Malinda Lansfeldt

PBIS (Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Support) is a tool that can assist schools in becoming more collaborative, focused, and data driven when assessing and improving student behaviors and school climate. PBIS assists school leaders and staff by, first, having all stakeholders involved in understanding and evaluating the existing climate. PBIS then takes schools through a process of building a vision for creating a healthier school climate that includes collaboration among teachers, students, parents, staff, and the principal. 

Michael G. Fullan writes, "Whose vision is it? Principals," he says, "are blinded by their own vision when they must manipulate the teachers and the school culture to conform to it." A more useful approach is to create a shared vision that allows for collaborative school climates.

The most effective change in school climate happens when principals, teachers, and students model the values and beliefs important to the school. The actions of the principal are noticed and interpreted by others as "what is important." A principal who acts with care and concern for others is more likely to develop a school climate with similar values. Finally and most important, principals must nurture the traditions, ceremonies, rituals, and symbols that already express and reinforce positive school culture.

One of the goals this year for Lily Lake Elementary was to improve school climate.  Many of the staff members had heard about the positive impact of PBIS in other schools. After learning more about PBIS, the entire staff agreed it was something the school needed and also something everyone agreed to support. Lily Lake Elementary is currently in the first year of becoming a PBIS school.  PBIS is a school-wide, comprehensive approach for improving the school behavior and climate of a school.  In addition, PBIS is intended to enhance the impact of academic instruction on achievement and increase proactive (positive/preventative) behavior management. Lily Lake is being funded by a state grant that provides free training of the Lily Lake PBIS team and PBIS coach, data collection software, and evaluation tools and support.

The goals of the program include:

1. Improve classroom and school climate.
2. Decrease reactive behavior management and increase positive management strategies.
3. Integrate academic and behavior initiatives.
4. Improve supports for students with emotional and behavioral difficulties.
5. Maximize academic achievement.

This year, Lily Lake Elementary has taken the following steps in becoming a PBIS school.

The PBIS Leadership team at Lily Lake Elementary was trained in the summer and is receiving on-going, free training by the state throughout the year to implement PBIS. In addition, the Lily Lake school psychologist, Doug Anderson, received additional training as the Lily Lake PBIS coach. 

Lily Lake is continuing to implement the Second Step Social Skills Program in all K-5 classrooms throughout the year to teach skills to prevent behavior problems and bullying. Staff at the school all agree Second Steps and PBIS complement each other. 

The Lily Lake PBIS Expectations (Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn) were developed and taught to all students. These rules make up the “3 Rs of  Learning” at Lily Lake. In addition, the “3 Rs” are reinforced by all staff and the school-wide mascot, Mr. R-R-Ribbit, who encourages students to “Leap into Learning.”  Lily Lake also taught all students the specific rules for multiple areas of the building including the bus, cafeteria, hallways, recess, and bathrooms and posted these throughout the school.

The Lily Lake PBIS expectations are reinforced through a variety of methods including teachers handing out “R-R-Ribbbit Tickets” when they catch students following the rules.  These tickets are deposited in a box in the office for an occasional drawing for educational prizes for the students and special honors for the teachers that have given out the “R-R-Ribbit Tickets.” In addition, students compete by classroom to earn a classwide trophy for the behavior in the classrooms, cafeteria, gym, halls, media center, playground, and music. These trophies are presented by the principal and Mr. R-R-Ribbit at occasional school-wide PBIS assemblies. The assemblies also have been used to teach and reinforce the school-wide PBIS expectations. Staff also created a Lily Lake PBIS t-shirt for staff and students to wear every Friday and on special occasions.

As the year progresses, students from Stillwater Area High School have been helping Lily Lake create a training video about the school-wide expectations for students. In addition, the PBIS team will continue to collect data about discipline infractions, analyze the data to prevent future infractions, and an evaluation will be conducted to assess the use of PBIS steps and to evaluate the impact of PBIS at Lily Lake Elementary. 

School climate is a key factor in productivity and success. If positive behavior is reinforced and celebrated, everyone wins. What a school spends its time on should really communicate its mission and values. When visitors enter a school and walk down the hallways, they should be able to know what the values, purpose, and mission of the school are. 

In summary, PBIS has had a very positive impact on Lily Lake Elementary. Lily Lake is thrilled to be a PBIS school and is excited to continue to implement more aspects of PBIS in the future.  A school’s climate is powerful to the learning of students and the success of a school. In this time of high stakes testing and accountability, we can’t forget the importance of a healthy school climate.

Contact Malinda at lansfeldtm@stillwater.k12.mn.us

(Published in the MESPA Advocate, May 2012)