1. PBIS Team: Establishing a Foundation for Collaboration and Operation Establishing a Foundation for Collaboration and Operation – PBIS requires some systems change efforts. Efforts take time and your team’s ability to effectively collaborate, identify team member roles, distribute responsibility evenly and work efficiently towards goals are important in setting your foundation for success. Teams must realize that they are a leadership team and have the ability to make positive changes in the school. ******************************************************** Observation Notes: PBIS is a problem solving process. There are set components, but they may be implemented differently depending on your school. Looking at a system change approach takes time. It can take 3-5 years - - not to implement and see changes in student behavior, but to see outcome change. We’re talking about the philosophical change. Our first step is establishing the foundation. This is the most important element in building PBIS. Our first question is how to take this back to your school and bring others on board.

Objectives Understand the importance of collaborative teaming Understand the characteristics of effective team collaboration Identify critical team roles and responsibilities Identify how to support team members to participate on the school-wide PBIS team Understand how to align PBIS and school’s mission and improvement plan Identify how to “work smarter, not harder” In this session we’ll look at the foundation of PBIS and complete an activity that demonstrates these foundational concepts. We’ll talk about how other teams have established buy-in, alignment of the SIP and the school mission statement, the elements of working smarter not harder and talk about the roles and responsibilities of committee members. Our first activity will help us to see the importance of collaborative teaming.

Have you ever been a part of this team? No agenda is prepared Meeting starts late No time schedule has been set for the meeting No one is prepared No facilitator is identified No one agrees on anything No action plan is developed Everyone is off task Negative tone throughout the meeting It’s easy for meetings to develop one or more of these problems. Actively plan to avoid these problems.

A School-based PBIS Team School Administrative Team must be committed to school-wide PBIS and actively participate on the team PBIS team should remain small (3-8 members) Consider representatives that include: administration, general education teachers, special education teachers, guidance, specials teachers, parents… Consider Core Team vs. Peripheral Team You are considered the core team… You meet regularly and make decisions. The team shouldn't be too big… too much conversation.. harder to come to consensus… Think of a core team versus a peripheral team. The core team attends to the standard team responsibilities. The peripheral team is a resource for the core team. The peripheral team may attend meetings every other month. May want to include students (example: when developing reward system), reg. ed. teachers, special ed. teachers, paraprofessionals etc. on the peripheral team. Over time the team tends to change – keep the numbers small. Team members should represent a range of grades, not necessarily from each grade level, but should represent the entire staff. Thinking about your school team… who should be invited. Remember SAC folks are involved with financial decisions.

School PBIS Team Tasks Develop the school-wide PBIS action plan Monitor behavior data Hold regular team meetings (at least monthly) Maintain communication with staff and coach Evaluate progress Report outcomes to Coach/Facilitator & District Coordinator Team responsibilities The main responsibility is to support collection and dissemination of information to faculty and staff In today’s training you'll be developing an action plan…go to tab called action plan.. Go to 2nd page… look at Critical Elements… this is what you’ll develop in these 3 days… Remember, a copy of your action plan will be collected at the end of this 3-day training Once these critical elements are in place you will have PBIS in your school. Then you will need to maintain the process, monitor and adjust, but the main responsibility of the team at this point is to develop the action plan. Plan for regular meetings, at least 1 per month. In the beginning you may need to meet more frequently. Make sure that everything you do as a leadership team involves getting and providing information and feedback from the school.

Team-led Process Non-Teaching Family Behavioral Capacity Priority & Status Representation Specialized Support Administrator Team Community Data-based Decision Making Administrator Student 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. Teaching Communications Start with Team that “Works.” 6

Identify Team Member Roles Team Leader - starts the meeting, reviews the purpose of the meeting, facilitates the meeting by keeping the team focused on each step Recorder - taking notes, transcribing the team’s responses on flip chart paper, transparency, etc Timekeeper- monitors the amount of time available keeps the team aware of time limits by giving “warnings” (i.e., “10 minutes left”) Data Specialist- is trained in entering and accessing data from the SWIS data system Behavior Specialist- competent with behavioral principles and assists in analyzing data Administrator- actively encourages team efforts, provides planning time, feedback, and support initiatives Communications – acts as the point person for communication between the team and staff regarding PBIS and behavior issues PBIS Coach- district-level (external) or school-based (internal) individual that facilitates the team through the process, becomes the school’s main contact

Coaches’ Roles & Responsibilities May be district-level person (external) who can move across schools or person who works on-site (internal) Is familiar with the school-wide process Facilitates team throughout the process (insures critical elements are in place) Attends all trainings/meetings with their school-based teams Receives extended and ongoing training from FL PBIS Project May co-train with PBIS Project in subsequent school years Is an active and involved team member, but not the Team Leader Is the main contact person for the school-based team Reports to the District Coordinator Coach-liaison between school and district wide facilitator Different than the team leader who facilitates meeting-will help to make sure goals are being obtained Coaches went through a day long training at USF They are expected to attend your team meetings-make sure to arrange meetings with them so they can attend

Administration’s Roles and Responsibilities ALL administrators are encouraged to participate in the process Administrator should play an active role in the school-wide PBIS change process Administrators should actively communicate their commitment to the process Administrator should be familiar with school’s current data and reporting system If a principal is not committed to the change process, it is unwise to move forward in the process Facilitators may want to encourage all administrators to participate on the school-based PBIS Team or may determine that one administrator is adequate. If only one administrator is actively participating, it is essential that the facilitator meet with the administration between meetings to guide communication and follow-through of action plans. In addition, the sole administrator should be one who intercepts many of the school’s discipline referrals (i.e., has experience with the school’s current system of discipline operations). If this administrator is not involved with the team or committed to the change process, it is unwise to attempt to go further with developing the PBIS school-wide plan. The involved administrators should also have a long-term commitment to the change process and to the school. Constantly changing administrative support will negatively impact the implementation of a school-wide positive behavior support plan.

School-based PBIS Team Meets Frequently During initial planning, teams may need to meet more often Team should meet at least once a month to: Analyze existing data Make changes to the existing database Problem-solve solutions to critical issues Begin to outline actions for the development of a plan Monthly meeting usually last about one hour Initially PBIS teams may need to meet more frequently, but by the end of school year meetings will probably be down to once per month. Data drives your meeting… but the first couple of meetings will probably focus on elements of the action plan, fine tuning it.

Enhancing Meeting Success Administrator identifies how to free staff time for participation on the PBIS Team Clearly schedule meeting dates and times Administrators remind staff of the significant impact and ultimate success In all team meetings there should be structure: Look in misc. section 127-129. These pages provide suggestions for: Team meeting agenda/minutes Meeting evaluation (how are we doing) Graphs suggested by SWIS Helpful Hints.. If you don’t use SWIS, this section will suggest the kinds of materials you’ll need at meetings.

School Improvement Plan Schools must be committed to improving behavior One of the top priorities Make sure the SIP addresses issues of student behavior – maybe able to access SIP $$$ Behavior, discipline, climate, or safety SIP needs to be aligned with the school’s mission statement All initiatives/practices should be organized using three tiered logic Review content of SIP with all faculty and staff * Inconsistency and lack of direction can impede overall school improvement! Schools must be motivated to embark on overall school-wide change and when encompassing positive behavior support, improving behavior must be one of the school’s top 3 priorities, as demonstrated by inclusion in the School Improvement Plan (SIP), in order to be successful. Without a priority to improve student behavior across campus, administration and faculty will struggle to proceed successfully through this process due to a lack of commitment and motivation.

School Improvement Plan Review the SIP yearly Familiarize and educate new staff annually If plan is reviewed and discussed often, goals will be accomplished Let the SIP guide all activities that occur in your school If the school’s administration merely disseminates the SIP, it is essential that they quiz the faculty’s familiarity with the plan (i.e., did they read the material?). We recommend that the administration review the plan and the mission statement at least yearly in order to educate and familiarize the new staff. In addition, the more a school or administration discusses the School Improvement Plan, the more likely they are to achieve their desired goals. Keep an eye on the SIP and let that guide all activities occurring on campus.