Positive Behavior Program Makes Positive Impact In School

Educators at Woodland District 50 in Gurnee realized about five years ago that each of their four schools had a different method for dealing with inappropriate behaviors, with no method to determine improvement. 

So they started focusing on the positive through Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, an educational tool that is used all over the country as a template for consistently achieving expected behaviors.

Bringing Out the Good

The “big idea” behind the PBIS program is to increase instruction time and decrease time spent on behavior, according to Lori Casey, assistant superintendent of education for District 50.

“You have to teach children how to behave. We used to assume that they knew how. With PBIS, teachers demonstrate appropriate behaviors and provide students with what we call ‘cool tools.’ The students are then recognized for using the tools, such as remembering not to run in the hallway,” said Casey.

Like District 50, Grayslake District 46 wanted students to understand what behavior was expected of them.

“Because of PBIS, all of our schools are filled with students that show exemplary behavior in the classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, playgrounds and on buses.  Students can clearly describe the schoolwide expectations and show great enthusiasm for PBIS,” said Heather Lorenzo, assistant director of pupil services for District 46.

Both districts use a positive rewards program for students and staff for modeling good behavior. At District 50, ROAR tickets are given and can be redeemed for free awards, such as an extra recess.

The acronym stands for (R) Be Respectful, (O) Take Ownership, (A) Be Accepting and (R) Be Ready. District 46 has incorporated SOAR as the theme for its program, which stands for be (S) Safe, take (O) Ownership, and (A) Always be Respectful.

“Our schools have developed outstanding systems that adhere to the student ages and interests,” said District 46’s Lorenzo. “Some have school stores, some weekly rewards, some quarterly rewards. Frederick School reached out to the community businesses and asked them to participate by handing out SOAR slips to students that behave appropriately while at the businesses.”

Planning for Success

While District 50 has gone the more widely used route of integrating the PBIS program one school at a time, District 46 has taken a streamlined approach to implementing PBIS.

“Unlike many, our district moved every building (four K-4, one grades 5-6, one grades 7-8 and one K-8) through the process at the same time,” said Lorenzo. 

“We started by committing to the IL PBIS Network to help guide us in the process. They offer a series of training sessions geared to help phase in one phase at a time,” she said. “A year ago, each building’s internal coach (a social worker) and their team of around five teachers from various roles and grades in the buildings attended the universal-level training sessions, along with their building principal. That year was our year to develop a plan for implementation.”

Regardless of the length of time spent integrating the program, PBIS is an active, ongoing process.

“We really like it because it is data driven,” said Casey. “As an example, each year we track where are the behaviors, who is doing them, how often and when. This allows us to be proactive and figure out solutions. Every year starts with both a staff and student kickoff with a set of skills that are consistent with what we’ve learned.”

Rewarding Good Behaviors

District 50 middle school teacher Mary Santry has been involved with the PBIS program since it began.

“It is great to be able to focus on the students who do what they are supposed to. The PBIS program focuses on acknowledging students for their positive behaviors,” said Santry.  

“The increase in teaching time is significant. By actively using the ROAR principles in my eighth-grade classroom, I can gain three minutes of teaching time during a 50-minute class period,” she said. “Three minutes may seem insignificant, however, over the course of one school year I gain almost nine hours of teaching time. That is only one class!”

Most students, nearly 85 percent to 90 percent, respond to what PBIS refers to as the universal level. For the remaining students who continue to experience difficulty adjusting to expectations, there is additional training offered to the program administrators. District 50 will begin integrating this next level this school year with what they are calling “Check-in and Check-out,” which will provide a closer level of support.

“This school year (2010-11) was our first year at the universal level,” said Lorenzo. “Next year, we will be sending new teams that will make up the secondary and tertiary levels, the final two levels, to training sessions to plan their implementation for the following year. These two tiers focus on more intensive intervention approaches to improve behavioral issues that are more frequent than at the universal level.” 

Both Grayslake and Gurnee elementary school districts are using the PBIS programs to focus on the positive.

For Lorenzo, the positive behavior program in Grayslake has become a valuable asset to the district. “We have seen remarkable success and anticipate many more years of growth with full PBIS implementation,” she said.

For Casey, the goal in Gurnee is “to go from external reward to improved behavior. The expectations become part of the climate and culture.”