Positive Behavior Support (PBS)

Positive Behavior Support (PBS)

In Colchester Schools

ColchesterSchool District began a partnership with the University of Connecticut in 2005 on what is now called Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and since then, Jackter Intermediate and ColchesterElementary Schools have implemented PBS. PBS is an approach focusing onproactive teaching, reinforcing positive behavior, and decreasing the less desirable behaviors. Colchester Public Schools will be implementing Positive Behavior Supports through out the district in the fall of 2008. Each school will have their own unique set of rules/guidelines for students, which can easily be adapted to the home environment.

Whyis it so important to focus on positive social behaviors?

In the past, school-wide discipline has focused mainly on reacting to specific student misbehavior by using punishment-based strategies, things like reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, suspensions and expulsions. Research has shown that the use of punishment, especially when it is not consistent and in the absence of other positive strategies, is not effective. Introducing, modeling, practicing, and reinforcing positive social behavior is an important part of a student’s educational experience. Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to happen before responding. The purpose of school-wide PBS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.

Where did we begin?

The ColchesterSchool District is committed to establishing and maintaining strong parent-community-school partnerships to provide a safe, engaging, and effective learning environment to meet the unique needs of individual students. Using the PBS approach, CES developed three school-wide expectations in order to provide a secure and positive school environment. All adults and students in all settings would have the same limited number of expectations. An example at ColchesterElementary School is provided below:

Take Care of Yourself:includes taking responsibility for one’s own behavior, demonstrating self-control, keeping hands and feet to self, completing classroom assignments by trying hard and working for quality, and learning to be an independent worker.

Take Care of Each Other:includes being kind and caring to others, working together, taking turns and sharing, listening to one another, playing by the rules, forgiving and helping others, and being considerate of others’ feelings.

Take Care of Our School:includes picking up after yourself in the classroom, cafeteria, and playground, taking good care of one’s school supplies, taking care of one’s locker, taking care of our library books, playing respectfully on the playground equipment, and, returning items borrowed in good condition.

Students were also taught the C.A.R.E.S. traits, which align nicely with the three school rules: Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Control.

The next step

The next step in the process was to develop what is called a Routine Matrix. The purpose of the Matrix is to examine student’s daily routines and the expected behavior in each setting. Routines are the procedures and processes that students are expected to follow to keep things running smoothly and prevent problems. Examples of routines include entering the cafeteria, playground expectations, walking in the hallway, bathroom expectations, etc. CES diligently worked to complete a Behavior Matrix and the result for Colchester Elementary was this:

Colchester Elementary

Behavioral Expectations and Settings Matrix

Location/Activity /

Take Care of Yourself

/ Take Care of Each Other / Take Care of Our School
Hallway w/ Teacher / -Walking children
-Bodies in control
-Hands at sides
-Eyes Forward
-Silent lines
-Adult talking limited
-Walk close to wall w/o touching bulletin boards
-Use Student to hold door
-Materials carried close to bodies / -Hands/Feet to self
-Silent wave
-Nod to a friend
-Smile to a friend / -Keep Hands/Feet to self w/o touching walls or bulletin boards.
-Open and shut lockers quietly and safely.
Hallway w/o
Teacher / -Walk w/ a buddy
-Hands at sides
-Whisper voices
-Go straight to destination
-Quiet feet
-Eyes Forward
-Stay to right
-Stop at corners and look both ways
-Walking forward / -Hands/Feet to self
-Smile to a friend
-Silent wave
-Nod to a friend / -Walk close to wall w/o touching bulletin boards.
-Open and shut lockers quietly and safely.

Cafeteria

/ -Quiet talking with the people at your table quiet= a normal talking voice
-Walk in Cafeteria
-Raise your hand for assistance
-Use good table manners-food, language
-Time management
-Follow directions
-Use Clean up signal
-Ask permission before using the restroom or getting up out of your seat / -Hands and feet to self
-Talk quietly, help lower the noise level.
-Wait patiently in line, have money ready.
-Use kind words
-When lining up, keep hands and feet to self and lunch pails by your side. / -Clean table, floor, and chair when finished eating.
-Push in your chair when leaving table.
-Throw all trash in trash can.
-Walk safely to put trays away properly.
-Line up in designated area.
Playground/Recess / -Walk on sidewalks
-Hands to self
-Line up with class for recess meeting
-Students raise hand when silent signal is given
-Running is for grassy areas
-Tag games are not allowed
-Review and reinforce school rules and CARES
-Whistle blows= end of recess
-Hot lunch lines up by first café door. Cold lunch meets in lines on blacktop, teacher escorts line to café, students pick-up lunches as they pass by / -Play fair, follow the rules
-Everyone gets a turn.
-Fair counting if you are waiting
-Help put the equipment away.
-Hands and feet to self
-Use kind words
-Listen to the playground monitors / -Use the playground equipment correctly and safely
-Benches and tables are for sitting
- Help put the equipment away
-Help keep the playground clean.
Bathroom / -Use facilities quickly, quietly, and correctly
-Enter/exit quietly and carefully
-Wash hands / -Treat each other respectfully / -Put trash in waste basket

Assemblies

/ -Enter quickly, quietly, and safely
-During performance- sit flat bottom, feet in front, hands to self, in own space, facing front
-Coming in- silent hello to friends, siblings, or other adults they know
-Whisper voice with neighbors while waiting for performance to begin.
-Children and adults are silent/quiet during performance and show respect to performers and all
-Be a good listener
-Focus on presentation. / -Sit on bottom
-Hands and feet to self
-Voices quiet during performance
-Respond appropriately to the silent signal. / -Take care of any props.
-Keep feet quiet on the bleachers

As a result of involvement by all staff in the process of developing the matrix, everyone is in agreement about what the behaviors should be for each routine. Therefore, all adults are teaching the same behavioral expectations for each school environment. This minimizes misunderstandings; thus, we can presume that all students are knowledgeable about the behavioral expectations in each school setting allowing students the opportunity to be successful.

EVERY YEAR

Teachers and administrators focus on teaching the school-wide rules, expectations, and routines to all students across all settings during the first 2- 6 weeks of school. We do not want to assume that students know and remember these expectations and routines. This is done through classroom lessons, discussions, and always PRACTICE.

We must remember that we cannot simply teach the expectations and routines once. It is important to hold booster sessions to review the expectations. Booster sessions are especially helpful after returning from a long break, during times in the year when we can anticipate having more troubles, or in areas that continue to be problematic.

Trying PBS at Home

You can start by taking the three expectations your child learns at CES: Take Care of Yourself, Take Care of Each Other, Take Care of Our School. Then select a routine or setting in your home and begin to build your own matrix. For example, let’s take the routine – doing homework. What would that behavior look like under each of the expectations? You can even ask your child to help fill in the matrix—children are good at reporting what behaviors are expected! You may come up with something that looks like this:

Routine / Take Care of Yourself / Take Care of Each Other or Our Family / Take Care of Our Home
Homework / -Do homework from 4:30 -5:30 everyday
-Do work in designated study area (kitchen table, desk, etc.)
-Have all materials ready and organized
-No TV or music
-Do your best work
-Use signal to indicate when help is needed.
-Skip difficult problems for help later / -Work quietly
-Save questions until parent check in / -Put completed homework in backpack
-Place backpack near the front door
-Clean up your work area

Once you have completed a routine matrix, review it with your child. You may need to practice what these behaviors would look like. There are many ways to customize this for your household. Maybe you would want your child to work for an hour instead of at a designated time, so you might have a timer that is set for 1 hour, or you could have a card with a ? on it to indicate that help is needed. It’s good to be creative and have fun with it if you can.

Here are a few more examples of routines and possible behaviors listed under each expectation. Please remember that younger children will need more parental support, prompting, and guidance to be successful. Overtime, if the routine is consistently implemented, parents will see that their child remembers and follows the routine more independently.

Routine / Take Care of Yourself / Take Care of Each Other or Our Family / Take Care of our Home
Computer Time / -Only use games or sites approved by mom or dad / -Only one hour each day
-Take turns with siblings / -Don’t eat or drink near the computer.
-Clean up area when finished
Bedtime / -Brush teeth before bed
- Get glass of water before bed
-Set Clothes and backpack out for tomorrow.
- In bed by 8:00
-Lights out by 8:30 / -Follow directions the first time
- Climb into bed when told. / -Place dirty clothes in hamper.
-Help mom/dad pick up toys and put away.
Getting ready for school / -Out of bed by 7:30
-Eat breakfast
-Brush teeth and comb hair
-Get dressed
-Have backpack ready and leave by front door. / -Only 5 minutes in the bathroom
-Clear breakfast dishes to the sink.
-Use kind words to each other. / -Wipe table after breakfast.
-Leave for the bus on time.
-Have a Great Day at School!

Give it a try….

Routine / Take Care of Yourself / Take Care of Our Family / Take Care of Our Home

Don’t forget! TEACH, PRACTICE, and let your child know when you see him/her making good behavioral choices and following the expectations.

11/15/2018 draft Adapted with permission from ClearLakeElementary School,

BethelSchool District,Eugene,Oregon