The Iowa Department of Education has awarded schools statewide for their work on implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is a triple-tiered system of support for behavior and provides the framework for teachers to provide and monitor prevention and intervention practices.
The schools’ work in PBIS focuses on conditions to support learning by providing positive, predictable and safe environments. If done effectively, PBIS has been shown to reduce major disciplinary infractions, reduce out-of-school suspensions, improve prosocial behavior, improve academic achievement and improve school climate.
Amy Anderson, Willowbrook Elementary Counselor, shared, “PBIS is an effective program because positive behavior is viewed as a skill that, just like math and reading skills, can be taught and practiced. We define and teach behavior expectations and provide a system of positive reinforcement for all students. Over the past two years, we have worked very hard to also begin implementing a system for providing behavior interventions to students who need extra support and instruction in behavior. We have two dedicated PBIS committees that have led our efforts, but every staff member is involved in building positive relationships with students that are the hallmark of PBIS. At Willowbrook, we are proud to receive the Banner Level of recognition as an acknowledgment of our efforts.”
Following are the Southeast Polk schools and award levels for which they were honored.
Banner-Plus To earn Banner Plus, teams have met fidelity consistently met Tier 2 requirements, are providing more than one Tier 2 intervention tools to meet students’ needs; and through progress monitoring, are able to show that 70 percent of students are responding positively to Tier 2 supports. Banner Plus schools are beginning to develop Tier 3 systems.
Banner Banner schools are sustaining universal systems and practices. Students are accessing interventions such as Check in/Check out and 50 percent are responding positively to the support. The Tier 2 team engages families and staff; and uses a daily progress report to progress monitor student response to additional supports.
Honor Plus Honor Plus is awarded to schools that are implementing universal features with consistency. Additionally, classroom systems and family/community involvement are included in their plan. These schools are developing Tier 2 systems and have defined a decision rule to identify students who may benefit from additional supports.
Honor Schools that earn the Honor level award have rolled out their PBIS plan to students, staff and families. They have identified and taught behavioral expectations and implemented systems to develop a consistent response to appropriate and problem behaviors. The building team meets regularly and is using data to make informed decisions.
Emerging These schools completed training during the 2017-18 school year and developed all of the products needed to begin implementation. They rolled out their PBIS plan in the fall of 2018. The following schools met the criteria for the Emerging level:
