PBIS at Viking Middle School: A General Overview
The main focus of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is to provide a clear system for all expected behaviors at Viking Middle School. While many faculty and students may have assumptions of what is expected behavior, we cannot assume that everyone’s beliefs are similar. Through PBIS, we will work to create and maintain a productive, safe environment in which ALL school community members have clear expectations and understandings of their role in the educational process.
Proactive Approach to School-Wide Discipline
Schools that implement school-wide systems of positive behavior support focus on taking a team- based system approach and teaching appropriate behavior to all students in the school. Schools that have been successful in building school-wide systems develop procedures to accomplish the following:
1. Behavioral Expectations are Defined. A small number of clearly defined behavioral expectations are defined in positive, simple rules, and through VIP Training:
4. Behavioral Errors are Corrected Proactively. When students violate behavioral expectations, clear procedures are needed for providing information to them that their behavior was unacceptable, and preventing that unacceptable behavior from resulting in inadvertent rewards. Students, teachers, and administrators all should be able to predict what will occur when behavioral errors are identified. Minor Referrals are used to document and record incidents managed by the teacher in the classroom. Office Discipline Referral forms are used to refer major incidents or chronic disruptions to the administration.
The main focus of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is to provide a clear system for all expected behaviors at Viking Middle School. While many faculty and students may have assumptions of what is expected behavior, we cannot assume that everyone’s beliefs are similar. Through PBIS, we will work to create and maintain a productive, safe environment in which ALL school community members have clear expectations and understandings of their role in the educational process.
Proactive Approach to School-Wide Discipline
Schools that implement school-wide systems of positive behavior support focus on taking a team- based system approach and teaching appropriate behavior to all students in the school. Schools that have been successful in building school-wide systems develop procedures to accomplish the following:
1. Behavioral Expectations are Defined. A small number of clearly defined behavioral expectations are defined in positive, simple rules, and through VIP Training:
- Be Responsible
- Be Safe
- Be Productive
- Be Respectful
2. Behavioral Expectations are Taught. The behavioral expectations are taught to all students in the building, and are taught in real contexts. Teaching appropriate behavior involves much more than simply telling students what behaviors they should avoid. Specific behavioral examples are:
- Be Responsible means following school rules and doing the things good citizens should do.
- Be Safe means practicing self-control, exercising caution, and using STOP-THINK-PLAN.
- Be Productive means being ready to learn by being on time in the appropriate place in school with required materials.
- Be Respectful means treating people the way that you would like to be treated.
- Behavioral expectations are taught using the same teaching formats applied to other curricula. The general rule is presented, the rationale for the rule is discussed, positive examples (“right way”) are described and rehearsed, and negative examples (“wrong way”) are described and modeled. Students are given an opportunity to practice the “right way” until they demonstrate fluent performance. Viking Middle School emphasizes PROCEDURES and ROUTINES to manage behavior rather than CRIME and PUNISHMENT.
3. Appropriate Behaviors are Acknowledged. Once appropriate behaviors have been defined and taught, they need to be acknowledged on a regular basis. Viking Middle School has designed a formal system that rewards positive behaviors. Viking VIP Vouchers are immediate forms of rewards used by the staff member, at their discretion, as a tool of encouragement and a student motivator. Staff uses Viking VIP Vouchers to encourage and reinforce positive behaviors demonstrated on a consistent basis. Viking VIP Vouchers are also turned in to the lunchroom to enter students in drawings for prizes or used to purchase items from the school store on Thursdays.
4. Behavioral Errors are Corrected Proactively. When students violate behavioral expectations, clear procedures are needed for providing information to them that their behavior was unacceptable, and preventing that unacceptable behavior from resulting in inadvertent rewards. Students, teachers, and administrators all should be able to predict what will occur when behavioral errors are identified. Minor Referrals are used to document and record incidents managed by the teacher in the classroom. Office Discipline Referral forms are used to refer major incidents or chronic disruptions to the administration.