Starting this year, a new system, known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and referred to as PBIS, has been introduced at the high school after trials at the middle school.
PBIS is a system that fosters social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health in students. According to the Center on PBIS, the system aims to improve student success, school systems, and the practices of educators. The ultimate goal of PBIS is to eliminate the need for focused discipline and create school environments that advocate for positive student behavior and promote their outcomes.
By introducing PBIS to students, districts are expected to develop strong school cultures and increase positive interactions between teachers and their students. In other words, the system encourages students to get involved in their community and find value or meaning at their school.
The goal of PBIS at Strath Haven, according to Principal Dr. Greg Hilden, is to show students how to effectively self-regulate their own learning and development.
“Rather than creating an environment where every time someone does something that is, you know, outside the ‘rules,’ instead of having just disciplinary consequences, the idea is to teach people positive behaviors or interventions that would help them learn from their mistakes,” Hilden said.
PBIS aims to accomplish its goals in a multi-step process, according to Hilden. The system breaks up the target audience into three tiers: everyone, some, and few. Each tier is more focused than the one prior and allows those impacted to receive individual focus.
PBIS starts by providing support to everyone in a school environment, then focuses on the group that did not improve during tier one, and finally targets the few that do not respond to the first two tiers.
This way, those who need individualized attention receive it.
The timeline for this addition to Strath Haven is already underway. According to Hilden, the beginning of PBIS at the high school was spring of 2022 when plans were made to train staff members over the summer and develop committees to help spread PBIS’s message to the student body.
“This year is the first year PBIS was rolled out to students,” Hilden said. “And we’re including a culture committee, like a neighborhood council, of students to do some of the work in spreading the word. So basically this year and next year are the beginning phases, getting it implemented and known among students and staff, and then after that it just exists.”
One of the visible changes at the high school related to PBIS are the signs around the school that list expected behaviors in different spaces, like hallways, classrooms, and restrooms. The signs are intended to provide instructions on how students should be safe, responsible, and respectful in all situations around the school.
Even with these visible additions, some students do not yet recognize significant changes to the school environment related to PBIS.
Senior Katie Foca recognizes that PBIS is a system that was carried over from Strath Haven Middle School. “It’s supposed to inform positive behavior in school,” she said.
She noted that most school-wide activities have been similar to last year, and that she has not yet seen many changes related to PBIS. The kickoff assembly on Friday of the first week of school was one new activity designed around PBIS themes.
“I know that in the beginning of September, they tried to do this,” Foca said. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll do this every week. And they just haven’t since.’”
However, the administration has noted progress in the school and plans continuing the spread of PBIS around the school and throughout the district.
“I think I already see a difference. I think people are engaged and care about their environment and that’s all I really want for students,” Hilden said.
