What are Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)?

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional and academic success. Research shows that positive reinforcement is one of the best ways to not only change problematic, or unexpected behavior, but also to encourage and maintain expected behavior. 

Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) establishes clear behavior expectations to support all students in achieving social, emotional, and academic success. In addition to making behavior expectations clear to students, PBIS provides behavioral supports when needed, and fosters a positive environment where appropriate behavior is acknowledged and rewarded. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all youth by making targeted misbehavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.  Whole-Child Education incorporates a comprehensive form of PBIS in order to maintain consistency throughout our district.  

The key components of implementing an effective school-wide PBIS system include:

1. Clearly defining and explicitly teaching behavioral expectations (Behavior Matrix, Procedures)
2. Consistently reinforcing the positive behaviors we wish to promote (Strategies for acknowledging positive behaviors, Bucks, grade level incentives)
3. Utilization of behavioral data to identify problems and assess progress
4. System of Correcting problem behaviors and teaching appropriate replacement behaviors (Office discipline referral, strategies for correcting behavior)
5. Supports for Educators (Behavior Contacts, PBIS, Tier 2-Behavior Team)