PBIS April 2014 Coaches Front Page Newsletter

New Federal Resources

By the end of April, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice will be announcing district and state level grants to promote implementation of preventative, positive school discipline approaches. Please watch the U.S. Department of Education's federal register and your email, as the Illinois PBIS Network will disseminate the grant information as soon as it is available.

The national Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative has written a series of informational briefs and supplementary research papers to guide decision making aimed at reducing the disciplinary discrepancy for students who identify as ethnic minorities. An overview and the full papers may be accessed through their website at Discipline Disparities: A Research to Practice Collaborative.

Evaluation

  The Self-Assessment Survey (SAS) provides staff perception data on school-wide, classroom, and non-classroom climates. The School Safety Survey (SSS) is completed by five staff members to measure risk factors and protective factors in their school. The window for both the SAS and SSS will be open from April 1-30, 2014, unless your district has its own PBIS Assessment Local Coordinator. Click here for Evaluation Timelines and a Quick Guide.

School-wide PBIS Tiered Fidelity Inventory and School Recognition Process

The School-wide PBIS Tiered Fidelity Inventory is now available to all Illinois PBIS schools. For more information on how to access and complete the Inventory, please visit the Inventory information page. Schools who wish to be recognized should complete the Inventory online by May 16, 2014.

If your school is applying for Illinois PBIS Recognition for 2013-14 at the Gold or Platinum Level, Triangle Data is a required artifact for Outcome Data. SWIS 5 currently does not offer the "Triangle Data Report", but you can follow these instructions to generate a SWIS Triangle Data Report using data exported via the Drill Down function in your school's SWIS account.

For more information about 2013-14 School Recognition, including the new Recognition Process, levels, due dates, and acknowledgements, see the School Recognition page. To ensure the appropriate staff at your school receive the recognition acknowledgements, please provide any staff changes using the PBIS Team Contact Information Form.

In addition to completing the Inventory for Recognition, your teams will want to continue to complete other fidelity measures, such as the BoQ, BAT, TIC, etc. to compare their progress to last year.

Become a PBIS Assessment Account Coordinator!

All District Coaches can become a PBIS Assessment Coordinator to assist their schools in opening and closing surveys, as well as coaching data-based decision making and action planning. To learn more about becoming a PBIS Assessment Coordinator, visit our Evaluation page. A webinar on opening and entering surveys, as well as accessing reports, will be hosted at 10am CST on April 10, 2014. Click here to register.

School-wide Information System (SWIS) Facilitator Training

District Coaches and PBIS Administrators can also become SWIS Facilitators for their district!  In an effort to have more District Based Coaches handle their own SWIS accounts, we are reducing the cost of SWIS and Individual Student Information System (ISIS) facilitator training for approved Illinois participants. Save the dates for the upcoming SWIS Facilitator training on April 29 - May 1, 2014, and the one-day ISIS-SWIS Facilitator training on May 2, 2014, in Westmont. Further information is available on the training portion of the PBIS Apps website.

Questions about PBIS Assessments, the School-wide PBIS Tiered Fidelity Inventory, School Recognition, and SWIS accounts can be directed to eval@pbisillinois.org.

Classroom Management

Creating a positive class environment is important in preventing student problem behavior and supporting academic achievement. Positive student-teacher interactions resulting from universal behavior supports leads to increased student engagement and learning, and minimizes disruptive or maladaptive behaviors (Conroy, et al., 2008). Using the Classroom Management Self-Assessment, teachers can assess the current status of effective classroom management practices, identify needed areas for professional development, and begin to create a class-wide continuum of positive behavior supports.

Curriculum/Innovation Updates 

Role of the School-Based Clinician

There were 42 participants representing 10 LEAs at the first day of in-person training for the new learning community on Role of the School-Based Clinician in a 3-Tiered Model of Support.  Some great learning has already occurred within this group and we look forward to continued growth of this group and learning from one another! Consider viewing the recorded webinar or joining us for another in-person day on May 9, 2014, at Judson College in Elgin.  More information, resources, and registration are available on our Changing Role of Clinician page.

Coaching Focus

As a Tier 1 coach, using data is a critical skill. The March Coaches Network Meeting focused on using a variety of data sources to inform decision making. For example, how do you access building level data and then aggregate data for the entire district? Coaches Meeting materials are available here.

Tier 2/Tier 3 Coaching 

Approximately 13-20% of school-age children have a diagnosable emotional disorder that impedes normal functioning (Burns et al, 1995; Merikangas et al., 2010; Shaffer et al., 1996).  Yet, students with emotional behavioral disorders supported in special education represent less than 1% of enrollment (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2011).  Therefore, Universal Screening for early identification of students with higher needs is critical.  Universal Screening provides an efficient and effective process to ensure students begin receiving additional supports as soon as possible. To learn more about the Universal Screening process, see the  March Coaches Meeting materials, visit the Universal Screening page on the Illinois PBIS Network website, or join the April 22 webinar.

Positive Family Support (PFS) is a family engagement and involvement process developed in the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework.  A universal component of the PFS process incorporates a Parent Readiness Screener.  For more information on the PFS model and the Parent Readiness Screener, see the March Coaches Meeting materials. 

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 during the 2013-14 School Year. External Coaches are asked to share this information by filling out the Family and Community Team Membership Survey. The Illinois PBIS Network uses this information to provide guidance to districts in continuously improving these partnerships and to improve school, family, community partnerships in our statewide efforts. We encourage Coaches to share this information by May 15, 2014. However, all districts that report family/community team membership for one or more schools by June 15, 2014, will be acknowledged on the Partnerships tab under the Team Membership Survey/Results page. The list is currently being updated for 2013-14.

High School Corner 

The High School specific Tier 2 Webinar Series is currently underway. Please view training dates, times, and topics and don't forget to register!

The sixth and final High School virtual chat will be offered May 14, 2014, from 1:00-2:30pm, and we will discuss Future Action Planning (assessment tools are your friend).  Register here.

The March High School networking webinar that focused on Blending Academics and Behavior was recorded and can be found here.  You can also learn more about Academic Seminar. 

Administrator Tip of the Month

As an administrator, are you concerned about youth who aren't being identified as needing additional supports? Universal screening and parent screening during registration are two ways to identify those students. Learn how to get started with Universal Screening or register and join a webinar on April 22, 2014, from 1:30-3:00pm.

Upcoming Events

The Illinois PBIS Network and the Illinois RtI Network are presenting the 2014 Summer Leadership Conference. The statewide event will be August 6-7, 2014, at the Tinley Park Convention Center in Tinley Park, Illinois. In addition to focusing on Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) for academics and behavior, the conference will feature strategies from the Illinois Statewide Technical Assistance Collaborative (ISTAC). Watch the website for more information about strands and sessions in the next few months.

SLC Volunteer Information

Join us as a Volunteer for the Summer Leadership Conference! To show our appreciation for volunteers, conferences fees will be waived. Volunteers have the opportunity to attend the conference while also experiencing a behind-the-scenes look at this compelling event. If you are interested, complete our Summer Leadership Conference Volunteer Application. For further information, visit our website in late April, or contact our Volunteer Coordinator Jennifer Norton: jennifer.norton@istac.net. 

Click links for more details and registration: