over the past three years, parents and grandparents have publically expressed their concerns with the Make Your Day program at School Board meetings.  Some of these parents have asked the School District to consider alternatives such as PBIS.  Those brave individuals opened the door for our current lobbying efforts.  We must continue to take bold steps toward advocating for change.

First, continue to add parents, students, staff, and community members to our numbers of followers.

Email group - Send your friends a link to this blog at www.makeyourday-timeforchange.blogspot.com. 

Second, invite friends to our Positive Behavior Support for our Schools information meeting on March 12.  A team of presenters is working hard to prepare for this meeting.  The School Board and District have been invited.  This is an excellent way to show your support and get more information.

Event flyer is in jpeg form, so it can be forwarded via email and other means.  Look under Blog Post from February on Positive Behavior Support for our Schools.

Third, continue to talk to others about the possibility of Positive Behavior Support as an alternative to Make Your Day.

Finally, thank you for all your support.  It is truly amazing what we can accomplish when we work together!

Jennifer Talbot

3-2-12

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