PBIS at SHFA

A General Overview

            The main focus of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is to provide a clear system for all expected behaviors at Swansea High Freshman Academy. While many faculty and students may have assumptions of what is expected behavior, we cannot assume that everyone’s beliefs are similar. Through PBIS, we will work to create and maintain a productive, safe environment in which ALL school community members have clear expectations and understandings of their role in the educational process.

Proactive Approach to School-Wide Discipline

Schools that implement school-wide systems of positive behavior support focus on taking a team-based system approach and teaching appropriate behavior to all students in the school. Schools that have been successful in building school-wide systems develop procedures to accomplish the following:

1. Define Behavioral Expectations… A small number of clearly defined behavioral expectations are defined in positive, simple, rules. The Academy’s Tiger Code for Success is:

·         Be Respectful

·         Be Responsible

·         Be Ready

2. Teach Behavioral Expectations... The behavioral expectations are taught to all students in the building, and are taught in real contexts. Teaching appropriate behavior involves much more than simply telling students what behaviors they should avoid. Specific behavioral examples are:

• Being respectful means raising your hand when you want to speak or get help.
• Being respectful means using a person’s name when you talk to him or her.
• Being responsible means knowing and following classroom and school rules on a daily basis.
• Being responsible means to be on time.
• Being ready means to be prepared with assignments and materials.
• Being ready means to follow and respond appropriately to adult direction.

Behavioral expectations are taught using the same teaching formats applied to other curricula. The general rule is presented, the rationale for the rule is discussed, positive examples (“right way”) are described and rehearsed, and negative examples (“wrong way”) are described and modeled. Students are given an opportunity to practice the “right way” until they demonstrate fluent performance.

3. Acknowledge Appropriate Behaviors... Once appropriate behaviors have been defined and taught, they need to be acknowledged on a regular basis. SHFA will design a formal system that rewards positive behaviors.

4. Proactively Correct Behavioral Errors... When students violate behavioral expectations, clear procedures are needed for providing information to them that their behavior was unacceptable, and preventing that unacceptable behavior from resulting in inadvertent rewards. Students, teachers, and administrators all should be able to predict what will occur when behavioral errors are identified.

 Tiger Bucks

Parents and Students,

Readiness, Respect and Responsibility will be awarded a TigerBuck. The SHFA TigerBuck can be turned in and used to purchase PBIS merchandise such as T-shirts, shorts, carry-bags, sweatshirts, school supplies, tickets for activities and also can be used to purchase new id's and lanyards if needed.

TigerBucks can be earned by making it to class on time and wearing your ID everyday at school. Each teacher will reward a student one TigerBuck when they have five days straight of being on time for class and wearing their ID's correctly. Each week a student could earn $8.00 in TigerBucks just by doing what is right and modeling Tiger Traits for Success such as Readiness, Respect and Responsibility.

So parents and most importantly students the TigerBuck starts here through PBIS and modeling Readiness, Respect and Responsibility for all to see. A merchandise list and PBIS store will be opening soon at your local Freshman Academy so be on the lookout for all the things that make students a success at school!!

Tiger Expectations for Success