"Our school’s PBIS contained the guiding principles of the school’s culture & climate. A culture and climate I was proud to have established, sustained and left behind when I retired.” - Principal Dawn Kelly (Ret.)
After nearly four decades in public education, you get to see your share of new ideas come and go. One gets a pretty good sense of which initiative will stick and which will bounce off at some point and be replaced by the next ‘shiny penny’ idea.
While principal of a high school, I sat in a K-12 administrators’ meeting as such an initiative was introduced and rolled out for implementation. The initiative would solve (improve) each school’s behavioral problems as it taught students important social and behavioral skills while rewarding them for appropriate behavior. Implementation would begin at the elementary level, then move to the middle schools. Ultimately, transitioning to the high school the following year. Sigh…how many more years until I can retire? I thought.
Since I wouldn’t be on the frontline of implementation for at least two years, I listened to the presentation, and my elementary counterparts’ questions. Thinking the entire time, Have you lost your mind?! How am I going to get 300 staff members to reliably assess and intervene with a common set of behavioral expectations in a nearly 3000-student high school while teaching them social and behavioral skills?
The presentation and implementation plan for the elementary schools continued, including timeline, checklist of expectations for implementation fidelity and even a prize banner if the school met such deadlines and expectations. A banner!
The post-meeting parking lot talk was the normal empathizing with the elementary principals while ensuring the middle school principals had time to address this PBIS thing.
I was certain PBIS was one of those initiatives that would just bounce off after a few years and I was pretty sure I could kill it if it started moving anywhere toward the high school.
Well, as it turned out, I was wrong; very wrong. PBIS stuck and students, parents, teachers and principals liked it. It was making a difference not only in behaviors but overall attitude and perceptions of both students and staff. A middle school run by one of my most respected colleagues, Principal Kelly, picked it up and implemented it early and successfully. (I think the school even got a banner!) The school felt different. You could feel the positive climate, the teamwork, the relationships and common mission. Principal Kelly attributed that sense of community and positivity to the foundation of PBIS elements operating just below the surface. As it turned out, she herself championed the initiative and carried “The Banner.” Her daily efforts resulted in a truly positive community of learners sustained over a significant period of time.
Let’s meet Principal Kelly!
Principal Dawn Kelly is a 34 year veteran of the Pennsylvania Public School System, retiring after 22 years as a Middle School Principal.
In short, she is a passionate, competent, straight-shooting, no nonsense, student-centered “boss lady” of her school community.
But most importantly, Dawn was the first to be able to explain to my “Math Teacher and High School Principal Mind” what PBIS was, how it worked, and why it was important to her school.
Principal Kelly, what is PBIS? What is the elevator pitch?
“It’s a schoolwide approach that helps everyone focus on positive behavior and making good choices. Teachers and staff teach what good behavior looks like, notice and reward positive actions, and use data to see what’s working. The goal is to make school a safe, fair, and positive place where all students can learn and succeed.”
Dawn, How did PBIS make your school different from schools without PBIS?
“The school feels different. The atmosphere has a positive hum to it. The interactions have a common language in them.
We began the shift from "catching them being bad" to "catching them being good." The default mode for many staff was "policing." We were on the lookout for students running in the hall, being too loud, or having their phones out. The focus was on consequences. With PBIS, the staff mindset shifted. We were now actively looking for students who were "showing SPIRIT behavior" (our school's behavior expectations). The air was filled with positive interactions, staff handing out "Red Cards" and students being praised for doing the right thing. It changed the daily student-staff interaction from one of avoidance to one of positive connection.
You make it sound easy?
Oh, it’s not easy. It’s your daily work. It became the work instead of other seemingly more important things. The key is that we explicitly taught what these expectations looked like in every single area of the school. We had lesson plans and posters (a "behavioral matrix") showing what "SPIRIT Behavior" looks like in the cafeteria, on the bus, in the hallways, in the bathroom, in the auditorium, and in the classroom. We treated behavior as a skill to be taught, just like math or reading.
One of the biggest changes was that we tracked every behavioral incident; what it was, where it happened, when it happened, and who was involved. Our PBIS team looked at this data every month. We looked for patterns in problem areas and times. This allowed us to be surgical in our response.
Dawn, what is one piece of advice to principals implementing PBIS?
“One piece of advice would be that you must be the most visible, active, and unwavering champion of the framework. This piece of advice is so critical because: It can't be "one more thing." Your staff is already busy and has seen initiatives come and go. They will be looking to you to see if this is just "flavor of the month" or if it is the new, non-negotiable way you do things. You set the tone. It's a culture shift, not a kit. You aren't just buying a binder or a poster; you are fundamentally shifting your school's culture from reactive and punitive to proactive and positive. That kind of heavy lifting must be led from the top. It cannot be delegated to an assistant principal or a single committee. You are the Chief Modeler. Your staff needs to see you using the new positive language, you in the hallways greeting students, and you handing out the school's "gotcha" tickets or positive recognitions.”
Any final thoughts, Principal Kelly?
“Honestly, I’m not sure how I ran the school prior to PBIS in place. A school without PBIS can feel like a game of "gotcha," where the adults are just trying to enforce compliance. A PBIS school feels like a community that is actively and collectively building a positive, predictable, and safe environment where all students and staff can succeed.”
The elements of PBIS become the cornerstone of your school. They are your talking points with students, parents and staff. They are the goals of your school improvement planning. They are the heartbeat of your school culture and community. When done correctly, PBIS – the system – disappears behind a high functioning, well-designed school culture. Your team's level of enthusiasm and fidelity will never exceed your own. If you treat it as the central nervous system of your school, your staff will too.”
Thank you, Principal Kelly for leading forward, in retirement.
Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)
This is one I am glad I got wrong. For years, I preached the need for a positive culture and climate as critically important for student success. Attitude and perception are at the foundation of a growth mindset and learning. Students and parents need to have a 5-star experience in school similar to an experience at an excellent hospital. You don’t necessarily want to be there but are very glad the service was professional, competent, effective and positive. Yet I couldn’t operationalize my vision of such a school…until I understood the impact of a Positive Behavioral Intervention & Support.
I’ve seen the value and success of PBIS in multiple elementary and middle school settings when implemented effectively. I have also seen ineffective PBIS systems working as stand-alone or third-leg systems in schools. There is a huge difference in the impact of PBIS based on the implementation. When implemented as intended with infidelity the research is clear: PBIS works!
The Research is Clear: PBIS Works!
Empirical research points to the negative impact of just a single disruptive student on both academic and behavioral outcomes of other students. Specifically, PBIS program research confirms a significant reduction in problem behaviors, bullying and office-referrals along with improving school climate when implemented with fidelity – underscore, when implemented with fidelity. PBIS by name only does not achieve the same results.
Links to academic improvements are less definitive, probably due to the complexity and confounding factors inherent when measuring student achievement. But anecdotally, those of us who have been in the classroom know in our bones that improvements in behavior, relationships and climate pave the way for better outcomes in all measures.
Review the research yourself!
ChatGPT Prompt:
“Summarize empirical educational research on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Report findings in three categories: Behavioral Impacts, School Climate & Culture Impacts and Academic Impacts.
Additionally, identify any differences in PBIS programs leading to more positive outcomes compared to those with less.”
Follow-Up Prompt:
“Using the above research, generate a chart of references/citations in APA style including a hyperlink to each stated reference for easy access.”
PBIS Essential Questions:
- Are you tired of the “gotcha” mentality dominating your school climate?
- Is your school’s PBIS in need of a jump-start? Is it running as a stand-alone program?
- Is your school’s PBIS program implemented with fidelity?
- Are you planning to roll-out PBIS in your school in the near future?
- Can you and your staff use the common language of PBIS?
- Is fostering a positive school culture part of your School Improvement Plan?
Inspired Instruction is here to help. We can work alongside you, your leadership team, and your staff. Why recreate the wheel? Let our expertise guide your revitalization or start-up of PBIS.
Inspired Instruction Offerings:
- Principal Coaching for PBIS Implementation Year 1
- Principal and Leadership Team Coaching to Revitalize PBIS in a School
- On-site School PBIS Quality Review Audit
- Work Session: A Facilitated PBIS Implementation Work Session
- Workshop: Launching PBIS with Purpose: A Leadership Roadmap
