La. SWPBS Implementation Resource Guide 2005 Expectations
EXPECTATIONS
Overview
School-wide expectations are a list of 3-5 specific, positively stated characteristics or concepts that apply to all faculty and students. These expectations should be in line with the school’s mission statement and should be taught to all faculty, students, and families. They are also concepts that are general enough to be applicable in multiple settings, but specific enough to be of assistance when generating rules for targeted settings.
A school’s behavioral expectations are the foundation of implementing School-wide Behavior Support. As educators, we would be remiss to assume that all students innately know how to behave appropriately in school. Therefore, once established, it is imperative that expectations are taught and revisited often.
Concepts
Effective Procedures for Creating School-Wide Expectations
§ Review data
§ Consider a thorough review of school-wide data/information summaries such as discipline referrals and academic achievement.
§ Brainstorm desirable characteristics
§ Based on the above information, brainstorm characteristics that you expect of all students and adults in all settings (i.e. restrooms, cafeteria, playground, hallways, and bus area).
§ Select 3-5 expectations or characteristics that capture the essence of the behaviors
§ You want to make sure the expectations selected are general enough to be applicable in multiple settings but specific enough to be of assistance when generating the rules.
§ State characteristics in expectation phrases
§ State the characteristics as positive expectation phrases using student friendly language
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La. SWPBS Implementation Resource Guide 2005 Expectations
Strategies
Teaching expectations to students
It is important that the behavior expectations are taught, modeled and reinforced often. Some techniques to make sure that students understand what is expected are:
· visual displays throughout the school,
· announced over the PA during routine morning or afternoon announcements,
· flyers and bookmarks,
· handouts,
· labeled on the back of student identification cards, and
· class meeting discussions.
Another effective strategy that many schools have tried is a station rotation day at the beginning of the school year. At this time, students rotate around the school to participate in a mini-lesson on the expectations and rules for each setting (e.g., cafeteria, hallway, bathroom, etc.). This is a great idea to enhance consistency, as teachers would hear about the school’s expectations and rules as they are shared with the students.
Students can also apply their understanding of the school-wide expectations by drawing pictures and writing stories about what is expected of them. These drawings/writings can be displayed around school or shared over the PA.
School-wide expectations and rules should be reviewed often at the beginning of the school year and reinforced by all stakeholders in all settings.
Communicating expectations to parents
Emphasis on communicating the expectations to parents is equally important. Often, when parents are aware of the school’s behavior focus; they will reinforce those behaviors at home. Some strategies to get the expectations communicated to parents are:
· parent newsletters,
· the school’s website,
· overview during an Open House,
· PTA/PTO meeting, and
· back to school orientation/family night.
Examples of Expectations Implementation
Horseshoe Drive Elementary (Pre-K – 5th) 18
Luling Elementary School (Pre-K -5th) 22
George Cox Elementary (Pre-K – 6th) 26
Linwood Middle (6th-8th) 31
Denham Springs Freshman High (9th grade) 35
Waggaman Special School 43
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La. SWPBS Implementation Resource Guide 2005 Expectations
HORSESHOE DRIVE ELEMENTARY (Pre-K – 5th)
The Leadership Team informally canvassed faculty and staff members to gain insight into the qualities they felt were modeled by well-behaved students. A comprehensive list was compiled and the top five recommendations were considered. These qualities were used to formulate school-wide expectations. Faculty and Staff were divided into teams and each team designed a poster to be voted upon to represent our school-wide expectations throughout the campus. Upon completion of establishing expectations, settings were identified and rules created based on the expectations.
Mustangs Must
Be...
Respectful
Responsible
Safe
Problem Solvers
Able To Follow Directions
Expectations by Setting Matrix
Settings and Expected Behaviors
Expectations / CafeteriaRules / Hall
Rules / Classroom
Rules / Restroom
Rules / Bus/Car Area
Rules / Common/Playground
Rules
MUSTANGS must be
Respectful / Keep voices low / Walk “Zipped & Flipped” / Speak only when given permission / Consider other’s space / Walk directly to area in a straight line at arrival/ departure / Consider other’s spaceMUSTANGS must be
Responsible / Keep your area clean / Walk withthe proper space between each student / Bring all materials needed for class / Use supplies and equipment properly / Keep hands, feet & objects to self / Stay in assigned areasMUSTANGS must be
Safe / Wash hands properlyTouch only foods you want / Be aware of obstacles / Keep hands, feet & objects to self / Keep restroom clean / Follow vehicle rules / Use equipment properly
MUSTANGS must be
Problem Solvers / Keep hands to selfChew with mouth closed / Walk on the right side of the hall / Use materials properly / Stop, Think, Act, Review / Know how to get to and from school / Stop, Think, Act, Review
MUSTANGS must
Follow Directions / Follow adult instructions / Follow adult instructions / Follow classroom procedures / Be quick and quiet / Follow adult instructions / Follow adult instructions
Barriers in Setting Expectations and Rules:
· Coming to a consensus in prioritizing problematic behaviors.
· Narrowing rules so the list does not become too lengthy.
Successes in Setting Expectations and Rules:
· The school climate is one that is more conducive to learning.
· Over 80% of our student population responded positively.
· Setting the rules and expectations has created consistency throughout the entire campus.
Questions and Answers:
Q. Do all expectations apply to all settings?
A. Yes.
Q. Is it necessary to post expectations and rules at each setting?
A. Yes. Students and faculty will be reminded of what is expected of them as they move through the school during the day.
Q. How many expectations and rules should be established?
A. There should be no less than three and no more than five expectations. This varies with each school setting. Rules should be minimal so they can be remembered.
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Horseshoe Drive Elementary
La. SWPBS Implementation Resource Guide 2005 Expectations
LULING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Pre-K -5th)
The establishment and knowledge of school-wide expectations gave teachers the consistent behaviors that we expect to see in everyone at Luling School. At the forefront were the behaviors that, ideally, all students should display at all time and in all settings.
After establishing the expectations, we considered each one within each environment around the school. We did this during the all day faculty study. At that time, we presented the school-wide expectations. The teachers were grouped in 7 clusters consisting of one teacher per grade level, an enrichment teacher and a support staff. Since we had to consider a wide range of grade levels, we thought this collaborative grouping format would generate rules that would be appropriate for all students to follow. Within these clusters, the teachers created rules for each expectation. After the in-service was over, the team brought the suggested rules back and clumped the ideas that led to the rules for each setting. Once we compiled the list, we felt as though it was too comprehensive. There were too many rules for the students, and teachers, to remember and we knew that this could be even more confusing. The team reconvened to narrow the number of rules down to 8 or less per setting. This information was distributed and published as a part of in the discipline plan.
Care for all property
Use safety
Be ready to learn
Show respect for all
Luling Elementary School
CUBS Expectations and Rules
Expectations / Cafeteria / Hall/Breezeway / Restroom / Playground / BusCare for all property / Pick up after yourself
Keep all food on your tray / Respect displayed work / Flush toilets, wash hands, and put trash in garbage
Conserve water, soap and paper products
Keep restrooms graffiti-free / Respect playground equipment and landscape / Pick up trash
Use safety / Stay seated
Face forward in line / Use walking feet
Walk on blue tiles on right side of hall
Keeps hands, feet, and objects to self / Keep feet on floor
Use sinks and toilets appropriately / Stay in boundaries of playground area
Keep hands, feet and objects to self / Walk to and from bus
Stay seated in assigned seats
Be ready to learn / Use walking feet to enter and leave quietly
Respond to school-wide freeze signals / Walk in line order / Quickly enter and exit after using the restroom / Freeze at hand signal and wait to line up / Face the front
Follow all bus rules
Show respect for all / Use inside voices
Use good manners / Be silent in hallways / Be quiet
Give privacy to all / Share equipment with others / Use patience when boarding and exiting
Keep hands, feet, and objects to self
Use inside voices
Barrier(s)
§ Overcoming the attitude that there is not enough time to re-teach expectations, as needed, after the desired expectations have been communicated and taught to the students.
§ Originally, it was difficult to limit 3-5 rules for each expectation. The team had to go back and forth to select only the important rules for the students.
Successes
§ Everyone immediately embraced the expectations as designed by the team. The faculty thought that they were creative, cute and encompassed all of the desired behaviors that we would like to see everyone display in all settings.
§ ALL students, faculty and staff know the school-wide expectations due to daily reciting of the school-wide expectations during morning announcements.
§ On the second day of school, students and teachers participated in a school-wide visitation of the 5 main settings around the school (hallway/breezeway, bathroom, cafeteria, bus zone and playground). At each station, they received a mini-lesson on the school-wide expectations and rules.
Questions and Answers:
Q: How did you get everyone on the staff to buy-in to the school-wide rules and expectations?
A: Everyone assisted with creating the rules during the original faculty training. Afterwards, the PBS team worked on editing (i.e. narrowing to 3-5 rules, modifying ambiguous rules and keeping the rules global rather than including lots of little procedures). A final version was later presented to the faculty at the beginning of the school year.
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Luling Elementary
La. SWPBS Implementation Resource Guide 2005 Expectations
GEORGE COX ELEMENTARY (Pre-K – 6th)
The rules and expectations were one on the very first things that we started with at our school. We developed these first, among other things, before we even presented the whole program to the faculty and staff. However, the rules and expectations that we developed were not set in stone. We did get input and made changes before actually beginning the program.
We could not think of an acronym to go with our school name or mascot. We reviewed some of the ideas that other schools came up with and decided to use Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. We figured that this would be something that we wanted to enforce and that it would be easy enough for the students to remember. We also decided to break our rules down into all of the areas of our school. We wanted to make the rules as explicit as possible so that the students would not have any questions.
We do realize that some of our areas are a bit lengthy. It was recommended to us that the expectations be kept to a minimum in order for the students to be able to remember them. We reviewed our lists several times and decided that even though it was a bit lengthy we felt that they were necessary.
The team felt that teachers should be the one responsible for developing their own classroom rules. They were advised to develop these rules with the students, teach these rules, and to post them.
We presented the rules and expectations to the school as a whole. We also presented the entire rewards program to the students at the same time. It was explained to them how they could get good slips, bands, and the rewards that came with these things. Each child was given a copy to keep in school and one was sent home. We also had a family night where parents were given a copy and the rewards program was explained to them.
We then set up our rotation stations where the students had to actually go to every area of the school and they were taught the rules and expectations. We taught the rules and expectations once in the beginning of the year and again at mid-year. Because of the size of our school we took two full days to teach the rules. Half of the school went through the rotation stations one day and the other half went the next day. The teachers were not responsible for teaching the rules during the rotation stations. We used adults that did not have homerooms. For example, the monitor or duty teacher in the cafeteria taught cafeteria rules. The coaches taught the physical education rules and the recess duty person taught the playground rules. Even the principal participated by fulfilling the responsibility of teaching the bathroom rules (somebody had to do it). Homeroom teachers did teach the rules of their classroom.
Posters were made by the students and hung throughout the school to remind them what was expected of them. Also, every morning during announcements the principal reminds the students about the rules that are to be kept. During the banding ceremonies every three weeks the principal also reminds the students about rules and expectations in those areas where we notice we are having problems.
School Rules and Behavioral Expectations
Area / Be Safe / Be Respectful / Be ResponsibleAll Common Areas
(These rules should be followed at all times) / ü Keep hands, feet and objects to self
ü Walk facing forward
ü Walking Feet (except for playground) / ü Use kind words and actions (back talking, rolling eyes, smacking lips, sucking teeth and inappropriate gestures will not be tolerated)