North Wilkesboro Elementary has been recognized as a Model School in the NC PBIS Initative.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a model supported by the North Carolina Department of Education and Wilkes County Schools. Positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) is a system that is developed by a school for improving behavior. It is used
- With all students
- Across all environments (classroom, lunchroom, restroom, school grounds.)
- To help schools create effective learning environments.
What does PBIS look like?
PBIS consists of three steps.
Step 1: Identify and Teach Expected Behaviors
- Identify expectations across all environments, particularly those areas where school data indicates that improvements are needed.
- Provide examples of what behaviors are expected, including these areas: cafeteria, bus, and social areas such as they gym or playground/ball field.
- Post the expectations throughout the building.
Teaching behavioral expectations means that the school PBIS team must identify what the expectations are in different locations across the school day. The team develops a teaching matrix of expected behaviors. These behaviors will be differ, depending on the specific environment.
Step 2: Positively Reinforce and Reward Expected BehaviorsWhen students meet school-wide expectations, school staff will note their success with positive reinforcement. This might include praise, punch cards, coupons, or another system that can be used for student incentives. It might include weekly drawings for rewards, special privileges, or recognition during student assemblies. All school staff members use this system.
Step 3: Enforce Meaningful Consequences for Violations In addition to teaching and rewarding positive behaviors, the school will identify a consistent way to respond to problem behavior when it occurs. This will help everyone to know what behaviors violate the expectations. Problem behaviors typically fall under the categories of minor or major problems.
- Minor behaviors are dealt with by building staff or the classroom teacher
- Major violations are managed by administrative staff.
Why is Family Involvement Important?
Teaching a behavior that schools expect to see works best when there is consistency across home and school settings. When a student has challenging behavior at school, a strong partnership between the school and family is important. Family involvement is a key feature when developing positive behavior support plans for students with special needs. Positive behavioral interventions and support is a school-wide approach to helping all students learn to self-manage behaviors. However, parent involvement is really important in all aspects of PBIS. When parents are involved, outcomes for children are better.