The failure of Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports® (PBIS) to resolve behavior issues among primary grade students at a single charter elementary school in the southeastern United States was the problem that guided this study. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how primary teachers and administrators identified…

This guide summarizes proactive, efficient, empirically-supported, and data-driven systems for supporting educators' implementation of classroom PBIS practices. Specifically, this Guide to Classroom Systems and Data is a companion to the practices guide, "Supporting and Responding to Students' Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs:…

One critical feature of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) is the inclusion of families in the implementation of schoolwide systems and practices. However, research on family engagement within PBIS has focused almost exclusively on families of students with intensive behavior support needs, with little emphasis on…

In the public school system, administrators and educators have multi-faceted responsibilities, including educating students, providing a safe environment, and ensuring a positive school climate conducive to student learning. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a model many schools have adopted to assist in behavior modification…

This brief describes a school's transformation from using ineffective and punitive disciplinary practices to implementing effective and proactive responses to behavior by installing the PBIS framework in a unique setting. Specifically, this demonstration highlights the work of the PBIS school leadership team at the American School for the Deaf…

Research focusing on school climate has shown that healthy, safe, and positive school environments are associated with improved psychological, social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for secondary students. For this reason, it is important for schools to understand how to improve perceptions of school climate through effective, evidence-based…

Fidelity of implementation of school practices is crucial to student outcomes. Several types of tools, including self-assessments, are available for measuring fidelity, but little is known regarding the relation of self-assessments of fidelity to fidelity instruments completed with the support of external experts, specifically, during the first…

Check In Check Out (CICO) is one of the most empirically supported Tier 2 behavior interventions for students who require additional supports to experience success. CICO incorporates regular performance feedback and adult interaction throughout the day in alignment with school-wide expectations. Performance feedback includes both reinforcing and…

There are gaps in the literature between implementation research and organizational learning describing how local school systems successfully implement initiatives that change practices within school sites. Until recently, there has been a pattern for federal and state policies to overlook the role of the local school district in impacting school…

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is an evidence-based framework that provides a continuum of supports for students across multiple tiers (Tiers 1, 2, and 3). The implementation of SWPBIS is associated with improvements in student behavior, academic outcomes, and school climate (Bradshaw, Koth, Bevans, Ialongo,…

This qualitative research study was developed around the problem that teachers are resistant to change when implementing educational initiatives that are new to them. "Rather than blame teachers and ask, 'Why do teachers resist?' perhaps those of us who lead change should ask, 'What can we do to make it easier for teachers to implement new…

To better understand the supports needed to positively impact student outcomes, the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has been examining several model demonstrations of PBIS implementation in schools residing within high need Local Education Agencies (LEAs). In particular, this brief provides an initial examination on…

School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) relies on effective implementation of Tier 1 practices to ensure accurate identification of students in need of more intensive supports at Tier 2 or Tier 3. While measures of school-level fidelity are widely used, measures of classroom-level implementation of Tier 1 supports are…

Responsive circles, a restorative practices (RP) strategy, have the potential to help improve school climate through supporting conflict resolution and community building; yet, little research exists on this practice. This mixed-methods study examined how educators in four urban schools (two elementary, one middle, and one high school) used…

Given the authority of state government over public education, one means of narrowing the best-practice to actual-practice gap in education is by putting forth clear state guidance and recommendations to schools. To date, however, little is known about the national landscape of procedural guidance that is readily available to practitioners looking…