Polk Life and Learning Center is a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) school. PBS is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.
In the past, school-wide discipline has focused mainly on reacting to specific student misbehavior by implementing punishment-based strategies including reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions. Research has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when it is used inconsistently and in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective. Introducing, modeling, and reinforcing positive social behavior is an important of a student’s educational experience. Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. The purpose of school-wide PBS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.
Systems are needed to support the collective use of best practices by individuals within the organization. The school-wide PBS process emphasizes the creation of systems that support the adoption and durable implementation of evidence-based practices and procedures, and fit within on-going school reform efforts. An interactive approach that includes opportunities to correct and improve four key elements is used in school-wide PBS focusing on:
An effective school-wide system of discipline or positive behavioral interventions and supports is only as good as the structures and processes that are in place to support their sustained use. When setting up a school-wide system of discipline or positive behavioral interventions and supports, the following steps should be followed:
All effective school-wide systems have seven major components in common:
Many schools make the mistake implementing a school-wide system of discipline or positive behavior support without monitoring its effectiveness on a regular and frequent basis. Regular monitoring and evaluation are needed to:
School-wide positive behavior support is not considered a new initiative. Instead, it is a set of problem solving strategies and processes that can be used to build upon a school’s existing strengths. However, school-wide PBS has a lot of characteristics that overlap with other initiatives. Proactive school-wide discipline systems create environments in which:
The link between families and positive behavioral interventions and supports is an important one. When families are meaningfully involved in educational activities their children do better in schools. Families play an important part in their child's education and social development. The presence of parents in schools not only provides additional academic supports but also creates community and cultural connections. In many schools, family participation in the school-wide positive behavior support process is growing. Family members are part of state, district, and school planning teams and participate in school-wide activities in a variety of ways. Family members participate in the assessment and problem solving process to create individualized positive behavior support plans for their children .
Historically, family involvement has been seen as a key feature when developing individual positive behavior support plans for students with comprehensive needs. Family members participate in planning teams, learn how to teach their children the importance of school-wide expectations at home and in the community, and volunteer to participate in related school activities including school celebrations, public relations, and the search for donations and free resources in the community.
School practices that inform and involve parents affect parental involvement more strongly than parent education, family size, marital status or student grade level. Polk Life and Learning has a volunteer program which encourages involvement by parents assisting in class rooms, acting as chaperones for Community Based Instruction Trips (CBI) and helping with fund raisers such as our yearly County Store Auction and Rummage Sale and Spring Yard Sale, creating informational bulletin boards, assisting in the media center, and involvement in Special Olympics. Parents with the highest volunteer hours are presented with honored recognition awards at school celebrations where school-wide PBS efforts are the major focus of the festivities. Family events are scheduled to introduce the school-wide expectations, show progress on school-wide outcomes, and provide families with access to information about community resources.
Many families of students with disabilities have participated in individual positive behavior support planning and in creating individualized education programs (IEPs). The IEPs of children with behavioral disabilities must include behavior goals, objectives, and intervention plans. Families of students without disabilities can participate in individual PBS planning as well. Family members are asked to serve on the school planning team to provide input and assist in evaluating systems for supporting individual students.
