Intro to PBIS

Sturgeon Bay Elementary Schools

What is PBIS?
The application of evidence-based strategies and
systems to assist schools
• to increase academic performance
• increase safety
• decrease problem behavior
• and establish positive school cultures
PBIS Big Ideas
Positive Behavior Support is a process for teaching
children appropriate behavior and providing the
supports necessary to sustain that behavior.

PBIS is not a curriculum - it is a framework for

systems to identify needs, develop strategies, and
evaluate practice toward success
Why a school-wide approach?
It reduces challenging student behavior through a
proactive, positive, and consistent manner across
all school settings
and
improves academic achievement
and social competence
School-wide Expectations
Sunrise Example (the Sunrise Way):

Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Common Elementary Concerns
Transitions in hallway Consistent rules

Paper in the sinks Consistent reinforcement

Not prepared Common language and

procedures
Lunch room noise
Bullying Supervision in all areas of the
school

Common understanding of
Establishing Rules and Routines
Establishing expectations (Kameenui & Simmons, 1990):
• What do I want my classroom to look like?
• How do I want children to treat me as a person?
• How do I want children to treat one another?
• What kind of information or values do I want to communicate to students
about being an adult, an educator, a woman or a man in today's society?
• How do I want children to remember me when the last day of school ends
and I am no longer part of their daily lives?
• How can I change my instruction to help pupils develop the skills I am
trying to teach?
Acknowledging Student Behavior
• Natural success
• “Thanks”
• SPECIFIC acknowledgement (“good job!” is not specific)
• Public acknowledgement
• Privileges
• Tangibles
• Small to large
Acknowledging Student Behavior
Once appropriate behaviors have been
introduced and taught, they need to
be recognized on a regular basis. The
ratio of positive to negative feedback
should be a minimum of 4:1.
dging Student Behavior
Acknowledging Student Behavior
• Focus on what you want students to do
“instead” (replacement behaviors)
• Teach replacement behavior and provide
multiple opportunities to practice
• Deliver high rates of positive feedback/same
similar outcome as problem behavior when
students display replacement behavior
 Responding to Behavior Errors
Significant variables with the classroom environment:
• clarity of expectations & directions
• consistency of expectations
• accessibility of class schedules
• lack of enforced procedures (especially regarding to
hand raising and verbalizations or entire class)
Responding to Behavior Errors
Responding to negative behavior
● Immediate and consistent
● Use the least amount necessary to get desired behavior
● Pre-plan and teach
● Correction and re-teaching
Use only with reinforcement for replacement behavior
Should defeat function of problem behavior
Responding to Behavior Errors
 Classroom Essentials
• Classroom expectations & rules defined and taught
• Procedures & routines defined and taught
• Continuum of strategies to acknowledge appropriate behavior in place and used
with high frequency (4:1)
• Continuum of strategies to respond to inappropriate behavior in place and used
per established school-wide procedure
• Students are actively supervised
• Students are given multiple opportunities to respond (OTR)
• Activity sequence promotes optimal instruction time and student engaged time
• Instruction is differentiated based on student need
School-wide Support
• Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs)
• Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams
• We’re currently working on building Tier 3
mental health supports for students