School-wide positive behavior support (PBS) is an instructional approach based on a decade or more of scientific evidence that demonstrates convincingly that appropriate social/interpersonal behaviors can be taught to all students by educators. School-wide PBS is a proactive, prevention-focused package of strategies that addresses school-wide discipline problems. Schools in Kansas City, Shawnee Mission, Topeka, Haysville, Atchison, Olathe and Salina, KS, are currently implementing school-wide PBS programs with training and ongoing support from the Beach Center's PBS Team.
Key characteristics of Universal Support (Primary Intervention) include the following approaches, strategies and procedures for use with all students in the building:
- School-wide (universal/primary interventions) team meets at least monthly to collect and review student behavioral data, made decisions based on the data, and share data periodically with all staff members
- Common purpose and approach is adopted to student discipline across all staff and all school settings
- Clear set of 3-5 positively-worded school-wide behavioral expectations is established and posted throughout the school for all students
- Multiple specific examples are developed of what expected school-wide behaviors look like in all school settings
- Procedures are established for teaching expected behaviors (i.e., direct instruction) to all students in all school settings
- Continuum of procedures is established for encouraging (positively acknowledging) expected behavior, including a whole school system for use with all students
- Continuum of procedures is established for discouraging inappropriate behavior
- Procedures are established for on-going monitoring and evaluation of behaviors
Universal support emphasizes proactive, prevention-focused, direct instruction targeted at teaching school-wide rules (expectations) to all students in all school settings. Research shows that 80% to 90% of all students can successfully learn and demonstrate expected school-wide behaviors with adequate proficiency through a universal PBS system.
School-Wide PBS Team. In order to develop and effectively implement school-wide PBS with sufficient "buy-in" from staff, a building-level PBS team needs to be established. The team should consist of general education and special education teachers representing all grade levels, a school administrator, and other representative school staff such as the school psychologist. Schools are encouraged to invite parents to serve on school-wide PBS teams. When school-wide PBS is being implemented in middle school and high school settings, student representatives should be included on the PBS team, too. Since each school has its own culture and system, the PBS team plays an important role in planning PBS implementation for the school.
Establishing School-Wide Behavioral Expectations. Establishing school-wide behavioral expectations is critical to developing a successful system of school-wide PBS. The behavioral expectations need to be agreeable to all school staff and broad enough to embrace all possible positive, expected student behaviors expected at a school. In school-wide PBS, school staff are responsible for developing and systematically teaching three to five positively-worded school-wide expectations/rules (see example of the three school-wide behavioral expectations for White Church Elementary School in Kansas City, KS: Be Respectful, Be a Learner, Be In Control) to all students who may not necessarily know the appropriate social-interpersonal behaviors to engage in for each setting in the school. When all staff and students have a clear understanding of behaviors expected in all locations, students are able to interact more successfully with their teachers, administrators, school staff and their fellow students….. and teachers can focus on teaching rather than on dealing with problem behavior.
Once established, school-wide expectations are visually posted across all school settings, and specific detailed illustrations of all expectations are developed for each school setting. Below are examples (and non-examples) from New Chelsea Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas of what the school’s five school-wide expectations look like in several school settings:hallway/stairs, lunchroom, classroom, rest room/water fountain, and outside the school.
NewChelsea School-Wide Expectations: Examples and Non-Examples
School Setting1: Hallway/Stairs
School-wide expectation 1: Be prepared to learn
Examples: Read and enjoy displays, pass quietly in hall, be a good example, keep hands, feet, and objects to self, walk to your destination, make the most of your time
Non-examples: Make noises, or mess with displays or school property
School-wide expectation 2: Be in Control
Examples: Bumpers up or hands to side, keep hands and feet to self, single file, remain silent, move out of traffic to tie shoes, have hall pass, face forward, voices off, stay to the right.
Non-examples: Hit, kick, touch bulletin boards, walls or others, run, skip, jump, walk in the middle of hall, yell, be in hall without pass, push, skip steps, slide down banisters, leave marks on floor.
School-wide expectation 3: Be Respectful
Examples: Form a single line, walk on the 2nd tile, stay in traveling position, face forward, follow directions from teacher, walk quietly, carry a hall pass, go right to destination, stay with your class, walk on the right side
Non-examples: Talk, touch others the wall or displays, run, swing hall pass, or block doorway.
School-wide expectation 4: Be a Problem Solver
Examples: Talk in a calm voice, to work out problem.
Non-examples: Scream or push back. Yell and scream out to your teacher.
School Setting 2: Lunchroom
School-wide expectation 2: Be in Control
Examples: Enter quietly, respect others’ space while walking and waiting, use soft voice, use manners, clean- up after self, keep hands/ feet to self, use polite words.
Non-examples: Push, yell, run, hit, kick or touch others, leave a mess for others to clean-up, forget about others’ personal space, burp, talk with food in mouth, or use bad words.
School-wide expectation 3: Be Respectful
Examples: Follow directions, use table manners, be patient, use inside, calm voice, eat your own food.
Non-examples: Aggravate peers, tattle unnecessarily, kick under table, and take food from others.
School-wide expectation 4: Be a Problem Solver
School Setting 3: Classroom
School-wide expectation 1: Be prepared to learn
Examples: Listen, stay in assigned area, keep hands/feet and objects to self, be prepared, give best effort, have a positive attitude, encourage others, listen, work quietly, stay on task, follow directions, return borrowed materials, have supplies, complete work.
Non-examples: Talk without permission, play, bother others, be off task, ignore directions, make noises, put others down, distract others, use loud voice, be out of seat, mistreat materials, use computer without asking.
School-wide expectation 2: Be in Control
Examples: Stay in your seat or assigned area, follow directions, take turns, wait to be called on, think before you speak, ask to get up from seat, use kind words, keep hands/feet in your own space, use appropriate volume, give peers enough time to answer questions, stay focused and on task.
Non-examples: Lean back in chair, run in the classroom, use bad words, throw things, leave the classroom without permission, call out answers, destroy school property, tap or beat on the desk, make inappropriate noises (humming, whistling, etc.)
School-wide expectation 3: Be Respectful
Examples: Raise hand, stay in designated area, use inside voice (6”), listen, pay attention, be honest, keep hands and feet to self, and respect property.
Non-examples: Shout out, roam, yell, have side conversations, be off task, be dishonest, touch others, destroy things.
School-wide expectation 4: Be a Problem Solver
Examples: Use words, forget about it, ignore it, apologize in an awkward situation, use kind words, politely address problems, state your problem, seek positive solutions, ignore, inappropriate behavior, count to 10 before responding to an upsetting situation, think and compromise.
Non-Examples: Scream, yell, tattle or tell the teacher, hit, shove, verbal abuse, tantrum, sulk, or give up.
School Setting 4: Restroom/Water fountain
School-wide expectation 2: Be in Control
Examples: Quietly take care of business, wash hands with soap, shake hands free of water in the sink, use one paper towel to dry hands, throw paper towel in trash can, and keep restroom area neat.
Non-examples: Yell, play, crawl, look under stalls, leave w/out washing hands, drip water, throw paper towels on the floor, waste paper towels, make a mess, and put paper towels in sinks or fountains, put mouth on spout.
School-wide expectation 3: Be Respectful
Examples: Clean-up and throw trash away, be very quiet, wash hands, keep water off of floor, wait your turn, follow instructions.
Non-examples: Throw trash on floor, take unnecessary items with you, make loud sounds, return to class without washing your hands, put objects in water fountain, or ignore persons giving directions.
School-wide expectation 4: Be a Problem Solver
School Setting 5: Outside
School-wide expectation 1: Be prepared to learn
School-wide expectation 2: Be in Control
Examples: Stay in playground area, ask permission to get balls that go over fence, share equipment, play fair, line-up calmly when signaled, know where teacher is, enter/exit building quietly, be courteous of other games or classes, include everyone, stay on the pavement, follow adult in charge.
Non-examples: Look through classroom windows, kick balls outside of the fence, use profanity, play inappropriate games, talk to anyone that comes to the fence, play with animals that may come to the fence or playground, pick-up snow or ice.
School-wide expectation 3: Be Respectful
Examples: Follow teacher directions, stay in designated area, follow playground rules, show sportsmanship, line up as asked, use playground equipment safely.
Non-examples: Linger, leave designated area without permission, go into street, put others down, go on grassy areas, pick-up snow, throw rocks, chase balls off playground.
School-wide expectation 4: Be a Problem Solver
Examples: Show your classmates how to play a game. Share playground equipment.
Non-examples: Don’t tease or leave others out of the game. If the ball bounces outside of the fence, tell a teacher.
After examples and non-examples of each school-wide expectation have been developed for all school settings, specific expected behaviors are directly taught in school settings using role-playing techniques. A sample teaching plan developed by New Chelsea Elementary School staff is included below.
New Chelsea Elementary School Teaching Plan
Expectations: Be In Control, be Prepared to Learn, Be Respectful, Be a Problem Solver
Setting: Halls and Stairways
REMEMBER to verbally praise students who accurately follow the Expectations during instruction time.
Introduction:
1. "Today we are going to talk about how to be In Control, Prepared to Learn, Respectful and a Problem Solver in the halls and stairways."
2. What do you think looks being In Control, Respectful and a Problem Solver in the halls and stairways looks like?
Write student responses on the board.
Underline or circle key words such as: Walking in a straight, single file line, keeping to the right. Keeping hands and feet to self. Maintaining personal space. Remember the hallway and stairs are quiet places.
3. Either by using the overhead, or by writing next to student responses, read the following steps for Being in Control, Prepared to Learn, Respectful and a Problem Solver in the hallways:
Walk in a straight, single file line, to the right
Keep your hands and feet to yourself
Maintain your personal space
Remember the hallway and stairs are quiet places
Teacher Models:
Demonstrate what it looks like to follow the steps for being In Control, Prepared to Learn, Respectful and a Problem Solver in the halls and stairways by repeating the steps aloud.
Role Play:
Positive Example: Pretend that you are walking in the hallway or on the stairs. Faithfully follow the 4 steps.
Negative Example (Non-example):Using the same example, demonstrate the skill incorrectly by walking quickly and talking loudly.
Ask the class if you were being appropriate and what you could have done better. Review:
Walk in a straight, single file line, to the right
Keep your hands and feet to yourself
Maintain your personal space
Remember the hallway and stairs are quiet places
Practice Throughout the Day:
Before going into the halls or on the stairs, remind students of the steps related to being appropriate in the halls and on the stairs.
Emphasize the (consequences) positive reinforcement they will gain for showing those behaviors, such as teachers' praise, stickers, tickets, etc.
Remember to catch the students practicing the new skills and verbally and/or tangibly reinforce those behaviors.
Evaluating School-Wide PBS Progress. School-wide PBS employs a data-based decision making process. The status of school-wide implementation is monitored and plans are modified based on the evaluation results. To evaluate progress in implementing school-wide PBS, three assessment tools are often used: (1) the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET); (2) the Effective Behavior Support Survey (EBS), and (3) the Oregon School Safety Survey. The results of the evaluation can be compared by sub-category or year. Results can also be compared with other survey results, students' academic progress, and behavior data.
An example of one Kansas school's SET scores is provided below (SLG SET), illustrating progress made over a three-year period in implementing school-wide PBS. The SET measures seven features of universal-level (primary intervention) school-wide PBS:
School-wide behavioral expectations defined
Behavioral expectations taught
Ongoing system for rewarding behavioral expectations
System for responding to behavioral violations
Monitoring and evaluation
Management (leadership)
District-level support.
The graph below also provides an overall mean score across the seven features for three consecutive years. Schools are considered to be implementing school-wide PBS with fidelity if they have a mean score of 80% or above across all seven features and an individual score of 80% or more on "behavioral expectations taught."
