High School Targets Behavior with Positive Reinforcement

Post date: Mar 11, 2013 3:35:26 PM

Mascoutah High School in Mascoutah CUSD #19, currently in their fifth year of PBIS implementation, set up a schoolwide Tier1/Universal intervention in order to decrease the number of tardies across all grade levels, which they identified as their most prominent behavior infraction.  By hanging positive and engaging reminder posters throughout the school and staging an incentive-driven competition between grade levels to reduce the number of tardies, they were able to decrease the number of tardies by 35% from 846 in the first quarter of FY12 to 546 in the first quarter of FY13.  This reduction in tardies contributed to the decline in discipline referrals overall.  In the same time period, office discipline referrals (ODRs) decreased by 20% from 230 in the first quarter of FY12 to 184 in the first quarter of FY13.

In addition, Mascoutah High School continues to improve their Tier 1/Universal activities, including  implementing a new Freshman Mentoring Program (FMP) to provide incoming freshman with positive social/emotional support for transitioning into high school.  Future plans involve continuing to reduce behavior infractions for the rest of the school year with more schoolwide incentives and developing Tier 2/Secondary interventions with Advanced Tiers training.