Thank you to Rick Steigmeyer for the excellent articles about Wenatchee School District and PBIS in the Wenatchee World on Thursday, August 14, 2014!

Student behavior: Reinforce the good and the bad will lesson

A more positive approach to student behavior

Wenatchee School District & Building Leaders learn more about PBIS

Wenatchee School district, building, Wenatchee Learns, and community leaders attended a 4 hour PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions & Support) overview awareness training session this morning at the district office.   

The session was led by Wenatchee School District Superintendent Brian Flones and Lori Lynass from NorthWest PBIS. The overview covered an understanding of the research and framework of PBIS as well as a system approach for district and building implementation. 

THANK YOU to our education leaders for learning more about PBIS.

More information on the Wenatchee School District Strategic Plan and PBIS can be found at the following link: Wenatchee School District Strategic Plan Strategy 1.4 - More Positive and Safe Learning Environments

Is my school using PBIS?

You are most likely reading this blog post because positive behavior support and intervention at school is important to you.  What does this research and evidence based framework PBIS look like in a school setting? Some schools are using specific programs or curriculum.  How do I know that a school is implementing the essential elements derived from the PBIS research?

Has the school created 3-5 clear school-wide expectations?  For example, some of Wenatchee schools that have been through the PBIS training are using RSD - show Respect, Solve problems, make good Decisions. Other schools across the country have established expectations with similar themes; for example Be safe, Be responsible, Be respectful.  Can your child name his or her school's expectations?

Are these expectations taught to the students in the classroom or other areas of the school? Ask your child for an example of demonstrating or modeling one of the expectations. For example, what does make good Decisions look like in the cafeteria or the hallway?  How do you show Respect during class time? What does Be safe mean on the playground?

Is there a process for acknowledging and encouraging (reinforcing) positive behavior? Does your child know when they are meeting expectations?

Is there a process for discouraging or correcting inappropriate behavior? Does the school have supports and intervention in place to help students be successful in behavior? Is there an approach to look at the function of behavior?  For example, why is the student demonstrating inappropriate behavior?

Are the school administrators and teachers collecting, monitoring, and evaluating data regarding behavior incidents or referrals in their school?  Is this data being used to make decisions for continuous improvement and growth in the school, classroom, and students?   

More information at www.pbis.org

If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.                                              

If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we…

Preventing and Correcting Misbehavior focuses on how to help children learn to behave through teaching rather than through punishment.

John Herner, NASDSE President (Counterpoint 1998, p.2)

FREE Who Cares About Kelsey? Film Screening Event

You are invited...

TOGETHER! for Drug Free Youth, Wenatchee School District, Children's Home Society of Wenatchee, and Wenatchee Learns are hosting a community event featuring the documentary, Who Cares About Kelsey? on Tuesday, March 4^th at 5:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee.  This free community screening includes a discussion panel and exhibits by local service organizations. Refreshments provided. The film is directed by Dan Habib. Habib is the Emmy-nominated director/producer of Including Samuel, which was broadcast nationally on public television. Who Cares About Kelsey? has been featured in Education Week and has been screening at film festivals, national conferences, and school districts around the country.

FILM SYNOPSIS:

Kelsey Carroll has one goal – to graduate from high school – and plenty of reasons why she shouldn't. She attends a school with one of the highest dropout rates in New Hampshire and has dealt with homelessness, sexual abuse, and ADHD. As a freshman, she didn't earn a single academic credit, but she did get suspended for dealing drugs. Who Cares About Kelsey? is the story of Kelsey's transformation from a defiant and disruptive “problem student” to a motivated and self-confident young woman. Along the way, critical figures in her personal and educational life shape her coming of age and play important roles in an education revolution that's about empowering – not overpowering – youth with emotional and behavioral challenges.

Nationally, more than two million young people in the United States have emotional/behavioral disabilities (EBD). Youth with EBD have the worst graduation rate of all students with disabilities. Nationally, only 40 percent of students with EBD graduate from high school, compared to the national average of 76 percent of all students. Youth with EBD are three times as likely as other students to be arrested before leaving school; are twice as likely as other students with disabilities (e.g. developmental or learning) to be living in a correctional facility, halfway house, drug treatment center, or on the street after leaving school; and are twice as likely as students with other disabilities to become teenage mothers. Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health. (2005/2006). National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. Portland, OR: The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI).  

In Washington state, an estimated 24 percent of 10^th grade youth have a physical, emotional, or learning disability. Compared to 10^th grade youth without disabilities, Washington 10^th graders with disabilities are more likely to be bullied, harassed, feel depressed, attempt suicide, never or rarely wear seatbelts, drive after drinking alcohol, fight, and carry weapons at schools. Research has found that youth with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to be at risk for unintentional injuries; have witnessed or experienced physical abuse; have experienced sexual abuse; smoke cigarettes; smoke marijuana or drink alcohol; and report a lower quality of life. Washington State Department of Health, Office of Healthy Communities. (October 2009). Youth with Disabilities: Risk Factors for Injury. Washington State.

Join us on March 4^th to learn how we can improve outcomes for at-risk youth and students with emotional and behavioral needs.

Learn more about the film and view the trailer at http://www.whocaresaboutkelsey.com/home

For more information, please contact Kory Kalahar, WestSide High School, at 509-663-7947

Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation for Wenatchee School District educators!

Please support Columbia Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, and Pioneer Middle School in their latest PBIS[*] training and implementation efforts.  Please continue to support Lewis & Clark Elementary School.  L&C is working on their second year of full implementation of PBIS after dropping Make Your Day in 2012.

All four of these schools sent educators to the NorthWestPBIS annual conference in Spokane, Washington on November 7^th and 8^th.  Please consider offering a verbal or written thank you to each of the educators on the list below.  A thank you can go a long way at providing the positive spirit that PBIS brings to Wenatchee and over 20,000 schools across our country. 

Please support all the efforts made in Wenatchee School District schools to provide a more positive environment for our students.  Many schools are working on providing grade level Social Emotional Learning and/or character connections.  Several schools are using GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) teaching strategies.  These programs and curriculums align well with the PBIS framework.

Columbia Elementary School

·         Principal Bill Eagle

·         Kelli Ottley, counselor

·         Alison Haug, 5^th grade teacher

·         Maggie Martinez, kindergarten teacher

Lewis & Clark Elementary School

·         Principal Alfonso Lopez

·         Gio Jackson, counselor

·         Nancy Navarro, 1^st grade teacher

·         Cliff Bull, music specialist

·         Adelita Sollis, 1^st grade teacher

Lincoln Elementary School

·         Principal Tim Sheppard

·         Jim Bowen, counselor

·         Susan Miller, 3^rd grade teacher

·         Denese Sollom, special education

·         Camille Jackson, physical education specialist

Pioneer Middle School

·         Vice Principal Dan Wilson

·         Thomas Tilton, counselor

·         Dawn Wood, 8^th grade teacher

Other Educators

·         John Waldren, district special programs

·         Anna Riggan, substitute teacher

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[*] PBIS is an acronym for Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports