Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
What if your campus, classroom, facility, agency, school district used PBIS? You’d see a vast improvement in behavioral incidents, academic progress, and improved culture, that’s what!
If you’re familiar with PBIS, you’re most likely a public school educator or educational researcher. That’s because PBIS is most commonly seen in public school settings, particularly elementary schools. But what if it was also seen in secondary schools? And what if (hold onto your hats folks) it was also used in carceral spaces? And WHAT IF (note the all caps…this one is a doozy) it was used as the behavior modification framework in ADULT prisons and jails? I know, you’ve probably spilled your coffee over that jolt. I’m sorry. I should’ve warned you. I DID use all caps, so…
If you’re not familiar with PBIS, it’s an evidence-based framework designed to improve and integrate all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day. It’s not a program. It’s not a silver bullet. It’s a three-tiered framework that allows school/facility leaders to build an environment that teaches, models, and reinforces behaviors we want to see instead of constantly punishing for behaviors we don’t want to see. In fancy lingo, we can use PBIS as the foundation to teach pro-social behaviors in order to eliminate counter-productive ones.
In some ways, in some places and spaces, this feels counter-intuitive. Eliminate punishment?!? Blasphemy! Well folks, let me ask you: how much punishment is enough punishment? And if you’re organization is relying on punitive measures as a behavioral modification framework, how’s that working for you? It’s worth a look, at least, to see how we can do it differently. PBIS doesn’t eliminate consequences for behavior, but it does guide us to make sure that consequences are logical or natural (not punitive) and that they occur AFTER we’ve done the work to teach, model, and incentivize the behaviors we’re asking an individual to focus on. If you don’t know the difference between natural, logical, and punitive consequences, let’s talk!
So. I’ve used PBIS in my classroom, in juvenile prison facilities state-wide, and yep even in adult prisons and jails. All with great success. I’ve introduced it to teams of teachers and correctional professionals, to public school students and incarcerated students. It hasn’t failed me yet. Once you understand how it works, the ways in which you can creatively use it and tailor it to your campus or facility or classroom to help your students/residents understand how their behavior affects their outcomes, the quicker and more impactful the results will be. I use it at home too with my family. It’s kind of the bombdiggity. Just saying.
I and a team of educators across the U.S. and now globally have successfully implemented the PBIS framework in a variety of school and carceral settings. This framework is an amazing support for students with disabilities, if that’s something you’re struggling with. If you want to know more, contact us. You can visit a plethora of websites about PBIS. I’ll include a couple here, but if you’re in an alternative setting of some sort, like a detention center, a jail, or a prison, please don’t look at the information and say to yourself, “this won’t work in our setting or with our students/residents.” It can. You have to see it from your POV, and you can always ask someone who’s done it (like me, for instance) for some guidance. Here are a couple of places to start:
https://www.pbis.org/
You can also take a look at our Library page. There are a few articles there about successful outcomes of PBIS implemented in carceral and public school settings.
Alrighty. Go get your refill and do a little PBIS research. Til next week!
