Gratitude and Support

I hope you will take a moment to offer your gratitude and support to the teachers and administrators working toward achieving full implementation of PBIS and providing a positive learning environment for our children.  Three more Wenatchee schools are participating in PBIS implementation training this week.  Three schools are working on their 2^nd year of PBIS.  One school has been practicing PBIS without Make Your Day going on their 3^rd year.  Full implementation of PBIS with fidelity often takes a school 3-5 years. 

Wenatchee Learns Connect Grand Opening 8-28-14

Please join in the grand opening celebration on Thursday, August 28th at the new Wenatchee Learns Connect office on 2 South Mission.  Come by anytime between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and learn about this exciting community partnership with public education in Wenatchee.

The Wenatchee Learns initiative was a critical component in placing a positive learning environment on the long term strategic plan for the Wenatchee School district. Thank you to the Wenatchee community for your strong voice and leadership.

As a community, we need to continue to support our schools and district in the future. By forming business, organization, staff, student, and parent partnerships, we can champion a bright, healthy, and comprehensive future for our young people.  Get connected today!

 

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)

Wenatchee School District and PBIS

One of the objectives in the Wenatchee School District's Strategic Plan reads: Design a new approach to creating positive learning environments based on healthy relationships and behavior support.  

Thank you to the Wenatchee community for providing feedback and support in developing this objective via Wenatchee Learns, letters to the Board of Directors and Superintendent, and feedback on parent survey forms.

If you missed the Wenatchee School Board workshop on Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS) on March 11, 2014, you can read the minutes and view the presentation materials (pages 9-17) at the following link: http://home.wsd.wednet.edu/sites/default/files/03_11_14_workshop_minutes.pdf 

 

Questions?

If you have any questions about the presentation or the district's progress on PBIS, please contact John Waldren at the school district office (663-8161).

School Summary

If you have any questions for the schools currently working on PBIS, please contact:

Tim Sheppard, Principal

•  Lincoln Elementary has established three school-wide expectations and is focusing on teaching and practicing hallway expectations.

Bill Eagle, Principal

•  Columbia Elementary has established three school-wide expectations, is teaching and practicing these expectations in five areas, and is using Second Step Social Emotional Learning curriculum

Alfonso Lopez, Principal

• Lewis & Clark Elementary is in their second year of working on full PBIS implementation and is using data to drive decisions and practices. Check & Connect, a research and evidence based method, is supporting students that need behavior intervention. Second Step Social Emotional Learning curriculum is used. Lewis & Clark Elementary no longer uses Make Your Day.

Dan Wilson, Assistant Principal

• Pioneer Middle has established three school-wide expectations and is focusing on teaching and practicing hallway expectations.

Thank you to these schools and their PBIS teams for their work.  Parents, staff, and community members: Please continue to support and encourage these schools as they progress towards full PBIS implementation.

Which schools will be next to attend PBIS team training?

Please encourage and support the following schools attending PBIS implementation training this spring and summer:

•  John Newbery Elementary
•  Washington Elementary
•  Foothills Middle School
•  WestSide High School

How can I get involved?

The PBIS approach encourages and needs parent and community involvement. If you are a parent at one of these schools and would like to get involved in the process, please contact your school's administrator to find out how. 

School Board Workshop on Positive and Safe Learning Environment

Would you like to learn more about Wenatchee School District's vision focus for key objective: More positive and safe learning environment? Attend the School Board workshop on Tuesday, March 11 at Mission View Elementary school. The presentation will start at approximately 4:00 p.m. and will include the PBIS action plan.

Shout out and thank you to...

Shout out and thank you to educators from Wenatchee School District: Tricia Craig (Special Education Director), Aaron MacKenzie (Washington counselor), Susie Choman (Pioneer Middle teacher), and John Waldren (district administrator) for attending the PBIS Coaches Training on January 27. Thank you notes can be delivered to District Office or by email.

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