1. District Planning & Leadership Implementation of SW-PBIS
Lisa Pruitt
Program Director
District and School Support Services

2. So, the Evidence Based Practice… what is this SW-PBIS?

3. 3-Tiered Prevention Logic &
Tertiary Prevention:
Specialized
Individualized
Systems for Students with High-Risk Behavior
3-Tiered Prevention Logic &
~5%
Progression of Implementation
Secondary Prevention:
Specialized Group
Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior
~15%
Primary Prevention:
School-/Classroom-
Wide Systems for
All Students,
Staff, & Settings
SAY: One of the most important organizing components of PBIS is the establishment of a continuum of behavior support that considers all students and emphasizes prevention. This logic of this 3-tiered approach is derived from the public health approach to disease prevention.
All students and staff should be exposed formally and in an on-going manner to primary prevention interventions. Primary prevention is provided to all students and focuses on giving students the necessary pro-social skills that prevents the establishment and occurrence of problem behavior. If done systemically and comprehensively, a majority of students are likely to be affected.
Some students will be unresponsive or unsupported by primary prevention, and more specialized interventions will be required. One form of assistance is called secondary prevention, and is characterized by instruction that is more specific and more engaging. These interventions can be standardized to be applied similarly and efficiently across a small number of students. The goal of secondary prevention is to reduce/prevent the likelihood of problem behavior occurrences, and to enable these students to be supported by the school-wide PBIS effort.
If primary prevention is in place, a small proportion of students will require highly individualized and intensive interventions. The goal or tertiary level interventions is to reduce the intensity, complexity, and impact of the problem behaviors displayed by these students by providing supports that are (a) function-based, (b) contextually appropriate and person-centered, (c) strength-based and instructionally oriented, (d) continuously evaluated and enhanced, and (e) linked to the school-wide PBIS approach.
~80% of Students

4. School-wide Positive Behavior Support Systems Classroom
Setting Systems
Nonclassroom
Setting Systems
Individual Student
Systems
School-wide
Systems

5. School-wide Systems 1. Common purpose & approach to discipline
2. Clear set of positive expectations & behaviors
3. Procedures for teaching expected behavior
4. Continuum of procedures for encouraging expected behavior
5. Continuum of procedures for discouraging inappropriate behavior
6. Procedures for on-going monitoring & evaluation
SAY: Although most schools have a written conduct of conduct or discipline policy which is important, it tends to focus on procedures for processing rule violations (5.).
Effective school-wide discipline systems have a matching and strong proactive component that teaches and encourages prosocial behavior, and provides an on-going progress monitoring system.
The remaining five items are important but difficult to sustain without clear school-wide investments and structures in place.

6. Classroom Setting Systems
Classroom-wide positive expectations taught & encouraged
Teaching classroom routines & cues taught & encouraged
Ratio of 6-8 positive to 1 negative adult-student interaction
Active supervision
Redirections for minor, infrequent behavior errors
Frequent precorrections for chronic errors
Effective academic instruction & curriculum
SAY: Effective classroom environment is important because well-organized and managed classrooms provide opportunities for teachers to teach and students to learn both academic and social skills.
If you were to visit these classrooms, you would see these practices on a daily basis.
The “Classroom Practices Self-Assessment” in Appendix 5 can be used by educational leaders, teams, or facilitators to assist staff in reflecting on their own teaching practices and to develop individual or group action plans for professional development.

7. Positive expectations & routines taught & encouraged
Nonclassroom
Setting Systems
Positive expectations & routines taught & encouraged
Active supervision by all staff
Scan, move, interact
Precorrections & reminders
Positive reinforcement
SAY: All teachers and educational leaders know that what happens in the non-classroom settings (e.g., hallways, cafeterias, playgrounds, parking lots, etc.) can carryover into the classroom (and vice versa). In nonclassroom settings, academic instruction isn’t available to engage students and serve as a behavior management strategy.
Educational leaders must ensure that effective practices are in place in nonclassroom settings. The most important evidence-based practice is “active supervision.”
The “Active Supervision and Nonclassroom Setting Self-Assessment” in Appendix 6 can be used by educational leaders, teams, or facilitators to assist staff in reflecting on their own teaching practices and to develop individual or group action plans for professional development.

8. Individual Student Systems
Behavioral competence at school & district levels
Function-based behavior support planning
Team- & data-based decision making
Comprehensive person-centered planning & wraparound processes
Targeted social skills & self-management instruction
Individualized instructional & curricular accommodations
SAY: If we are successful in establishing effective school-wide, classroom, and nonclassroom practices and systems, we can support a majority of students and staff. However, some students will require more specialized, intensive, and possibly individualized PBIS.
To be effective in supporting high-need students, behavior specialists must have access to and fluent knowledge about tertiary level interventions and systems as characterized by these 6 sample items. They also must be fluent in the use and facilitation of these skills.
One of the main objectives of school-wide PBIS is to facilitate the accurate and sustained implementation of tertiary level interventions with student who display the most challenging problem behaviors.
An important element of individual student systems is adopting a “function-based approach” which generally means using information about what triggers and maintains problem behaviors to build effective behavior intervention plans. Functional behavioral assessments are conducted to build and serve as the backbone of these plans. Two checklists can be used to validate the completeness and accuracy of functional behavioral assessments and behavior intervention plans (see Appendices 7 & 8, respectively).

9. Supporting Social Competence &
Academic Achievement
4 PBIS Elements
OUTCOMES
Supporting
Decision
Making
Supporting
Staff Behavior
DATA
SYSTEMS
PRACTICES
Supporting
Student Behavior

10. Main Messages STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Good Teaching Behavior Management
Increasing District & State Competency and Capacity
Investing in Outcomes, Data, Practices, and Systems

11. Evidence Based Practice: SWPBIS What are your teams doing now?
School implementation of SWPBIS
Universal System
Day 1 Training content
Overview of SWPBIS
Teaming Process
Communication & Feedback w/ Staff
SW Rules
Behavioral Expectations
Lesson Plans
Day 2
Acknowledgement Systems
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1

12. Web Resources & Tools www.pbis.org
SW-PBIS Implementer’s Blueprint & Self Assessment

13. Goals of the Leadership Team Training
Provide training and support related to the critical features of a district and regional infrastructure to maximize PBIS efforts, and
Help your district/regional leadership teams develop collaborative district and regional plans to best address the unique needs and challenges to supporting effective PBIS implementation in your district/region.

14. Why District Leadership Teams & Planning?
Effective Professional Development

15. Islands of SW-PBIS
PBIS Ghost Towns
PBIS Ghost Towns

16. Implementation Excellent experimental evidence for what does not work
Training alone, no matter how well done, does not lead to successful implementation
With a variety of designs and measures, information dissemination and training by themselves repeatedly have been shown to be ineffective in education, human services, health, business, and manufacturing

17. Implementation Excellent evidence for what does not work
Implementation by edict does not work
Implementation by “following the money” does not work
Implementation without changing supporting roles and functions does not work
Paul Nutt (2002). Why Decisions Fail

18. Training Outcomes Related to Training Components
Knowledge of Content
Skill Implementation
Classroom
Application
Presentation/ Lecture
Plus
Demonstration
Practice
Plus Coaching/ Admin Support
Data Feedback
10% % %
30% % %
60% % %
95% % %
Joyce & Showers, 2002

19. District Planning, Support & Coaching
Putting it Together
Effective intervention practices and programs +
SW-PBIS
Effective implementation practices
District Planning, Support & Coaching
Good outcomes for students
The usability of a program has little to do with the weight of the evidence regarding program outcomes
Evidence on effectiveness helps us select what we want implement
Evidence on outcomes does not help us implement the program
I am going to shift to implementation now. Remember though, these are separate things—a poor program can be implemented well!
No other combination of factors reliably produces desired outcomes
(c) Dean Fixsen and Karen Blase, 2004 19 19

20. Premise of SW-PBIS
The ability of schools to sustain effective and accurate implementation of SW-PBIS is largely dependent upon the school district and local/regional supports that are in place.
(extend this logic beyond SW-PBIS to any effort to implement evidence-based practices)

21. Stages of Implementation
Implementation is not an event
It’s a mission-oriented process involving multiple decisions, actions, and corrections
Commitment Required

22. Stages of Implementation
Implementation occurs in stages:
Exploration
Installation
Initial Implementation
Full Implementation
Innovation
Sustainability
2 – 4 Years
Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005

23. Team Discussion Exploration Stage
Since you’re here… you’ve presumably explored and identified SW-PBIS as your evidence based practice.
What has been your process of exploration?
What do you know about SW-PBIS?
What do you want to/need to know?

24. Performance Assessment (Fidelity) Decision Support Data System
Implementation Model
District Leadership Teaming & Support
Student Benefits
Performance Assessment (Fidelity)
Coaching
Training
Selection
Systems Intervention
Facilitative Administration
Decision Support Data System
Competency
Organization
Adaptive
Integrated & Compensatory
Technical
Leadership
© Fixsen & Blase, 2008

25. Wexelblatt’s Scheduling Algorithm
CHEAP
FAST
GOOD
When implementing an innovation,
you may pick any two.

26. SW-PBIS Organization Logic

27. Challenge = Implementation
Limited resources
Time, money, expertise, etc.
For too many competing initiatives
Limited focus on Implementation
Need to define the systems to support sustained, accurate implementation of SW- PBIS
Starts with strategic, long-term district planning

28. Features of an Effective Systems Approach (Gilbert, 1978; Horner, 2003)
A Common Vision: The organization has a mission, purpose, or goal that is embraced by the majority of members of the organization and serves as the basis for decision making and action planning.
A Common Language: The organization establishes a means of describing its vision, actions, and operations so that communications are informative, efficient, effective, and relevant to members of the organization.
A Common Experience: The organization is defined by a set of actions, routines, procedures, or operations that is universally practiced and experienced by all members of the organization and that also includes a data feedback system to link activities to outcomes.

29. Establishing a Social Culture
Common Language
MEMBERSHIP
Common Experience
Common Vision/Values 29

30. Los Angeles Unified School District Discipline Policy
Every student has the right to be educated in a safe, respectful and welcoming environment….
This will be achieved through the adoption and implementation of a consistent school-wide positive behavior support discipline plan for every school in LAUSD.
All school level plans will include: teaching school rules and social emotional skills; reinforcing appropriate student behavior; using effective classroom management and positive behavior support strategies by providing early intervention for misconduct and appropriate use of consequences.

31. Common Vision Team Work Time
Related to school climate, behavioral support & discipline…
What is your district vision?
How well defined?
How well known?
Is this vision apparent in your district policy?

32. A Systems Approach An alternative to “train-n-hope”
Prioritizes problem solving and action planning that emphasizes accurate, durable, and expanded implementation:
Establish a visible, effective, efficient, and functional leadership team.
Review existing information/data.
Analyze, describe, and prioritize issue within context.
Specify measurable outcome that is related directly to issue and context.
Select evidence-based practice to achieve specified outcome.
Provide supports for accurate sustained adoption and implementation of practice.
Monitor practice implementation and progress toward outcome.
Modify practice implementation based on analysis of progress data.

33. Leadership Team

34. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

35. PBIS District Leadership Team
Purpose:
Establish & maintain District Vision for PBIS
District Self Assessment & Action Plan
Steers the PBIS ship
Regularly review progress, challenges and needs of building implementers (remove barriers)
Review data (outcome & implementation data) & use to guide decision making & action planning
Planning for ongoing development, coordination, and maintenance of programs

36. Representative Leadership Team
Membership on the SWPBIS Leadership team should represent individuals who benefit from and are affected by the activities and decisions of SWPBIS implementation
By striving toward representation from appropriate stakeholders, political, policy, management, and fiscal communications can occur.
To the greatest extent possible, leadership should strive toward integration of teams and committees that have a common behavior-related mission.

37. Membership on District SW-PBIS Leadership Team
Membership of this team should be based on individuals whose roles, responsibilities, and activities are associated with the:
prevention of the development and occurrence of problem behavior,
development and maintenance of general and specialized behavioral capacity or competence, and
management and evaluation of resources related to the provision of behavioral supports.

38. Typically, the following emphases are represented:
Instruction and Curriculum
Safe and Drug Free Schools
Special Education
School Psychology and Counseling
Title or Other Related Initiatives
Student Health
School-Wide Discipline
Dropout Prevention
Character Education
Alternative Programming
Data or Information Management
Multiculturalism and Affirmative Action
Regional/County Office of Education partner

39. Political Support
To the greatest extent, administrative leaders (e.g. superintendents, school board members, program head, directors) of the regional/ district political unit should be included as active members of the PBIS Leadership Team to enhance:
political support and influence,
decision making,
resource management,
relevant action planning,
durable and expanded implementation, and
policy development and implementation.

41. District Leadership Team – Behavior/Discipline Team Task
Complete Self Assessment items for Leadership Team
Who should be included to make this team more representative across stakeholders
What existing teams can we merge or eliminate w/ establishment of Ldrsp Team?
Develop a meeting schedule
Complete Action Plan w/ specific tasks & dates for completion

42. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

43. Funding
Stable and predictable funding should be secured to support the personnel, management, coordination, and leadership function of the SWPBIS implementation effort.
Activities and requirements specified in the annual action plan also can be used to develop an appropriate funding model.
To the greatest extent possible, secure recurring support from the general fund.
grant support can be a useful source of start-up funding, this type of funding may not be sustainable.

44. Funding
SWPBIS goals, activities, and outcomes are likely to be related to those of other initiatives and programs, for example, Character Education, Safe/Drug-Free, Title, Special Education.
To achieve organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and relevance, Leadership Team members and stakeholders should examine opportunities to blend funding and resources.
This blending can occur naturally as a result of organizational restructuring and integration of multiple and similar committees, programs, etc.

45. Funding Team Task Complete Self Assessment items for Funding
What possibilities are there for increasing cost effectiveness due to overlapping initiatives/efforts?
Prioritization
Focus on evidence based practices & outcomes
Inventory & evaluate funding and outcomes of existing programs/interventions
Complete Action Plan w/ specific tasks & dates for completion

46. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

47. Visibility
Keeping stakeholders (e.g., district/state administrators, school board members, local politicians, parent groups) informed about the implementation efforts and accomplishments is important for a number of reasons, for example:
communication,
accountability,
funding and resource justification,
promotion of sustained and/or expanded implementation, and
acknowledgements.

48. Visibility
Can use a variety of methods (e.g., websites, newsletters, presentations, media coverage, site visits).
Goal = regular (e.g., quarterly, semi-annual, annual) events in which current activities and accomplishments and future events are highlighted.
In addition, exemplar schools, classes, grade levels, students, and/or communities can be showcased.
To the greatest extent possible, outcomes should be highlighted through the collection and display of data. These data should be linked to the activities of the initiative and to the costs and benefits of the effort.

49. Performance Feedback
At all levels (e.g., individual student, classroom teacher, leadership team, school and district administrator, regional/state chief), accurate and sustained implementation of effective practices is directly linked to meaningful, regular, and contingent feedback.
An important element of performance feedback is ensuring that positive recognition are visible to the individual and relevant members of that individual’s working and social network or culture.

50. Performance Feedback
One of the major functions of the SWPBIS Leadership Team is to develop and implement a formal system of performance acknowledgements, which must be:
Culturally and contextually relevant.
Visible to individuals and their relevant social network.
Contingent or related to the individual’s actual performance at expected criterion levels.
Provided on a regular schedule (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually).
Specific performance expectations and criteria that are appropriate to a given individual’s level of functioning and position.

51. Visibility & Political Support Team Task
Complete Self Assessment items for Visibility
Who are the stakeholders who should be included in visibility efforts related to school climate, behavior, discipline?
What strategic efforts should be taken to increase visibility?
Whose performance feedback will be critical to success of SW-PBIS efforts in short-term?
How can these critical efforts be highlighted and acknowledged?
Complete Action Plan w/ specific tasks & dates for completion

52. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

53. BOARD POLICY
Student Conduct and Discipline P
The Board is committed to a positive, respectful, inclusive climate in every school that promotes academic achievement, ensures safe and drug-free learning communities, provides positive behavior supports, ensures equitable outcomes in discipline, and maximizes the time students spend in school.

54. Policy This policy statement should include descriptions of:
(a) need and rationale,
(b) purpose and benefits,
(c) measurable outcome objectives,
(d) activities and operations for achieving these objectives, and
(e) evaluation strategy.
This statement will assist in enhancing visibility, funding, political support, and resource commitments.
Although mandating of SWPBIS framework, specifically, is not recommended, a policy statement can delineate necessary requirements related to, for example, implementation readiness, participation expectations, evidence-based practices, and evaluation procedures.

55. Policy to Practice to Policy
Specifically, policy is current and contextually relevant when implementation and outcome information is collected on a regular basis (at least semi-annually).
Together, implementation and outcome information can be used to refine policy statements that guide practice implementation.

57. Policy Team Task Complete Self Assessment items for Policy
What might be goals (probably more long- term) for policy and procedural guidelines for SW-PBIS efforts?
What steps could you take over the upcoming year re: those goals?
Complete Action Plan w/ specific tasks & dates for completion

58. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

59. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

60. Scope of the PBIS Coaching Role
Training
Providing training/ build local training capacity
Develop Training Calendar to support Training needs
Coordination
District Leadership/Steering Committee
Team Leaders Meetings
Team Trainings & Data Collection
Evaluation
Assess needs of school and district based on measures of implementation and outcomes, disseminate data in format to guide decision making in buildings and at district level
Coaching
Technical Assistance at building PBIS team meetings, trainings, team leader meetings and via /phone

61. Formalizing Feedback Loops
District Administration & Leadership Team
District PBIS Coach
School PBIS team leader & administrator
(c) Dean Fixsen and Karen Blase, 2008 61

62. Maintain an Active link b/w Schools and the District
PBIS Team Leaders are the primary liaison between the schools and the PBIS Coach & district support
Regular PBIS Team Leaders Meetings are one avenue for that
Set up channels for frequent, ongoing communication between PBIS Coach and school PBIS team leaders and administrators
list, listserv, etc.

63. Training Outcomes Related to Training Components
Knowledge of Content
Skill Implementation
Classroom
Application
Presentation/ Lecture
Plus
Demonstration
Practice
Plus Coaching/ Admin Support
Data Feedback
10% % %
30% % %
60% % %
95% % %
Joyce & Showers, 2002

64. Training, Coaching & Coord. Team Task
Complete Self Assessment items for Training, Coaching & Coordination Capacity
How is your district addressing coaching for SW-PBIS teams & efforts to follow-up training?
How much FTE?
Who will play the role of coach?
Plan for next 3 years?
Complete Action Plan w/ specific tasks & dates for completion

65. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool

66. Evaluation Team Task Complete Self Assessment items for Evaluation
Complete Action Plan w/ specific tasks & dates for completion

67. PBIS Implementation Self Assessment & Planning Tool