A good school creates a behavior management system and implements it. A great school chooses a system, believes in it, supports it, researches it, and constantly develops it. In my school district, PBIS is supported across the grades. Within my school, PBIS is class-wide and thoroughly supported.
PBIS? It stands for Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports. PBIS is an approach that aims to help schools and staff use behavioral interventions that are evidence and research-based. It is structured as a continuum with prevention-oriented supports. The goal of PBIS is to prevent problematic behaviors from happening, and improve ALL student behaviors - it's not just targeting "repeat offenders". ( For more detailed information, check out www.pbis.org )
My school has developed a wonderful plan to fully implement PBIS school-wide. The teachers and staff have agreed upon a behavior management system that focuses on the goals of PBIS and is used in every classroom. We use a PBIS behavior matrix that outlines what good behaviors look like in the classroom, hallways, playground, cafeteria, etc. I love this consistency and think it is highly beneficial for students. Classroom rules, of course, are developed and implemented by the classroom teacher, but all other PBIS rules in that matrix are enforced school-wide, along with the general behavior system.
So, I'll explain the system. We use the "red-yellow-green" behavior card system - also known as stoplight behaviors. Each student starts on "green" each day (good behavior that follows school expectations. If a student is struggling with expectations, they will have their card turned to "yellow". These behaviors can range from not listening to directions, talking out of turn, blurting, being disrespectful, etc. The final stage of intervention is "red." Students turn to "red" for serious behavioral issues In the event of a "red," a student will receive an in-school referral and parents will be notified.
Of course, students always have to opportunity to make the decision to turn their behavior around and meet behavioral expectations. An exciting change that occurred within the school this year was the addition of the "purple" level. Students who display good leadership qualities and exceptional behavior can be moved to "purple," which stands for the district's high school mascot - the Purple Knight. We want our kiddos to work towards Purple Knighthood everyday. It's an exciting idea for them and they love being able to turn to "purple."
Naturally, I chose to implement this system within my small groups. I created a pocket-chart for each student. They have a red, yellow, green, and purple card in their pocket. If students need to change their card for any reason, they must do it themselves. I think this helps enforce that they are in charge of their own behaviors. Here's what it looks like!
So, the main reason I wanted to share this is because I have been researching other behavior management systems that other schools use. I have found that the red-yellow-green system is very popular - and successful! I think that the more students get comfortable with a school management system (such as PBIS), the more they decide to look for ways to work around it. I have to admit, I've been struggling with my kiddos lately. Whether or not it's the mid-semester craze, or the pre-holiday jitters, I can't say, but all I know is I need to implement an intervention to support the foundational PBIS system we have in place.
What will I do? You'll have to wait for another post to find out....
Emily :)
PS. Sorry for the drone-like post, but I had to explain our system before going any further... !!! :)
My school has developed a wonderful plan to fully implement PBIS school-wide. The teachers and staff have agreed upon a behavior management system that focuses on the goals of PBIS and is used in every classroom. We use a PBIS behavior matrix that outlines what good behaviors look like in the classroom, hallways, playground, cafeteria, etc. I love this consistency and think it is highly beneficial for students. Classroom rules, of course, are developed and implemented by the classroom teacher, but all other PBIS rules in that matrix are enforced school-wide, along with the general behavior system.
So, I'll explain the system. We use the "red-yellow-green" behavior card system - also known as stoplight behaviors. Each student starts on "green" each day (good behavior that follows school expectations. If a student is struggling with expectations, they will have their card turned to "yellow". These behaviors can range from not listening to directions, talking out of turn, blurting, being disrespectful, etc. The final stage of intervention is "red." Students turn to "red" for serious behavioral issues In the event of a "red," a student will receive an in-school referral and parents will be notified.
Of course, students always have to opportunity to make the decision to turn their behavior around and meet behavioral expectations. An exciting change that occurred within the school this year was the addition of the "purple" level. Students who display good leadership qualities and exceptional behavior can be moved to "purple," which stands for the district's high school mascot - the Purple Knight. We want our kiddos to work towards Purple Knighthood everyday. It's an exciting idea for them and they love being able to turn to "purple."
Naturally, I chose to implement this system within my small groups. I created a pocket-chart for each student. They have a red, yellow, green, and purple card in their pocket. If students need to change their card for any reason, they must do it themselves. I think this helps enforce that they are in charge of their own behaviors. Here's what it looks like!
What will I do? You'll have to wait for another post to find out....
Emily :)
PS. Sorry for the drone-like post, but I had to explain our system before going any further... !!! :)
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