Creating a Positive School Climate: A PEBS approach “Begin with the End in Mind” -Stephen Covey

1. Creating a Positive School Climate: A PEBS approach “Begin with the End in Mind”-Stephen Covey Fairview Heights School

2. People will forget what you said… People will forget what you did…. But people will never forget how you made them feel… Albert, 1996

3. “… it doesn’t matter what curriculum we make, what instructional strategies we try or what assessment tools we select if students and teachers don’t care about each other.” Shelly Harwayne Going Public (pg. 104)

4. Just Imagine… A school where behavioural expectations are taught, practiced, acknowledged, and reinforced!

5. Just Imagine… A school where teachers notice on-taskbehaviour as much as, if not more than, off-task behaviour

6. Just Imagine… A school where positive interactions between adults and students is planned and arranged for.

7. Just Imagine… A school where teachers feel there is a system of support available when dealing with the most challenging students.

8. Just Imagine… A school where it is clear which behaviours are office managed and which behaviours are classroom managed.

9. Just Imagine… A school where behaviour support plans are built around “why” a student engages in a certain behaviour – not just “what” the behaviour is.

10. Just Imagine… A school where behaviour support plans are student-centered and strength-based, but the interventions focus on what the adults can do differently.

11. Just Imagine… A school where the responsibility for creating a positive school culture rests clearly with the adults.

12. Just Imagine… A school where all adults are pro-active in anticipating & preventing problems before they happen.

13. Just Imagine… A school where all students are truly welcome, despite their challenges, and the focus is on support, not on removal & isolation.

14. Just Imagine… A school where teachers, support staff, and administrators can focus more on student achievement & success!

15. PEBS Foundations Behavioural Theory ABA PEBS

16. PEBS is … • Not a specific practice or curriculum…it’s a general approach to preventing problem behavior. • Not limited to any particular group of students…it’s for all students • Not new…it’s based on long history of empirically sound behavioural practices & effective instructional design & strategies

17. “Positive Effective Behaviour Support” PEBS is a broad range of systemic & individualized strategies for achieving important social & learning outcomes while preventing problem behaviour with all students.

18. The Bottom Line • Positive Effective Behaviour Support (PEBS) enables and empowers schools to have the opportunity to educate allstudents, including those with challenging behaviours.

19. The Importance of Schools • Regular, predictable, and positive learning&teachingenvironments. • Positive adult & peer models. • Regular positive reinforcement • Academic & socialbehaviour development & success

20. Our Challenges • Utilizing interventions and practices that have more relevance and purpose than suspensions and detentions. • Over-reliance on punitiveand/orreactive management practices for students with chronic and/or severe problem behaviour. • School-wide discipline plan that is either non-existent OR haphazardandarbitrary. • Creating host environments or systems that enable adoption & sustained use of effective practices

21. Systems Perspective • Organizations don’t behave… • Individuals do. • An organization is a group of individuals focused on a common goal. • Systems are needed to support the collective use of best practices.

22. Effective Organizations • Common Vision: • Mission, purpose, goals. • Common Language: • Communications, terminology, information. • Common Experiences: • Routines, actions, activities, operations.

23. Questions to Ponder… • Problem behaviours exists • How do you (we) respond? • Effective practices exist. • How do we promote the adoption & accurate implementation? • School-based implementation is possible • How do we sustain? • Sustained use is possible • How do we expand? • Expansion is possible. • How do we sustain?

24. Successful individual student behaviour support is linked to hostenvironments or school climates that are effective, efficient, relevant, & durable (Zins & Ponti, 1990)

25. Big Idea #1 • School environments that are positive, preventive, predictable, and effective… • Are safer, healthier, and more caring • Have enhanced learning and teaching opportunities and outcomes • Can provide a continuum of behaviour for all students • Are achievable and sustainable

26. Big Idea #2 If it is predictable…it is preventable!

27. Positive Effective Behavioural Supports • Relationships matter ( they set the stage, tone, context, to maximize time on task ) • Every lesson is shaped by the social context of the learning environment • Academic strategies are limited when trust and rapport are weak • Students decide whether learning occurs

28. Social Competence & Academic Achievement OUTCOMES Supporting Decision Making Supporting Staff Behavior DATA SYSTEMS PRACTICES Supporting Student Behavior Schimmer

29. School-wide Positive Behavior Support Systems Classroom Setting Systems Non-classroom Setting Systems Individual Student Systems School-wide Systems

30. School-wide Systems 1. Common purpose & approach to discipline 2. Clear set of positive expectations & behaviours 3. Procedures for teaching expected behaviour 4. Continuum of procedures for encouraging expected behaviour 5. Continuum of procedures for discouraging inappropriate behaviour 6. Procedures for on-going monitoring & evaluation

31. Academic Systems Behavioral Systems • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • High Intensity • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • Intense, durable procedures • Targeted Group Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Targeted Group Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Universal Interventions • All students • Preventive, proactive • Universal Interventions • All settings, all students • Preventive, proactive Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success 1-5% 1-5% 5-10% 5-10% 80-90% 80-90%

32. Tertiary Prevention: Specialized Individualized Systems for Students with High-Risk Behaviour Continuum of Academic Support CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE INSTRUCTIONAL & POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT ~5% Secondary Prevention: Specialized Group Systems for Students with At-Risk Behaviour ~15% Primary Prevention: School-/Classroom- Wide Systems for All Students, Staff, & Settings ~80% of Students

33. What does PEBS look like? SCHOOL • Team-led school climate effort. • Data- & Team-based action planning & implementation. • Administrator(s) are active participants. • All students are directly taught & acknowledged for displays of desired school-wide expectations. • >80% of students can tell you what is expected of them & give a behavioural example. • Positive adult-to-student interactions exceed negative • Full continuumof behaviour support is available to all students

34. Classroom Setting Systems • Classroom-wide positive expectations taught & encouraged • Teaching classroom routines & cues taught & encouraged • Ratio of 6-8 positive to 1 negative adult-student interaction • Active supervision • Redirections for minor, infrequent behavior errors • Frequent pre-corrections for chronic errors • Effective academic instruction & curriculum

35. What does PEBS look like? CLASSROOM • Maximum time allocated forinstruction • Maximum opportunities torespond correctly • High rates of positive reinforcement&supervision • Individualized support • Positive adult-to-student interactions exceed negative.

36. Individual Student Systems • Function-based behavior support planning • Team- & data-based decision making • Comprehensive person-centered planning & wrap around processes • Targeted social skills & self-management instruction • Individualized instructional & curricular accommodations

37. What does PEBS look like? STUDENT • Function-based behaviour support is foundation for addressing problem behaviour. • Emphasis on directly teachingeffective, efficient, & relevant social skills. • Person-centered,strength-based approach taken. • Team & data-based behaviour support. • Linked to school-wide support.

38. Non-classroom Setting Systems • Positiveexpectations & routines taught and encouraged • Active supervision by all staff • Scan, move, interact • Pre-corrections & reminders • Positive reinforcement

39. Positive school climates are enhanced when the following exist: • A healthy, safe and well ordered learning environment • A positive school attitude and high morale • A clear mission statement that promotes student achievement • Clear and effective communications of school expectations • Demonstrated effective quality classroom instruction • Teamwork and shared responsibilities

40. Cont’d • Balanced interaction between students and teachers • Opportunities for community involvement • Encouragement of risk taking, decision making and leadership growth • The acknowledgement of mistakes as a part of learning • Clearly communicated expectations and consequences for student behaviour, which are consistently enforced and fairly applied

41. Why make the effort? • Higher student achievement • Increase in staff and student morale • Safe and caring school environment • Improvement in community relations and parental interest and support