1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.