September 2012 PBIS Front Page News

Post date: Sep 20, 2012 1:14:1 PM

Attention Coaches!

Data Action Planning/SWIS Updates

As we begin a new school year, it is a good time to ensure updates are made in your data systems.  If you are using SWIS, be sure to update the enrollment and ethnicity data for each student, as well as school days per month.  This update can be done by going to the Enrollment and School Days per Month link from the main menu.  Other beginning of the year updates for SWIS can be found on page 51 of the user manual.  You can download the SWIS User Manual by clicking here.

Now is also a good time to review your school data and evaluation tools to identify celebrations and action planning.  We recommend using the Year End report on SWIS as it generates reports in the following areas:  referrals per year per 100 students across multiple years, a breakdown of “Big 5” components for the year, suspension and expulsion report, and triangle data.  Comparing multiple years will allow you to share accomplishments with staff and also identify areas in need of improvement.  A recommended evaluation tool to review would be the Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ) that was completed last spring.  You can identify items or areas of strength to share with your team and staff, as well as action plan around items which would improve implementation of Tier 1 supports. 

 Evaluation Tools

Many evaluation tools are now available at www.pbisassessment.org.  Available tools include the Team Implementation Checklist (TIC), School Assessment Survey (SAS), School Safety Survey (SSS) at the Universal level and the Benchmarks for Advanced Tiers (BAT) for schools implementing at the Secondary/Tertiary level.  Contact your coordinator to find out which tools your schools should complete, if you need information on how to complete these tools, or if you need your access codes.

As we start the new school year, it is important to monitor the implementation of PBIS in your schools.  The Team Implementation Checklist (TIC) is a great tool to guide action planning for the year.  Universal teams, which have not yet scored a 70% or higher on the Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ), should be completing this tool to ensure foundational elements of PBIS are in place.  Identified areas of need are then transferred to the Multi-tiered Action Plan (MAP) and used for planning to increase the level of Universal implementation fidelity.  The TIC should be completed in October, January, and March.  Access this great guiding tool on www.pbisassessment.org beginning October 1.

Coaching Tips for the MAP Evaluation Tool

Keep all of your action planning for your building in one place using the Multi-tiered Action Plan (MAP)!  The MAP allows you to coordinate all implementation steps for all three tiers in one place.  Action steps to document can be determined by your team at networking meetings, trainings, and by reviewing evaluation tools.  Download the MAP and share with your team by clicking here.

 Monthly Challenge

Have you scheduled all meetings with your Internal Coaches and District Leadership Team(s) for the school year?   If not, try to complete this task by October 15.  Setting agenda items early will help ensure the fidelity of implementation across buildings and the district.  Calendars fill up early, so act immediately to guarantee your spot in school and district conversations.

Classroom Management

For the 2012-2013 school year, we have a new strand of training for classroom management.  The first course is EX300:  Coaching Classroom Management, which is offered on October 5th in LaGrange Park and October 23rd in the Bloomington area.  Once team members have participated in the EX300 course, additional training and technical assistance will be offered through three additional courses and Coaches Network Meetings.  If you would like more information about the classroom management trainings, please contact your technical assistance coordinator.

Curriculum/Innovations Updates

Please refer to the Classroom Management section for the latest curriculum update.

Coaches Network Meetings for Tier 1 and Tier 2/3

We will continue to offer External Coaches Networking Meetings (known as N200s) for Tier 1 and Tier 2/3.  There are now more locations statewide.  Click here for meeting schedule.

These meetings provide the opportunity for technical assistance on all Tier 2/3 interventions.  Please feel free to bring persons facilitating Tier 3 interventions, such as Complex FBA/BIP and Wraparound, along to these meetings.  PBIS Coordinators can provide direct support to these facilitators while modeling Tier 3 technical assistance for External Coaches.  Check the website for monthly topics/tools to be covered.

School Family Community Partnerships (SFCP)

Family and Community Members are valuable representatives on PBIS teams.  All planning and decision-making teams should have two or more family and two or more community team representatives to ensure this important voice is always present.  Please check the Illinois PBIS website later this month for the new SFCP tab, www.pbisillinois.org/sfcp. Included will be tips and ideas for how to better collaborate with these partners and to increase team membership.  This tab will also contain information for families and schools on upcoming Family/Community Team Member Network meetings and how districts can sign up to host one of these unique networking opportunities. 

Coaching Corner/Tips

At our September External Coaches Network Meeting, we are covering the topic of Establishing Team Norms.  Below is a brief preview/review and some additional coaching tips around team norms.

What are team norms?

• • Team norms are a set of rules developed by group consensus designed to establish a safe, ordered, and productive context for their work.

  • Team norms should be developed during the initial team meeting and can be adapted if the team sees a need.

Why are team norms important?

• • Developing agreed upon norms for group behavior makes collaboration and group meetings more effective by guiding team behavior.

  • Norms enable team members to hold each other accountable for any behavior that is negatively impacting the success of the team.

  • Clearly assigned roles and responsibilities help the team build internal capacity for planning and holding effective and focused meetings.

How can a coach help the team develop the skills and competencies to function independently?

• • Initially, the coach models the creation of norms with the team and clarifies roles and responsibilities for team members.

  • The coach refers to norms and roles throughout the early meetings as necessary, provides descriptive feedback regarding their use, and encourages the team to evaluate effectiveness of using norms and roles at the end of the meeting.

  • As team members take on the roles such as leader, facilitator, recorder, and time keeper, capacity is built and the transfer of facilitation skills moves directly to the team.

Upcoming Events:

State, district, and leadership teams will have an opportunity to come together at the 2012 National PBIS Leadership Forum on October 18-19, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare.  Teams at all levels of implementation will have access to information that will help increase the effectiveness of school-wide PBIS implementation at all three tiers.  Team members will come away from the two-day forum with knowledge of how to develop/obtain advanced training on a range of topics and how to best organize and deliver training for their schools, districts, and other stakeholders.  School-level teams should not register for this event unless part of a district leadership team.  Participants should register as a team.  Click here to register. 

The annual Illinois PBIS Network Winter Leadership Conference will be held in O’Fallon, IL on January 23-24, 2013.  Sessions will be delivered by exemplars from across the state who will share a range of experiences in their Universal, Secondary, and Tertiary PBIS implementation.  Some of the strands include Early Childhood, District Leadership, Coaching, High School, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and School/Family/Community Partnerships.  Administrators’ Academies will also be available.  This conference is an excellent opportunity to learn information from implementers in the field.  Watch for the opportunity to register at www.pbisillinois.org.

Need to Know

To allow for more efficient processing, all Training Registration will be done electronically through Cvent this school year.  To access the training calendar, please visit our homepage and click on view our training/registration calendar.  This link will pull up a calendar with all training opportunities across the state.  You will be able to click on the training you would like and the prompts will walk you through the registration process.   Click here to access.

Contacts/Questions?

For information about your Illinois PBIS Network Technical Assistance Coordinator or Statewide Contacts click here.