school review (education/ABA)

PBIS School Review

After review of various schools in various districts, I feel that the San Jose school district

really impressed me with how many schools there really committed to rolling out PBIS and

organizing their websites in a way that shows a real commitment to student success. The

following paper will provide a brief summary followed by a review of the PBIS program at

Booksin Elementary school in the San Jose school district.

Under the tab labeled school information on the Booksin Elementary website at

http://sjusd.org/booksin/, one will find another tab for the school climate and history. It is in that

link that anyone interested in knowing about the school’s PBIS program can be found. The site

first provides a link for anyone that would like to learn more information on PBIS. After the

link, the site displays a ton of information on their own developed system of expectation for all

students under the acronym of PAWS which stands for Peaceful, Aware, Wise and Safe. The

school utilizes a matrix that is very clear, concise and to the point about how the acronym

translates into behavior expectations in 4 main areas of the school: eating areas, recess areas,

classrooms, and bathrooms. On the right hand side, the site provides six pdf links that contain

PAWS lesson plans for each area, a teaching schedule with rotations and a presentation for the

students with area discussions followed by Q&A. Below the matrix, one can find a power point

link for the training presentation, followed by a pdf link for the behavior expectation matrix.

Finally, there are two pdf links for rewards and recognitions.

I felt that the school overall did a phenomenal job with their website addressing the universal

tier 1 of MTSS that will most likely address 90% of the school population. Their booster

presentation for the kids was 56 pages long and was created in a game format that was fun and

engaging for elementary students. It further went over all the information which included: their

acronym of PAWS that focuses on creating the best citizens possible in all areas of the school

followed by a fun multiple choice questions about the expectations for student behavior in the 4

chosen main areas of the school. The training presentation for teachers was 28 slides and gave

clear directives and expectations of teachers and staff for the success of the program. Aside of

the outline of what and why PBIS will be utilized by the school, the power-point includes the

specifics on why, who, where, when and how to recognize students appropriate behavior and

rules for prizes. Additionally, the use of PAWS lesson plan to be taught by the teachers, gives

teachers a “blueprint” tool to make them more successful as they provide opportunity to teach

and role play expected appropriate behaviors with students in each area. On slide 19, the

program includes staff recognition. This is essential for motivation of staff “buy in” for running

a successful PBIS program. Starting with slide 22, the power point presentation also addresses

protocol for office referral when strategies previously implemented fail to yield positive

outcomes. A list of behaviors that fall under office managed behaviors rather than teacher

managed behaviors is provided along with the names of core team members. This is where I felt

the program fell short as no information was provided on protocol taken beyond the referral. I

felt that there should have been information on what programs would be available to the students

that fall within tier 2 (i.e. social groups, mentorship program etc…) to address at risk behavior.

Also, guidelines were specified for students that fall into tier 3 and require intense individual

support to address severe behavior.

To conclude, I feel that for the most part, the school designed a really solid program that

addresses most aspects of running a successful PBIS program and leaves very little room for

ambiguity. There is a general sense of community with very clear behavior expectations for both

the individuals implementing the plan, as well as, the students involved in the PBIS program.

References:

http://sjusd.org/booksin/

http://www.pbis.org/

Scheuermann, B., & Hall, J. A. (2016). Positive behavioral supports for the classroom (3rd ed.).

Boston: Pearson.