SWPBS Overview: Establishing Continuum of Support for All George Sugai Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports Center on Behavioral Education & Research University of Connecticut www.PBIS.org www.cber.org George.sugai@uconn.edu

www.pbis.org

Purpose Provide overview of SWPBS w/ focus on….. Rationale Guiding principles Implementation features Outcome data Q&A

2001 Surgeon General’s Report on Youth Violence: Recommendations Change social context to break up antisocial networks Improve parent effectiveness Increase academic success Create positive school climates Teach & encourage individual social skills & competence

School-based Prevention & Youth Development Programming Coordinated Social Emotional & Academic Learning Greenberg et al. (2003) American Psychologist Teach children social skills directly in real context “Foster respectful, supportive relations among students, school staff, & parents” Support & reinforce positive academic & social behavior through comprehensive systems Invest in multiyear, multicomponent programs Combine classroom & school- & community-wide efforts Precorrect & continue prevention efforts

Lessons Learned: White House Conference on School Safety Students, staff, & community must have means of communicating that is immediate, safe, & reliable Positive, respectful, predictable, & trusting student-teacher-family relationships are important High rates of academic & social success are important Positive, respectful, predictable, & trusting school environment/climate is important for all students Metal detectors, surveillance cameras, & security guards are insufficient deterrents

Characteristics of Safe School Center for Study & Prevention of Youth Violence High academic expectations & performance High levels of parental & community involvement Effective leadership by administrators & teachers A few clearly understood & uniformly enforced, rules Social skills instruction, character education & good citizenship. After school – extended day programs

SWPBS is about…. Improving classroom & school climate Decreasing reactive management Maximizing academic achievement Improving support for students w/ EBD Integrating academic & behavior initiatives

Quotable Fixsen “Policy is “Training does not predict action” allocation of limited resources for unlimited needs” Opportunity, not guarantee, for good action” “Training does not predict action” “Manualized treatments have created overly rigid & rapid applications”

SWPBS Logic Successful individual student behavior support is linked to host environments that are redesigned & supported to be effective, efficient, durable, & relevant for all students (Zins & Ponte, 1990)

Implementation Levels State District School Classroom Student

Systems for Students with High-Risk Behavior CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE Tertiary Prevention: Specialized Individualized Systems for Students with High-Risk Behavior CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE INSTRUCTIONAL & POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT ~5% Secondary Prevention: Specialized Group Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior ~15% Primary Prevention: School-/Classroom- Wide Systems for All Students, Staff, & Settings ~80% of Students

Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success Academic Systems Behavioral Systems Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based High Intensity Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based Intense, durable procedures 1-5% 1-5% Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response 5-10% 5-10% Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response Universal Interventions All students Preventive, proactive 80-90% Universal Interventions All settings, all students Preventive, proactive 80-90%

RtI: Defining Features IMPLEMENTATION W/ FIDELITY CONTINUUM OF EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS STUDENT PERFORMANCE CONTINUOUS PROGRESS MONITORING DATA-BASED DECISION MAKING & PROBLEM SOLVING

Identify existing efforts by tier Specify outcome for each effort CONTINUUM of SWPBS Tertiary Prevention Function-based support Audit Identify existing efforts by tier Specify outcome for each effort Evaluate implementation accuracy & outcome effectiveness Eliminate/integrate based on outcomes Establish decision rules (RtI) ~5% ~15% Secondary Prevention Check in/out Primary Prevention SWPBS ~80% of Students

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

DATA Clear definitions Efficient procedures Easy input/output OUTCOMES DATA Clear definitions Efficient procedures Easy input/output Readable displays Regular review SYSTEMS DATA PRACTICES

OUTCOMES Data-based Relevant/valued Measurable OUTCOMES SYSTEMS DATA PRACTICES

Cultural/contextual adjustments Integrated w/ similar initiatives OUTCOMES PRACTICES Evidence-based Outcome linked Cultural/contextual adjustments Integrated w/ similar initiatives Doable SYSTEMS DATA PRACTICES

Continuous evaluation Team-based action planning SYSTEMS Training to fluency Continuous evaluation Team-based action planning Regular relevant reinforcers for staff behavior Integrated initiatives OUTCOMES SYSTEMS DATA PRACTICES

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

1. Common purpose & approach to discipline 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.

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.

Classroom-wide positive expectations taught & encouraged 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.

Behavioral competence at school & district levels 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 PBS. 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 PBS 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).

Team-led Process

GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS Team GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS Agreements Data-based Action Plan SAY: In general, the implementation of a school-wide PBS approach at the school level is built around five main implementation steps. Evaluation Implementation

Sample Implementation “Map” 2+ years of school team training Annual “booster” events Coaching/facilitator support @ school & district levels Regular self-assessment & evaluation data On-going preparation of trainers Development of local/district leadership teams Establishment of state/regional leadership & policy team

Redesign Learning & Teaching Environment School Rules NO Food NO Weapons NO Backpacks NO Drugs/Smoking NO Bullying

Few positive SW expectations defined, taught, & encouraged

Expectations & behavioral skills are taught & recognized in natural context

Acknowledge & Recognize

PBS Systems Implementation Logic Visibility Funding Political Support Leadership Team Active Coordination Training Coaching Evaluation Local School Teams/Demonstrations

Leadership Team Active Coordination FUNCTIONS Implementation support Data-based action plan Coordination Capacity building Policy & funding Communications Training capacity Exemplars Evaluation MEMBERS Coordinator Representation Behavioral capacity Agency Parent/family Leadership Etc SAY: One of the most important steps is to establish or identify an existing group of individuals who can lead the establishment of a school-wide PBS approach. This team must be made of school staff who are respected, have effective communication skills and means, and can influence school policy, organization, and operations. An important factor in effective leadership teaming is ensuring that members of the team agree on how they will conduct business (e.g., agenda, problem solving, voting, etc.). The Conducting Leadership Team Meetings Checklist (see Appendix.1) can be used to assess for and establish agreements about how team meetings will be conducted.

Training Coaching Evaluation Training Coaching Evaluation Continuous Embedded Team-coordinated Data-based Local expertise Action plan linked Etc…. Training Continuous Local support Data-based Preventive Positive Competent Etc…. Coaching Continuous Question-based Academic & social Efficient Team-coordinated Public Etc…. Evaluation

Political Funding Visibility Support Continuous Top 3 priorities Quarterly/annually Policy Participation Etc…. General fund 3 years of support Integrated Data-based Etc…. Demos & research Multiple formats Multiple audiences Acknow. others Etc….

Local School Teams/Demonstrations Fidelity implementation >80% of staff >80% of students Administrator leadership Team-based Data driven Contextually relevant Teaching focused Integrated initiatives Etc…..

1. IMPLEMENTATION PHASES 2. 3. Local Demonstration w/ Fidelity Need, Agreements, Adoption, & Outcomes 1. IMPLEMENTATION PHASES 2. Sustained Capacity, Elaboration, & Replication 4. Systems Adoption, Scaling, & Continuous Regeneration 3.

Local Implementation Capacity SUSTAINABLE IMPLEMENTATION & DURABLE RESULTS THROUGH CONTINUOUS REGENERATION Continuous Self-Assessment Relevance Priority Efficacy Fidelity Valued Outcomes Effective Practices Practice Implementation Local Implementation Capacity