April 2013 PBIS Front Page Newsletter

Upcoming Statewide Events 

Middle School Forum

A Middle School Forum will be held April 9, 2013, at Northern Illinois University in Naperville. Participants will have valuable opportunities to network with other middle schools in an effort to learn the best practices of implementing school-wide positive behavior support with this unique population. Click here to register.

External Coaches Forum

On June 4-5, 2013, (please note date correction) External Coaches (ECs) will once again come together at Northern Illinois University in Naperville. ECs are positioned to support PBIS implementation as well as collaborative efforts for school improvement.  Forums are an opportunity to meet and network with other PBIS ECs to share strategies and best practices at all three tiers.  Day 1 of the Forum will focus on coaching for capacity building including sessions on coaching classroom management, coaching in differentiated settings, effective communication skills for coaches, and more. Day 2 will provide coaches with hands-on experience using Educational Environment (EE) data and a model for Tier 3 implementation and progress-monitoring. Click here to register.

Summer Leadership Conference

Registration is now open!  The 2013 Summer Leadership Conference will be held July 31- August 1, 2013, at a new location, the Tinley Park Convention Center in Tinley Park.  PBIS leaders and implementers will share information on a wide range of topics including classroom management, bullying prevention, braiding integrated initiatives, and many more. Keynote presenters will include Dorothy Espelage of the University of Illinois and a student-led RENEW Tier 3 Intervention Panel.  Click here to register.

Data-based Decision Making 

What support do your schools need next school year? Now is the time to plan. Information and assistance will be provided at upcoming April N200 Network Meetings for coaches on action planning using PBIS evaluation tools.  Support will center on gathering completed evaluation tools, prioritizing need, developing a list of next steps, and using the Multi-tiered Action Plan (MAP) to outline the process. Check the Coaches tab on the Illinois PBIS Network website for times and locations of Network Meetings in your area.

Evaluation Tools The Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ) is a team self-assessment of universal systems. Teams can identify areas of success and areas in need of improvement to guide future action planning. Teams should enter their results in their account at www.pbisassessment.org byApril 30, 2013.

Maintain staff commitment to PBIS implementation by sharing results of the Self-Assessment Survey (SAS) with all staff. Using the school ID number, have all adults in your building log-in to your account atwww.pbisassessment.org to take this brief evaluation. Teams can use the results of the survey to guide planning for the upcoming year.

The School Safety Survey (SSS) is a tool schools can use to assess risk factors and response plans for school safety and violence. The survey is designed to help school leaders evaluate the extent to which the school provides a safe learning environment; training and support needs related to school safety and violence prevention; and responses to violence and the effectiveness of protective measures.

The Phases of Implementation (PoI) outlines the necessary components that need to be in place for each level of recognition. If any PoI items that meet a recognition criterion for your schools have changed since completing the PoI during the fall of 2012, please resubmit a new PoI in Survey Monkey by clickinghere.  PoI's should be submitted by April 19, 2013.

For hard copies of these evaluation tools and guidance for completing, including account access information, you may visit the Evaluation tab on the Illinois PBIS Network website or contact your Technical Assistance Coordinator.

Tier 2/Tier 3 Coaching

External Coaches Network meetings in April and May will provide an opportunity for reflection and action planning on how PBIS schools support youth with special needs. Network meetings will include information on utilizing Educational Environment (EE) and other school-wide data for decision-making to improve student access to least restrictive environments. Exploration and action planning will continue on Day 2 of the June External Coaches Forum. 

Monthly Challenge The end of the school year is fast approaching and that means it's time for schools to begin thinking about the School Recognition process.  For the 2012-13 school year, clarifications were made to the Tier 2/Tier 3 components of the recognition requirements, and an additional level of recognition, Implementing Plus, was added based on feedback from schools. April is the right time to review the requirements and begin ensuring documentation is prepared.  Clickhere to visit our website for complete details and necessary components. Recognition applications should be received by the Illinois PBIS Network no later than May 17, 2013. 

Classroom Management 

Teachers should have a range of classroom management strategies for responding to challenging behavior.  The "off-task two-step" is a technique to address off-task, minor, disruptive behavior without calling attention to it (Classroom Management in Action, IRIS Educational Media). Click here for a quick guide on how to use the "off-task two-step." 

School Family Community Partnerships (SFCP)  

The Illinois PBIS Network would like to learn more about school, family, community partnerships and team membership in your schools. External Coaches can now share this information on the Partnerships tab of theIllinois PBIS Network website by clicking on the "Family/Community Team Membership Survey" in the yellow box at the top of the main page. The Illinois PBIS Network will use this information to:  a) provide support to districts in continuously improving these partnerships, b) improve school, family, community partnerships in our statewide efforts, and c) include these representatives in statewide communications about conferences, trainings, and networking opportunities. We encourage Coaches to share this information byApril 30, 2013. However, all districts that report family/community team membership for one or more schools by May 24, 2013 will be acknowledged on the Partnerships tab under Successful School Partnerships.

High School Corner  

Chronic tardiness is a critical issue as it is related to the disengagement cycle of tardiness, absenteeism, academic failure, suspensions, and school failure (Shernoff, Csikszentmihalyi, Schneider, and Shernoff, 2003).  The Illinois PBIS Network will be offering a two-part webinar to support high schools in their effort to reduce tardies and increase academic success.  This webinar will include exemplars who have had success with tardy reduction, as well as time to network and learn with one another.  Webinar dates for later this spring will be posted on www.pbisillinois.org.

Administrator Tip of the Month 

School handbooks are an excellent vehicle for publicizing PBIS as a positive framework in your school. Review your existing handbook to evaluate how well stakeholders are informed of the proactive structures your school has established for students and staff. Ask your administrator to include recommended changes in handbooks for the upcoming school year.

National Center News   

The www.PBISApps.org website will launch on April 25, 2013.  This new site will host the log-ins for the SWIS Suite, PBIS Assessment, and PBIS Evaluation websites to provide a one-stop, easy to use site for all of your application needs.  All of your user log-in information will remain the same.

New Resources 

Click here to view or download two new publications that will serve as helpful resources for you.

• • The Impact of PBIS in Schools information sheet summarizes the successful, research-based outcomes of PBIS implementation. 

  • The Building Tier 2/Tier 3 Capacity within a PBIS System of Supportreport provides a description of a Tier 2 /Tier 3 model of systems, data, and practice features for school-wide systems of PBIS.