Schools focus on rewards instead of punishments

“PBIS is a behavior intervention program, but it recognizes kids who do what they’re supposed to do all the time” as opposed to focusing on the students who display negative behavior, said Emy Stewart, a business teacher and internal behavior coach at the high school. “It puts the positive back in school.”

Argenta-Oreana began implementing the program in all of its schools during the 2010-11 school year.

“I heard about PBIS while I was in graduate school, working on my superintendent’s degree in the 1990s,” said Argenta-Oreana Superintendent Damian Jones. “It’s the behavior component of RTI (Response to Intervention), and it really empowers teachers to be more involved with student behavior.”

“Initially, we thought the PBIS approach was more applicable to just elementary school (students), but it’s really applicable to all ages,” said Argenta-Oreana High School Principal Sean German.

The approach, which is based on teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors for students and rewarding them when those behaviors are exhibited, is now in its second year in the school district and has helped promote more school spirit and unity, in addition to improving the overall learning environment at the high school, Stewart said.

“I’ve seen a complete culture change here,” Stewart said. “When PBIS first came about here, we were having a negative year. We were having students wandering the hallways and a lot of inconsistencies (in terms of tardies, hall passes, absences and dress code).”

Carly Conway, a senior and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program intern, said she remembers what the high school was like before adopting the program.

“I think in the past, seniors thought to be cool, they had to slack off,” Conway said. “Now, it’s completely different. We’re not wandering the hallways and we’re on time. It’s nicer, and we’re learning more.”

After piloting the program last year, the teachers and administrators all knew they needed to be more consistent this year, whether it was better defining what a tardy constituted to enforcing the school’s dress code.

“We all wanted to be more consistent and positive, so we spent a day at the beginning of the year teaching the students what behaviors we expected,” Stewart said. “I think there’s a misconception that by the time students are in high school, they should know how to act and what we expect, but now, we’re not just assuming that. We learned we had to model and teach them how to act and what to do as high schoolers. It’s extra work, but it’s worth it.”

And the adoption of the program is yielding some positive results for the school. Comparing the four-month period of September to December for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, tardies, which are handed out when students are late to a class, fell from 352 to 256, with the entire senior class earning no tardies in December 2011.

“It (PBIS) is giving us something to focus on and strive for, especially with the monthly and quarterly goals, which is great,” said Argenta-Oreana senior Haley Briggs.

“PBIS hasn’t just been good for the students, but also for the staff,” Stewart said. “Everyone is working together more, and the environment is more positive.”

The results have been good, but German said there will be even more goals for next year.

“Like any school, we still have at-risk students (facing more challenges and behavior problems), and we’re hoping to reach out to them more next year as we move into Tier II of PBIS,” German said.

Students and teachers alike say they hope the school continues to reap the benefits of the program in the future.

“There’s more time spent on academics now,” said Tyler Severson, a special education student teacher at the school. “PBIS is allowing us to give the kids the help they need to make it to the next level.”

“Since I was a sophomore, the school has turned around ten-fold, and I’m happy to leave it this way,” said senior Cam Cripe.

nharbour@herald-review.com|421-7963