SWPBS as a Foundation for Including Students with Significant Support Needs

1. SWPBS as a Foundation for Including Students with Significant Support Needs

2. Session Overview: • Provide an overview of the New Jersey Positive Behavior Support in Schools training and technical assistance protocol • Discuss challenges we are experiencing to attaining inclusion despite having SWPBS in place • Share strategies we are using to ensure that inclusion is a part of SWPBS planning and implementation

3. Overview of How the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support is Applied in New Jersey

4. NJ Positive Behavior Support in Schools • PBSIS is a collaboration between the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Special Education and the Boggs Center at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. State Training Team:

5. Participation and Training Two year training cycle: Universal intervention development & implementation Function based problem solving at the secondary tier Function based problem solving at the tertiary tier External coach is assigned to the building and provides a combination of off and on-site technical assistance differentiated across needs Access to maintenance support after the 2 years

6. Encouraging Signs We are Seeing inNew Jersey

7. Out of School Suspension for All Students (N = 18 Schools K-12) Number of Out of School Suspension Assignments Comparison reflects a 42.26% decrease in suspensions for all students. Note: Data voluntarily provided and self-reported by schools

8. Out of School Suspension for Students with Disabilities (N = 18 Schools K-12) Number of Out of School Suspension Assignments Comparison reflects a 57.06% decrease in suspensions for students with disabilities. Note: Data voluntarily provided and self-reported by schools

9. Encouraging Signs We are Seeing in NJ The universal intervention (when implemented well) has a powerful impact on school climate. When the climate improves we are seeing: Shift to more preventative thinking Changes in attitude about the use of positive interventions An openness to trying things differently Students with significant support needs being brought back from out of district placements Increases in ‘opportunities’ for inclusion

10. Quick Pair-Share In your experience, what are the most common challenges to including students with significant support needs?

11. Strategy # 1:Cultivate Principal Buy-in and Endorsement

12. Challenge: How do we cultivate an administrative culture that supports FBPS? • Many administrators do not have a background in behavior intervention planning and by default rely on the ‘code of conduct’ as the primary intervention path

13. Mrs. Greene, Principal: • “To exclude students with disabilities from school-wide PBS would be unconscionable” • “School-wide PBS encourages students to work together , celebrate and support one another” • “Teachers need to reflect on how they have a role in student behavior” Insert picture capture of mrs. greene

14. Strategies we are using to cultivate Administrator support • Provide an orientation to FBPS • Principal packet on www.njpbs.org • Embed FBPS into your administrators’ consciousness • Frequent contacts with small bits of information (e.g., successes, great example, etc.) • Encourage teachers to share examples & testimonials with administrators

15. Strategies we are using to cultivate Administrator support • Periodic administrative team meetings • Information and discussions to increase consistency across administrators • Use data to guide discussions • Have a systematic method to identify disparity patterns and emerging trends

16. Strategy #2: Establish a Process for Teachers to Use Function-Based Problem Solving

17. Challenge: How do we help staff move away from a ‘Self Contained is Best’ mentality? • Even with school-wide PBS in place personnel can be reluctant to “let go of” self contained pull out and self contained options • Enduring belief that small “special” classes are the best • Problem solving teams are perceived as a ‘necessary step’ to removal

18. Self Contained Mentality • Mary Allyn (Culture and Climate Specialists) and Lisa (Principal) discuss the old way of doing things (6.08):

19. Function Based Problem Solvingis the Best Approach Gather representative information through a variety of methods (e.g., interviews, checklists, observations, baseline documentation, etc.) Map out information learned into setting event-antecedent-behavior-consequence patterns Determine the function of behavior Select function-based intervention strategies that address all dimensions of the behavior pattern Evaluate the effectiveness of implementation

20. CST Comprehensive individualized planning using function based problem solving to result in students being successful in general education programs Tertiary Intervention Tier • Early intervention for at risk students: • Articulate at-risk indicators • Link Office conduct decisions & intervention planning • Use function based problem solving to guide intervention development Secondary Intervention Tier I & RS • All staff will: • Use consistent expectations • Increase giving positive feedback • Consistently apply the Office Conduct Referral procedures • Effectively redirect occurrences of behavior • Use function based problem solving to • Constructively reflect on behavior incidents • Independently problem solve to address emerging behavior issues ALL STAFF Universal Intervention Tier Source: Adapted from Walker, Horner, Sugai, Bullis, Sprague, & Bricker (1996)

21. Supporting Teachers to Use FBPS in the Classroom • All staff get trained in how to: • Develop the habit of ‘Mapping Out’ incidents • Use the F-BIT to reflect and organize their thoughts • Use the Intervention Planner to select strategies [*new] • Use effective redirection strategies when behavior occurs • Secondary & Tertiary Teams support implementation by: • Always modeling the process in discussions • Providing coaching to support implementation • Providing lots of praise & encouragement: • Have the student give the staff ‘appreciation’ tickets for all their help • Use thank you notes, appreciation tickets, shout outs to reinforce staff’s implementation of the system

22. It’s all different now…Using Function-Based Problem Solving • Mary Allyn (Culture and Climate Specialist) and Lisa (Principal) discuss how the process has changed 7.40-9.13 & 9.54-11.20

23. Impact on Tier 2 and 3 Need and Planning • Melissa & Liz Co-Teachers (2:19)

24. FBPS at the Classroom Level • Reflective Planning Using the Function-Based Information Tool (F-BIT) • Checklist format • Helps teachers to reflect on the most typical setting events, antecedents and consequences that are occurring • Organizes our thinking into a succinct WHEN WHAT IN ORDER TO statement that provides a working frame for selecting strategies • Links to the PBSIS Intervention Planner for suggested strategies

25. Review the list and select the items that reflect the student’s strengths and what works

26. Review the list of behavior expectations Select the areas that you would like to see improvement Provide examples of what the student does that is a problem

27. Review the list of antecedent triggers • Select the triggers and the column that represents your best guess as to what is motivating the student to act out

28. Review the list of consequences • Select the responses and the column that represents your best guess as what the ‘payoff’ for behavior is

29. Synthesize the information you checked off into a when/what/in order to statement This gives you a short, straightforward way to sum up what is going on with the student

30. Given your when/what/in order to statement, why do you think the student is engaging in problem behavior?

31. Sample Intervention Planner SectionTime to Work that is Challenging

32. It’s all different now…Using Function-Based Problem Solving • Mary Allyn (Culture & Climate Specialist) and Lisa (Principal) reflect on the teacher’s response to a systematic function-based approach 12.20-15.02

33. Giving kids what they need • Alison and Lori 1st grade co-teachers

34. Strategy # 3:Enhance Opportunities for Students with Support Needs Within Universal Interventions

35. Challenge: Ensuring students with significant support needs are included in universal intervention planning • Are universal interventions really universally designed? • Since universal interventions are about ALL students, we need to help teams to have students with disabilities on the planning agenda

36. Universally Designed Universal Interventions • Acknowledgment that PBIS is grounded in a belief in inclusion • Representation on the planning team • Deliberate planning of core intervention components with an eye toward inclusion, for example: • Design of how expectations are represented • Clear ‘school is a community’ message • Incentive systems that promote community • Accommodations during school-wide events

37. Alison’s advice to help teachers plan for unique needs • Advice from Alison (2:13)

40. Social Story Example When I help clean up, I am being kind.

41. Dedication to Education Burnet Middle School Student Name: __________________________________________ Staff Member: ___________________________________________ Be Consistent Learn Daily c Lead Responsibly c Live Respectfully You’ve Been Spotted! To: ________________________ Date __________ From: ______________________ • RMS Road to Success • TO: ____________________________ • FROM: _______________________ • Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe Congratulations! You have earned one Falcon Feather! Student _____________________________________ Teacher _____________________________________ Earn Your Wings!

42. Draw a crowd with a game show approach to ticket raffles

43. From Obscurity to Center Stage: ‘Peercentric’ Incentive Options • Leverage the incentive system to promote peer interaction opportunities that elevate the social status of students with disabilities • Wii lounge • Bean bag lounge • Fancy lunch with friends • Dean’s Marquee Theater

44. Pictures removed for web posting: Groups of students illustrating inclusion in peer oriented incentive options

45. Pictures removed for web posting: PBIS Student Ambassadors offer an opportunity to be a leader

46. Tying School-Wide Recognition System Tickets to Individual Plans • School wide tickets can replace various other tokens (e.g., pennies) in individual student systems to increase the meaningfulness of the system and ensure the student is connected to what is happening school-wide.

47. Sample of a Sticker Chart Using the S-W Logo and Tickets Together We Can! To: From: Together We Can! To:Cassie From: Mrs. Smith Together We Can! To:Cassie From: Mrs. Smith

48. Strategy # 4: Dig DeeperDisaggregate data to find inequity and disparity patterns

49. Challenge: How to foster consistent and effective use of data? • We know that data-based decision making is essential to successful practices • Data has a bad reputation • Beginning the process of using data can be daunting • School personnel struggle with what to do with the data once they have

50. What We are Learning about Helping Schools Be Better Data Users • School personnel are benefiting from clear and structured guidance to: • Know how to identify disparity and inequity patterns • Ask probing questions about those patterns • Select interventions to address those patterns