Positive Behavior Intervention Support

Deerfield Elementary Proactive Agreements

Dear Parent(s) or Guardians,
 
At Deerfield Elementary, we are always striving to empower all of our students. Part of this journey includes being specific about our overall building expectations. We want school to be a positive experience for everyone. With the end in mind, all students and staff have spent the first eight days of school focusing on the Eight Habits and establishing our PBIS system (Positive Behavior Intervention Support). Within each classroom the teachers and students are spending a good portion of their day learning and relearning about each of the Eight Habits with day eight being the habit of “finding your voice and inspiring others to find their voice.” The “habits” align directly with our building wide expectations for hallway, dismissal, cafeteria, etc. Throughout the first eight days we are holding school wide Community Circles to help reinforce our learnings; this is a great, and positive, way to begin the school year. Please ask your child to tell you about all the habits they are learning.
 
Our ultimate goal at Deerfield is to build leadership and establish clear expectations. We focus on the positive while still providing opportunities to learn when poor choices are made. In an effort to have clear expectations, while building on the momentum of positive behavior, we use the following systems:
  • As a school we will explicitly teach key building expectations for the hallway, cafeteria, playground, cabin time, bus dismissal, etc.
  • We post our explicit expectations for all to be reminded. (See attached LEAD, HALL and YUMMY posters)
  • If student issues arise, the involved adult will write up the situation and either the classroom teacher or Mrs. Bedford will work with the involved student(s) to resolve the issue. Part of the resolution will include the student(s) filling out a reflective “I’m in Charge of Me” sheet. The sheet will be sent home to be signed by a parent and returned.
    • If a sheet does come home, it can be used as a great way to guide your child through ways to handle conflict and/or personal actions; use the sheet as a learning tool.
    • Please know that each situation will be taken into consideration and adjustments may need to be made to fit the individual situation.
    • When physical aggression is involved, parents will be notified and appropriate consequences will be given.
    • If persistent issues occur, the parent will be contacted and a possible meeting may take place to proactively seek other ways to find success. As a team, a behavior plan or other interventions may be developed.
  • We will work to recognize and reward positive behavior. Our school “BRAVO” system (BRAVO): Being Recognized as A Very Outstanding leader!) is our tool. The goal with the BRAVO system is to reward those who go above and beyond in terms of positive behavior and to build on that positive momentum.
    • When an adult notices a student, or group of students, doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, a BRAVO ticket will be filled out. BRAVO recipients will be recognized and Bravo slips will be displayed for the month. At the end of each month a copy will be placed in the Student Leadership Notebook. Knowing our students, we expect to have numerous BRAVO slips!

What is PBIS?

Getting started with PBIS 

 

From PBIS.org

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based three-tiered framework for improving and integrating all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day. It is a way to support everyone – especially students with disabilities – to create the kinds of schools where all students are successful.

PBIS isn’t a curriculum you purchase or something you learn during a one-day professional development training. It is a commitment to addressing student behavior through systems change. When it’s implemented well, students achieve improved social and academic outcomes, schools experience reduced exclusionary discipline practices, and school personnel feel more effective.

Systems

The way schools operate are their foundational systems. In PBIS, these systems support accurate, durable implementation of practices and the effective use of data to achieve better outcomes. When it comes to systems, ask yourself: What can we do to sustain this over the long haul?

Data

Schools generate multiple pieces of data about students every day. Within the PBIS framework, schools use data to select, monitor and evaluate outcomes, practices, and systems across all three tiers. When it comes to data, ask yourself: What information do we need to make effective decisions?

Practices

Key to improving outcomes are the strategies to support students at every level. In PBIS, these interventions and strategies are backed by research to target the outcomes schools want to see. When it comes to practices, ask yourself: How will we reach our goals?

Outcomes

The outcomes from PBIS are what schools achieve through the data, systems, and practices they put in place. Families, students, and school personnel set goals and work together to see them through. In PBIS, outcomes might be improved student behavior, or fewer office discipline referrals. When it comes to outcomes, ask yourself: What is important to each learning community?