PBIS and Tools for Teaching
Tools for Teaching Aligns with PBIS
In recent years the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education established the National Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports to provide assistance in identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school-wide disciplinary practices. The center’s efforts in disseminating and demonstrating effective practices is generally referred to as Positive Behavior Support or PBS (aka PBIS - Positive Behavioral Interventions Support).
Several state departments of education have adopted PBIS as their guidelines for effective discipline management. We didn’t know this until we received emails from colleagues describing how our program matched their PBIS goals. The emails speak for themselves.
“Tools for Teaching has been critical to Idaho Falls success in implementing PBIS. The alignment is perfect. Last year we had professional learning teams working with Tools for Teaching throughout our 18 schools, and all of our new teachers receive the book.
“What we love most about Dr. Jones’s approach is that it is both positive and practical. We have teachers all over the district who have rearranged their seats, who are “working the room,” posting VIPs (Visual Instructional Plans), and teaching Responsibility Training. Much of our preparation for state testing now fits into daily and weekly games and fun activities that students must “earn” by showing up to classes prepared, being on time, making quick lesson transitions, and generally valuing their learning time.
“Our teachers realize now how much power they have to determine the success of their students both academically and behaviorally. And kids are enjoying every minute of it. I believe Tools for Teaching contributes to both staff and student retention in our district.”
Shelly Smede, Professional Dev. Coordinator
Idaho Falls District #91
Ryan McCabe, assistant principal at Bowie Middle School in Amarillo, TX agrees.
“I took a team of teachers to your Tools for Teaching workshop to find positive and proactive management strategies for our PBIS model. We got more than we expected. Your discipline and management components deal with 90% of our needs, and Responsibility Training takes care of the remaining 10%.”