January 2013 PBIS Front Page Newsletter

Upcoming Statewide Events                 Winter Leadership Conference  

In just a few short days, the annual Illinois PBIS Network Winter Leadership Conference will be held in O'Fallon, IL, onJanuary 23-24, 2013.

Highlights include:  Day 1 Plenary session featuring how schoolwide Bullying Prevention improves school climate, and Day 2 Plenary session featuring a panel sharing their experiences with the Tier 3 intervention of RENEW/Wraparound.  

Exemplars from across the state will present a range of experiences from their Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 PBIS implementation during breakout sessions.  Conference strands include: Classroom Management, High School, Sustainability, Skill Building, Coaching, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and School/Family/Community Partnerships, as well as Administrators' Academies. Register quickly at http://www.cvent.com/d/tcq35h to reserve your spot!

Bullying Prevention

Training for districts interested in embedding bullying prevention curriculum within PBIS will be held in Mt. Vernon on January 30, 2013.  This training is for the district external coach and one school team that includes a family representative.  External coaches commit to developing an exemplar model with their school, and then scale up implementation to the remaining schools in the district. For complete details and to request participation,  click here. 

High School Forum

Two high school forums will be held across the state this spring.  In the central region onFebruary 21, 2013, high school teams will have an opportunity to network and share best practices at Illinois State University in Bloomington. The north region will be hosting the high school forum on March 15, 2013 at a location still to be determined.  The registration links will be available no later than January 14, 2013 on the Training/Registration Calendar on our website, which can be viewed here. 

Evaluation Tools  

Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ)

Reminder: Coaches can now enter their own BoQ results into PBIS Assessments using their six-digit school code.  For more information on entering your BoQ into PBIS Assessments, pleaseclick here and download the Quick Guide for the BoQ.  If you need your school code, please contact your Technical Assistance Coordinator.

It is suggested that teams complete this tool annually between January and April.  To access the BoQ along with instructions for completing, click here. For schools and districts that do not facilitate their own PBIS Assessment's account, the BoQ window has been opened for you by the evaluation team.

Benchmarks of Advanced Tiers (BAT)

Secondary and tertiary teams are encouraged to use the BAT to self-assess and action plan around their schools' implementation status of Tier 2/Tier 3 behavior support systems.  Results of the BAT can also be entered into PBIS Assessments by coaches. To access the BAT, click here.

Systems Response Tool (SRT)

Secondary, tertiary, and district level teams use the SRT to analyze school and district-wide data on typical responses to challenging youth behavior. Identifying trends in responses such as suspension rates, out of district placements, or system level-challenges (i.e. excessive special education testing of students who do not qualify), leads to action planning for more proactive system responses.  Teams are encouraged to reflect on this data at least three times per school year.  Click here to access this tool. 

Coaching Corner  

Reboot your year by re-teaching schoolwide expectations to all students after returning from winter break. Both students and staff will benefit from these quick reminders about expectations in your building.

Revisit your Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ) scores from the 2011-12 school year to identify areas of celebration or focus. Have you successfully achieved set goals? When should the team share with staff the strides that have been made? Where could the team focus efforts for the second half of this school year? Update your Multi-tiered Action Plan (MAP) based on your analysis.

Tier 2/Tier 3 Coaching Tips

The role of coaches is to support schools, and in order to meet the needs of all youth, schools must efficiently identify, support, and progress-monitor students at Tier 2/Tier 3. Schools should prepare for 1-5% of youth needing Tier 3 support. The Systems Response Tool (SRT) can help schools identify these youth.  Once identified, there are three types of Tier 3 interventions schools can offer: complex FBA/BIP, wraparound, and wrap-based RENEW. Click here for more information on RENEW.  

Tier 2/Tier 3 Readiness Process:  Webinars and Readiness Checklists

Register here to join the Tier 2/Tier 3 Readiness Webinar being held on February 28, 2013. This distal learning opportunity will clarify the process and tools for self-assessing Tier 2/Tier 3 readiness.  Building and district leaders will learn about the critical features necessary for strong, sustainable Tier 2/Tier 3 implementation. District features must be in-place in order for schools to participate in Tier 3 training.

Monthly Challenge The requirements for School Recognition are online. Visit our website at http://www.pbisillinois.org/schools/recognition-process to review the new criteria before your next scheduled team meeting.  Position your team now to meet the standards for the highest level of recognition possible for the 2012-13 school year.

Classroom Management 

The University of Louisville Academic and Behavioral Response to Intervention (ABRI) project has created a series of training video vignettes demonstrating basic academic and behavioral strategies for effective classroom management in a variety of K-12 classroom contexts.  To access these resources go to: http://louisville.edu/education/srp/abri. 

School Family Community Partnerships (SFCP) New Website Information

Please click here to check out the new school, family, and community partnerships tab.  Find a family-friendly PBIS overview, resources and information for families and community members, dates for family/community network meetings, and more.

Winter Leadership Conference Registration

To help schools increase family/community membership on PBIS teams, these valuable team members can register for the Winter Leadership Conference and participate forfree. Fees are completely waived for the first two family/community representatives and reduced to only 50% for additional family/community representatives. The conference isbeing held in O'Fallon on January 23-24, 2013.  Districts should register family/community team members in the same way as other participants and note their role in the registration system as "family or community member."  Once your Technical Assistance Coordinator confirms the registrant is a family member, the fee will be waived/reduced.

Upcoming Family Network Meetings

Lincoln Early Childhood School in Monmouth hosted a Family/Community Representative Network Meeting on January 7, 2013.  Planning is currently underway for meetings that will take place in the upcoming months. Details will be provided as dates are finalized.

Administrator Tips 

Parents and guardians are strong motivators in children's lives. Have your administrator reach out to stakeholders by sharing schoolwide expectations with families and strategies for using similar language at home. Creating a common approach to positively recognizing children will provide payoffs both at home and school.