PBIS January 2014 Coaches Front Page Newsletter

How Tracking Minor ODRs Can Improve Outcomes

A recent brief study utilizing nationwide data from the SWIS database documents the link between minor problem behavior and more serious problem behaviors (Gion, McIntosh, & Horner, 2013). The national study indicates that currently three-fourths of schools using SWIS are collecting both minor and major ODRs, which is a helpful step in identifying students for interventions before they have established more serious problem behaviors.

The link between minor and major behavior problems should be considered as part of the decision-making process for Universal/Tier 1 and Secondary/Tier 2 data review. Do your Tier 2 data rules include minors? This topic was covered in September's Coaches Meeting. You are encouraged to review Patterns of Minor Office Discipline Referrals in Schools Using SWIS (Gion, McIntosh, & Horner, 2013) and action plan with your team for ways to incorporate minors into the identification and monitoring processes.

Evaluation  Implementation Inventory 

Training webinars are available to support the transition from the Illinois Phases of Implementation tool to the PBIS National Implementation Inventory. The Inventory is currently being Beta tested with a small number of schools. It will be available to all schools on 

PBIS Assessments in the spring. You may still join an Implementation Inventory webinar on either January 14, 2014, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm or Wednesday, January 29, 2014, from 10:30 am-12:30 pm. To register, click here.

During this transition to the Implementation Inventory, please continue to complete the Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ) and Benchmarks for Advanced Tiers (BAT). Completing the Inventory along with other fidelity measures allows for comparison of measures, and for your teams to compare their progress to last year's BoQ and BAT. The BoQ and BAT, along with directions for use, can be found on the Illinois PBIS Network's Evaluation webpage.

School-wide Information System (SWIS) Facilitator Training

District Coaches and PBIS Administrators can become SWIS Facilitators for your district! SWIS Facilitators provide critical support and on-going assistance to school staff including editing SWIS Users' roles in school accounts. SWIS facilitators are the key to sustaining SWIS as a functional information system to influence how your school supports student behavior.

Save the dates for the upcoming two and a half-day SWIS Facilitator training from April 29 through May 1, 2014 in Westmont, Illinois. Registration will be available soon on the Illinois PBIS website. This training will teach you: 

• • How to use SWIS,

• How to train schools to use SWIS,

• How to respond to the most frequently occurring questions,

• How to help school teams use SWIS information for decision making, and

• How to sustain SWIS use within each school you support.

Individual Student Information System (ISIS) Training

ISIS training is now available for all schools who are implementing Tier 3 interventions. ISIS is the third application in the SWIS Suite and is designed to be used with individualized behavioral, academic, or mental health support plans. ISIS defines data collection measures, uploads and stores documentation, and summarizes data for decision making. More detailed information concerning this application can be found on the PBIS Apps website. If your school/district is interested in securing ISIS, please contact the Illinois PBIS Network Evaluation Team at eval@pbisillinois.org.

ISIS-SWIS Facilitator Training

If you are a current SWIS Facilitator and are interested in becoming a certified ISIS-SWIS Facilitator, a one-day training will be held on Friday, May 2, 2014, in Westmont. Registration will soon be available here. 

School Recognition Process

The development of the PBIS National Implementation Inventory tool has contributed to the streamlining of the School Recognition Process. The Implementation Inventory will be the primary tool by which implementation is measured, and is the integral part of the 2013-2014 application process. All schools that complete the Implementation Inventory will be recognized at one of the first two levels, Bronze or Silver, without needing to submit an application. Schools will be invited to apply for the Gold and Platinum levels of recognition if they've reached fidelity at multiple tiers. Applications for these two levels will be due on May 16, 2014. Please visit the School Recognition page for full details.

Classroom Management

The EX300: Coaching Classroom Management course is designed to prepare District-based Coaches, Administrators, and Teacher Leaders to assess training needs, plan professional development processes, as well as train and coach evidence-based practices of effective classroom management. Please check the Classroom Management Series webpage for more details on registration. 

Curriculum/Innovation Updates 

A New Opportunity for School-Based Clinicians!

The role of the school-based clinician is constantly evolving to meet the needs of youth, schools, families, and communities. Plan to join the School-Based Clinician Learning Community! This learning community will provide a place for networking, continuing dialogue, sharing successes, and strategizing together around data, systems, and practices for supporting our youth. Mark your calendars for the following dates, and registration will soon be available here.

• • February 21, 2014:  In-person, Judson College in Elgin

  • March 4, 2014:  Follow-up webinar

  • May 9, 2014:  In-person, Judson College in Elgin

TIPS Training to Increase Use of Data and Meeting Effectiveness!

See the Network's 

Coaching Focus

Have you started planning for your January booster? Many schools do a second kick-off in January to re-teach students school-wide expectations. Use data from the last few months and previous years to consider what areas need the most re-teaching. To access December's Coaches Network Meeting materials, click here.

Contact Updates

The Illinois PBIS Network strives to keep correct contact information in the Network database to provide your PBIS Teams with the most recent PBIS news, upcoming events, prompts to support your fidelity of implementation, and special reports. If there have been changes to your PBIS teams and you would like to update the contacts the Network has on record, please visit the Coaches section on the Illinois PBIS Network website and follow the directions on the Contact Information Update Form.

Tier 2/Tier 3 Coaching 

December's Coaches Networking Meeting focused on CICO with Individualized Features and Mentoring as two higher level Tier 2 interventions. Refer to December's materials or attend the Tier 2 training series via webinar if you would like more information on building or strengthening Tier 2 interventions. Check back for more training dates opening up soon!

School Family Community Partnerships (SFCP) 

Conference Registration Fees Waived for Family & Community Team Members!

Register your Family & Community Partners for the Illinois PBIS Network Winter Leadership Conference in O'Fallon, Illinois on January 23-24, 2014.  Registration fees for up to two family and/or community team partners from each district will be waived. Two additional family or community team members can also participate at a 50% reduced registration fee by indicating "family/community team partner" during registration, and contacting Patti Bardell at patti.bardell@istac.net. For further details, and to view the SFCP strand, visit the Winter Leadership Conference webpage.

Save the Date!

Many communities are working in different ways to embed Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports into their communities. A new Forum of Learning will bring together those who are interested or have already started this important work. To request an invitation to participate, watch for further details on the PBIS website in January. Mark your calendars for March 21, 2014, when we will come together at Northern Illinois University Naperville campus.

High School Corner 

The December High School virtual chat focused on student and staff engagement. To access the PowerPoint from this opportunity and register for upcoming events, visit the High School Coaches Network Meetings webpage. Register here for the next virtual chat on January 30, 2014, from 9:00-10:30am, where the topic will be "Everything Tier 2".

Administrator Tip of the Month

Just like students need a booster after winter break, staff can also benefit from a booster. Can you offer an extra motivator to staff in January? Click here to find a list of no/low cost reinforcers for adults.

Upcoming Events 

The Training Schedule for January and February 2014 is outlined below. Registration is now available.

To help your team think about systems necessary to maximize the skills taught in the Tier 3 trainings, access the Tier 3 Readiness documents here.

Click links for more details and registration: 

Register now for the annual Illinois PBIS Network Winter Leadership Conference to be held at the Regency Conference Center in O'Fallon, Illinois on January 23-24, 2014. Exemplars from across the state will share a range of experiences from all three tiers of PBIS implementation. This will include Skill Building, District Leadership, Coaching, High School, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Administrator roles, and School/Family/Community Partnerships. This conference is an excellent opportunity to learn information from implementers in the field.

The Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS) Conference will be held March 5-8, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. Conference participants will be able to gain an understanding of research-based strategies, identify practical applications of positive behavior support in a variety of places, and describe the most current, state-of-the-art research on positive behavior support for a variety of populations and settings. Register here.

Or you can volunteer at the APBS Conference and get FREE Registration!

Volunteers must agree to perform a maximum of nine (9) hours of volunteer time in exchange for a free conference registration (Thursday and Friday only - workshops are not covered by volunteering). Volunteer opportunities include:

• • Poster Session Aide (Thursday Evening):   Assist presenters with set-up prior to session opening, monitor during, and clean-up/tear-down at the end.

  • Customer Service:  Assist conference staff in various activities (i.e. registration, general information, credit information, merchandise sales).

  • Session Hosting:  Assist presenters prior to and during session, and help with equipment setup or troubleshooting.

If interested, please complete the volunteer application (.doc | .pdf) and send it to Gretchen Hess at volunteers@apbs.org. Participation will be confirmed by January 31, 2014.

Save the Date!

The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission "Re-Connecting the Pathways Conference" will be held on May 14-15, 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel inSpringfield, Illinois. The conference will focus on the role of local leadership for juvenile justice improvement. For more information, click here.