Getting PBIS in Shape for the New Year

With the beginning of another school year, I thought I’d take a few moments to remind everyone of the parameters of School-wide PBIS, so you can beef up your system for the upcoming year. Sometimes, PBIS has been in place at your school for so long that not everyone knows why we do what we do.

Reminders:

PBIS is a systemic change- not a boxed or canned program PBIS is about communicating consistency within the school for social skills PBIS is a focus on 3-5 expectations that are:

o Taught- Explicitly (Head-Heart-Hands) What do you want the students to think about the expectations? What do you want the students to feel about the expectations? What do you want the students to do with their hands and feet?

o Imprinted by modeling We have to ensure that we are modeling the expectations What they see is what we get back

o Practiced We have to take the students around and have them practice the expectations

in the specific locations We need to give booster shots- once is not enough

o Praised Behavior Specific Praise given when witnessed This is the biggest piece and needs to be delivered consistently

It is to teach others within earshot what we are looking for in behaviors “Johnny, thank you for being respectful in the hallway by using a zero-

inch voice.” o Everyone in earshot now has heard again the importance of

using a zero-inch voice (booster shot)

Posters

Make sure you refresh your posters. Students and staff can become blind to what is hanging on the wall. The posters are meant to be environmental cues to the replacement behavior you taught. Using real students and changing the pictures up will really help the students cue in to the message. Ross Ziegler had the idea to make the poster and leave a big blank space on the poster. Laminate it and then put Velcro on the blank spot. Weekly, catch students exhibiting the behaviors and then take a picture and laminate them and put them on the poster. The kids will look to see if their picture is on the poster. When the week is over, the students can take home their laminated picture.

Matrix

Take a look at your matrix and make sure you are still happy with it. Are there behaviors that need some updates on the matrix? If the adults do not look at it and use it to teach the students, it needs

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revamping. Remember, the reason for the matrix is so all students and staff know the expectations in each area. What does the behavior look like, sound like, and feel like to exhibit those behaviors in the non-classroom areas?

Teaching the Behaviors

We cannot assume the students remember the behaviors from last year. We need to do the behavior carnival and take them around the school in groups hearing the expectations in each area. The students need to practice and the praise needs to be more frequent and more consistent in the beginning. Booster shots will need to be given during the year.

Video Modeling

Videos of appropriate behavior should be made to be used for teaching, re-teaching, booster shots, and intensive support for students who failed to learn the appropriate behavior from universal and tier two trainings. For samples on video modeling please go to www.pbisvideos.com – there are tons of samples here.

Gotchas

In the beginning schools were asked to give behavior specific praise to students who exhibited excellent behaviors. We found everyone was really good at doing this in August, by October- not so much. We needed something tangible as a reminder to the adults. We had to put value on it, so the students would remind the adults to give the behavior specific praise. We do ask schools to give “gotchas”. The word is a generic term meaning a piece of paper with the expectations written on them. When a student is caught exhibiting expectations, they are given a gotcha. The expectation they exhibited is extolled and circled on the gotcha with a quick explanation of what it was they were witnessed doing. It is signed by the person who gives the ticket.

My rule is that gotchas are written on triplicate NCR paper. This is to continue with the consistent communication around the school and between home and school. We give the top copy to the student to take home. We train parents what to say when their child comes home with a gotcha. We want them to help the student generalize the behavioral expectations at school to what they look like at home. We ask the parents to compliment their children and then ask them what the behavior looked like at school. Then help them know what that behavior would like at home and in the community.

The second copy goes to the homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher shares what the student did to earn the gotcha. This helps the other students learn appropriate behaviors. This is the copy that is saved for the token economy system (more about that in a minute).

The third copy goes to the principal. This is the copy that is used to see who is receiving gotchas, who is giving gotchas and to ensure no one is being overlooked. We have a free tool that tallies gotchas. It is an excel spreadsheet http://behaviordoctor.org/materialdownload/Data%20Collection%20Tools/2015gotchatracking.xls

The principal also draws several gotchas a day to broadcast over the morning announcements highlighting the behaviors that earned the gotchas. Many of our principals draw three or four names a

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day as well to eat lunch with them or for other special privileges. The principal can also reinforce appropriate behaviors of adults by recognizing them for giving gotchas.

My other rule on gotchas is that they be given on a more frequent ratio to other students (not your own). If you can give gotchas in your own classroom, that is the only place you will give them. It is more important that the students learn that this is a consistent effort for the whole school. Receiving a gotcha from a staff member that is not your immediate supervisor has more meaning. I’ve not been very popular with this rule, but if you think about it- it just makes good sense.

There are not any quotas on gotchas. If the school gives quotas like “You have to give out 10 gotchas a day”, staff may panic at the end of the day and just start handing out gotchas to anyone who is breathing. It is important to only give gotchas for the expectations. For this reason, many of our schools make booklets showing what constitutes a gotcha worthy behavior. Here is a sample page with pictures of booklets made by some of our schools: http://behaviordoctor.org/gotcha-expectation-booklet/

What happens many times in schools, the students who always exhibit the correct behavior never receive a gotcha and the students who usually swing from the chandeliers finally walk correctly down the hallway and 17 people swoop in and give them a gotcha. This is another reason we keep track of who is receiving gotchas and who is not.

Reinforcements

We put value on gotchas, so the students would remind the adults to keep giving the gotchas. We have had schools give gotchas but do nothing with them. When this happens, the giving of gotchas typically doesn’t have much meaning. This is called reinforcement. We would not work hard at school if we were not reinforced. We need to reinforce appropriate behavior. We are not paying students to be good, we are reinforcing the appropriate behavior with recognition.

Many schools get hung up on the reinforcements. Anyone who has been trained by me for School-wide PBIS, has heard more than once that I don’t believe in giving tangibles. Much like our students, staff misrule on what was said and start focusing on giving tangibles to students. It is not what students want or need.

We spent twelve years researching what motivated students. In twelve years, only one student named something tangible. A young girl from Wyoming said, “Food would be nice.” We of course discovered she didn’t eat from Friday afternoon to Monday morning. The school was working to have her removed from the home, but it was taking longer than expected. All of the other students named from the following list:

1) Privileges (Earning special privileges)2) Attention (Quality Time with Adults and Peers)3) Leadership (Earning Leadership Roles)4) Praise (Social Praise- Name in Lights)5) Assistance (Special Assistance in a Topic of Their Choice)

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6) Touch (High Five)7) Escape (Escape from a Task or Chore)8) Supplies (School Supplies)

No student actually said school supplies, but we added this for those students who could not afford school supplies. We felt they should be able to cash in gotchas to purchase needed school supplies.

We have 98 pages of non-tangible reinforcement for students:

http://behaviordoctor.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/FY17-Proven-Reinforcers-to-Create-a-Climate-of-Appreciation-in-Your-School.docx

Reinforcements should be cashed in frequently. Imagine if you had to wait 9 weeks to get your paycheck? The reinforcements should also be varied. I like cherry pie, but if I ate it every week, I would soon not like cherry pie. There are many different ways to cash in gotchas:

Some schools have one day and an hourly schedule. The students come down with their class and cash in their gotchas. Students can cash in each week, or save them up for bigger reinforcements.

Some schools have a day in the cafeteria and students can cash in gotchas during their lunch period.

Some schools take a rolling cart and go room to room on a certain day so students can cash in their gotchas.

Some schools open the school store before the morning bell and students cash in their gotchas then.

Most schools create a menu of reinforcement:

Items might cost 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 50 gotchas. This allows students to budget their gotchas to purchase higher priced items or cash in quickly for those students who need frequent reinforcement.

Office Discipline Referrals

Make sure you are still all in agreement about what gets taken care of in the classroom and what is an instant trip to the office. Remember, a student loses 45 minutes of learning time for every trip to the office. It might be good to have the discussion again. Your principal can tell you if frivolous behaviors are being sent down.

Data Analysis

Data-based decisions is a huge component of PBIS, rather than guessing what to do. PBIS is a research-based systemic change process. We ask that data be collected and shared with staff each month. Decisions should be made from this data. These are the big six you should be sharing:

Behaviors (what behaviors show up the most?) These are the behaviors that need re-teaching for your Tuesday Tune-ups

Day of the Week (what day of the week is most difficult?) This will be the day you need to really focus on appropriate behaviors and perhaps do your double gotcha day that day

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Time of Day (use this data to make decisions about what needs to be done) Usually, when perusing data, you will be able to look at anecdotal notes paired with time of day to see what the triggers are for behavior

Location (What locations are showing up?) These are the places you need extra supervision. Average referrals per day per month-(You should have this year’s and previous year’s data on

this) You can make decisions on what months will be more difficult and put proactive plans in place for those months.

Students (What students need booster shot social skills training? What students need intensive support?) Students with 2-5 Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs) need booster shots and students with six or more ODRs will need intensive supports. The Behavior Support Team (BST) should be looking at this data weekly.

Attached you will find a checklist that will help you ensure everything is ready for the students who are entering your school. The samples are from a Kansas School District. I have tons of samples from many other states, so please be sure to check out the files on tools for universal support and www.facebook.com/behaviordoctor - We post pictures from schools we are visiting.

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Task Completed Checklist

Behavioral ExpectationsMust be 3-5Must be positively statedMust have an action word associated with each oneNeed to match the replacement behaviors of what is showing up in the office (sample) Students get sent to office for being unsafe, dishonest, inattentive, and disrespectfulPut your Expectations Here:

Posters of the Expectations as Environmental Cues for AllWho will design them

Put pictures of real students (Velcro spots) and change frequently to draw attention (otherwise students become blind to what is in the hall)Who will print them (National Guard will print posters for free)

Where will you place them in the school

Make sure someone walking in your school can tell what they are within three minutes (Front entrance)

Will you have copies in the classrooms

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MatrixLink to Samples of Expectations: www.behaviordoctor.org/materialdownload/Universal%20Training/expectationexamples.ppt

This outline is on bulletin board paper and put up in the lounge. All staff are asked to add input for what the expectations should be for each area by placing post-it notes. The PBIS team members will condense all ideas into 3 or 4 main ideas for each one.*See appendix 1 for sample.

Post in teacher’s lounge for input Condense all ideas into generalities Print copies Give copies to all staff Will you make bulletin boards Will you put sections of it in non-classroom

locations? Will the early childhood classes have pictures

instead of words Post sections in appropriate areas

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GotchasWhat will they look like? Need a different look to get student attentionWill you print in triplicate (Highly recommended)Top copy to parents

Parents are taught what to do when these come home Praise and help the student generalize what the replacement

behavior looks like in other areas

Middle copy to homeroom for cashing in Daily, Weekly, and Monthly – using menu rewards Teacher should give behavior specific praise for gotchas that are

turned in

Bottom copy to principal for data collection and daily drawings Principal draws several names each day and reads what they were

spotted doing over the loud speaker using behavior specific praise Principal draws one or two students a day to come down for a

certificate prize (Privileges, Attention, Leadership, Praise, Assistance, Touch, Escape, or Supplies)

See Appendix 2 for the Bentwood Elementary turn-in bin for principal copy of “gotcha”

How will students cash in gotchas? One day a week? Each grade level has a day? Rolling cart, room with certificates? Appendix 3 has picture of a gotcha store and Mr. Oborny spinning the gotcha prize wheel.Will they be worth points, drawings or both (highly recommend both and with high frequency)

Every 25th gotcha (or so) has a stamp on the back of it.o This is on the principal’s copy of the gotcha

It is an instant winner. Student goes straight to office for positive phone call home and dance with principal.

o Idea from Ruth Waggoner at Heatherstone

Develop a menu of reinforcement choiceso Needs to change often- students satiate on reinforcementso http://behaviordoctor.org/materialdownload/Booklets/

2015reinforcements.docx (32 pages of free or inexpensive reinforcements)

o Also, www.apbs.org has an online training archived that was presented on July 14, 2016. Proven Reinforcers to Create a Climate of Appreciation in Your School

Difficult days, gotchas will be worth two points each (Example: Day before a vacation. First day back after long vacation). The signal can be all staff wearing school shirt or special music played in morning announcements. See appendix 4 for sample from Pleasant Ridge ElementaryWill adults get gotchas -or just get reinforcements for writing gotchas. What reinforcements will you give adultsDrawings or Points

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Teaching expectationsWhat will your kick-off look like? See Appendix 5 for sample of how Mahaffie Elementary kicked it off with an assembly and then a carnival round robin to hear from the same adult the expectations for each area. (This way all adults and all students hear the same expectations)o Stationso Assemblieso Videos

o High school student helps video and edit appropriate videos

o Tons of sample ideas on www.pbisvideos.como Grade level trainings

Lesson PlansYou will need to write lesson plans for each of the expectations and be sure to include all the non-classroom areasAvailable by a google search PBIS + Lesson Plans + topicWho will be responsible for teaching

Will you do: Tuesday tune-ups- use data from previous week

and highlight a behavior that needs a booster shot Monthly reviews October, December, January, March, May

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Engaging Others in PBIS

How will you involve the staff in what you’ve decided for your schoolo Skits- Presentation etc.o Secure 80% or better buy-in on what you’ve decided for

o Expectationso Matrixo Gotchaso Menu of pay-offo Teacher pay-offso Don’t forget support staff, specialists, special teachers,

paraprofessionals, bus drivers etc.

Before you can finalize any of the previous ideas, you need buy-in from the staff. How will you teach them what PBIS is all about?

How will you work with parents so they understand and support PBISo Parent trainingso Monthly newsletterso Websiteo Invitations to come up and pass out gotchas

See Appendix 6 for sample book to give to parents so they know what they can hand out gotchas for- as far as behaviors.

How will you get the community involvedo Jiffy-lube, Pizza Hut, Chik-fil-a, grocery stores, book

stores, etc.

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Data

Datao Have you determined what is taken care of in the classroom and

what is taken care of with an Office Discipline Referral (Remember consistency is key)

o How often will you share the big 6 with your whole staffo Average referrals per day per montho Locationo Time of Dayo Day of the Weeko Behaviorso Students with 2 or more vs Students with 5 or more (Tier

two and Tier three)o These data need to be shared with staff once per month at the very

least during PLC time or in a faculty meeting. Discussions should focus on what the data are telling us and what data based decisions can be made to ameliorate the behavioral issues.

Substitute TeachersSub-folders

o Have special gotchas for the sub that are worth an instant trip to the office- (gives them power)

Positive Phone Call Home Fun Dance with the Principal Some schools give a “golden gotcha” worth 25

points – each sub has access to this to give to one student at the end of the day.

o Explain PBIS in folder quickly to subs

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Appendix 1Matrix

Expectations HALLWAY

CAFETERIA

RESTROOM

BUS

PLAYGROUNDCommon Area for Secondary

ASSEMBLIES

ARRIVAL

DISMISSAL BY GRADE LEVEL

CLASSROOM (DEFINED BY EACH TEACHER)

Remember, we did this on a giant piece of bulletin board paper and let staff add post-it notes so they have a voice in what goes on the matrix.

Appendix 2

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CCommon Language

onsistencyonsistency

Bentwood Elementary Gotcha Turn-in for Principal Drawing

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Appendix 3

Gotcha Store

These are certificates the students can cash in for things- they trade that number of gotchas for the certificate:

Take your shoes off in class Rent the principal’s chair Eat lunch with a special teacher

Greg Oborny – Regency Elementary – spinning the prize wheel in his gotcha store

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Appendix 4

Double gotcha days for difficult days of the week- all gotchas are worth 2 pointsFrom Krystal Actkinson at Pleasant Ridge Elementary

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Appendix 5

Appendix 6

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Mahaffie Elementary- Peggy Head

http://behaviordoctor.org/materialdownload/Pictures/front.JPG - for more pictures. Can send link for electronic copy.These pictures are from Emerson Elementary in Duncan, Oklahoma.

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