School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports: Connections Erika Johnson, M.A.

Connections, a school-wide positive behavior intervention, was enacted at Town High School during the 2012-2013 school year. The philosophy behind Connections is to provide an advisor-advisee relationship between school staff and students. By building connections with school staff, students develop a mentoring relationship with an adult in the school building and each other, and promote a positive school climate. Student-teacher relations and student interpersonal relations have been identified as important school climate factors, alongside achievement motivation, leadership, and dedication to student learning (Haynes, Emmons, Ben-Avie, & Comer, 1996; as cited by Lehr, 2004). The Connections curriculum was developed by a team of school professionals, including a social worker and administrator. The lessons address a variety of topics, including peer relationships, goal setting and decision-making, diversity, empathy, and career planning. Students meet in their grade level homerooms, approximately 20 students, during the Connections block for approximately thirty-five minutes on a bimonthly basis. Homeroom teachers (e.g., regular and special educators and student support service providers) implement the respective lesson plan using the provided materials. Generally speaking, lessons begin with an introduction on a given topic, typically posed as a broad whole-group question, followed by an opportunity to work in groups on an activity. Near the end of the lesson students are asked to share what they worked on with the larger group and the take-away message. During my internship I co-facilitated a homeroom of seniors during Connections. The curriculum for the program addressed a variety of issues that were pertinent to senior students; however, the provided activities did not necessarily target these skills in an age-appropriate manner. For example, during the healthy lifestyle and life skills lesson, students were asked to differentiate between wants and needs. While this is an important topic for students, it would have been beneficial to address these skills as it relates to post-secondary employment and college, such as budgeting and healthy habits (e.g., sleep, managing stress, healthy diet). While implementing each lesson I attempted to facilitate age and grade appropriate discussions by connecting the topic to their high school experience and their plans after graduation. As a result students were more likely to participate, share, and ask questions. Students were most engaged during a money management lesson covering savings, credit cards, loans and student loans, rent and utilities, balancing a checkbook, and budgeting. This topic was extremely relevant to their immediate future as most would be gaining some financial independence in the coming months. One of the major obstacles I faced was working with a teacher who did not see the value in the program (Putnam et al., 2009). With my training and understanding of the importance of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), I understand the philosophy behind the initiative. I attempted to communicate this importance to my co-facilitator, but he continued to maintain a negative attitude. Students witnessed his lack of buy-in during the lessons, which led to an increased lack buy-in for some students. Unfortunately, my situation was not unique; many other students and teachers did not see the value in this program and viewed it as a study hall. Importantly, the lack of teacher buy-in was addressed at a recent staff meeting. Town High School is working through the accreditation process, which requires a personalization of the educational experience that can be achieved through advising programs; Connections meets this requirement. The principal assured teachers that the program was not going away and that they should learn to love it. In order for a program to be sustained, there should be at least eight percent of the staff on-board with the initiative and engaged in the process (Putnam et al., 2009). It is also crucial to have student involvement. By bring staff and students together to design the program and provide feedback on implementation, there is a sense of ownership, which will increase participation and fidelity.

An area of weakness of the Connections program is the lack of data collection that occurred. When implementing a school-wide PBIS program, typically office referrals serve as a means of evaluation (Michigan Department of Education, 2010). Information regarding discipline referrals, in-school suspensions, out of school suspensions, and attendance is housed in a computerized system known as TEMS. Information from years prior is also available, which could serve as a baseline and preintervention data. Changes in the number of referrals and types of behavior can be collected for years prior to implementation, during the current implementation year, and continue to be collected in the future. While office referrals are a primary source of data collection for school-wide PBIS, it has not been made clear if this information will be used to track the effectiveness of Connections. Additionally, there has not been data collection on the individual student level regarding perceptions of the program or summative and formative assessment of skills. School climate data would also provide important information regarding overall school safety and connectedness. In future implementation of this program, it will be important to collect and publicize data within the school community as a means to hold students and teacher accountable for their participation and facilitation, respectively. As stated previously, Town High School is currently working through the accreditation process and is presently developing rubrics to assess core values and learning expectations. I have served as a member of the Social Competencies Committee alongside regular and special education teachers, student support service providers, and administrators. As the social competency rubric is developed, it can serve as a means of assessment for students within the school community as it aligns with the core values and learning expectations of Town High School. While I have identified some of the limitations of the Connections program, I also understand that it is in its early stages of development. School-wide PBIS programs can take between three and five years to demonstrate a cultural shift. It is not expected that a program will be successful in the first year of implementation. Instead an action plan typically lays out a gradual introduction of the program across grade levels and moves towards sustainability and maintenance. Though initial buy-in from administration and teachers is important, success of the program over time will increase positive views across school staff. As the program develops over the next few years, more appropriate and differentiated curricula are constructed, and staff receive ongoing professional development, there will be an improvement in school climate and connectedness between teachers, students, and the program (Putnam et al., 2009). An improved school climate will help to promote a school where students want to learn and teachers want to teach, which will be a more positive educational experience for all.

References s Lehr, C.A. (2004). Positive school climate: Information for Educators. Helping Children at Home and School II: Handouts for Families and Educators. National Association of School Psychologists.

Michigan Department of Education (2010). School-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports: Implementation guide. Retrieved from http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SchoolwidePBS_264634_7.pdf
Putnam, R., Romano, S., Agorastou, M., Baker, E., Irvin, L., OConnell, D., Screiner, S., & Stone, L., (2009). Establishing and maintaining staff participation in positive behavioral interventions and supports high schools. In B. Flannery & G. Sugai (Eds.), School-wide positive behavioral supports implementation in high schools: Current practice and future directions. (pp. 43-56). University of Oregon.