2017 Achievement Award Winners

The encouraging impacts of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) reach far and wide across the campus of Buckeye Elementary School. When considering behavioral progress school wide, approximately 93% of students are currently in TIER 1 with only zero to one office discipline referrals this school year, and only about 1% of students are in TIER 3 with 6 or more office discipline referrals. These numbers indicate improvement since PBIS was first implemented at Buckeye Elementary School during the 2014-15 school year. The implementation of PBIS has also led to other favorable outcomes such as reductions in office discipline referrals in the areas of minor disruption, minor disrespect, and theft since the 2014-15 school year. Staff and students have bought into the underlying concepts of PBIS which has led to high implementation fidelity and increased student time engaged in the classroom. Increased student engagement is especially evident among the older students (grades 5-8) who have demonstrated a positive increase on the English Language Arts (ELA) section of the AzMERIT state assessment.

Holbrook Junior High school is a completely different school! PBIS has tremendously changed our school for the better. This is my 10th school year here and I can tell you, I’ve seen it change before my very eyes! I am also a proud member of our PBIS team. I have seen our Tier 3 kids move on to become better students, better athletes and overall better individuals. We are located in a very rural area. 80% of our students travel 1.5 hours a day on a school bus to get to our school. Some come from homes without power and running water. Most of those kids carry bigger burdens than some of us will ever have to face. Holbrook Junior High school has become a warm and inviting place. The data doesn’t lie! PBIS has made our teachers, administrators, staff and students true believers! We have included everyone in on PBIS! Our bus drivers, cafeteria workers, substitutes and even our janitors write student their Beep Beepers! (our positive tickets for rewards!) no one is excluded from our Positive Behavior system. I am a firm believer that this program has and will continue to change our school for the better!

Students at Trailside Point consistently demonstrate our Panther P.A.C.T. The school wide expectations are observed by staff, students, parents and community members. The continued implementation of PBIS creates a positive culture and environment with student learning being the focal point. Since the implementation of PBIS, the number of Office Discipline Referrals at Trailside Point decreased from 1,280 in 2012 to 343 in 2016. Staff members participate in meetings to analyze data which drives instruction and behavioral interventions to help all students succeed.

At Madison Simi we strive to be Respectful, Responsible and Safe wherever we are. PBIS has been the backbone of making our learning environment a positive and safe place. It’s framework makes our school wide expectations universal. Our PBIS expectations have made our students more reflective in their choices. It also impacts our students to become independent problem solvers. As a faculty we have a common language that supports our expectations which greatly enhances success for all students.

From Our Staff –

The check-in check-out has had a positive impact on the accountability at a more personal level for the students. It allows them to really identify their behavior and strive to make better choices by discussing their day and future plan with a second concerned adult. It seems to bring them closer to themselves and take ownership. D. Diehl, 4th Grade

With a school of this size (over 950 students) we could never be as effective in our classrooms as we are able to be without a strong PBIS system. We are especially grateful for the monthly data meetings, the conversations that come from this about how to improve, and the boosters that we do school wide. They really work! Thank you PBIS! J. Flowers, Principal

I really like the PBIS program at our school. Students, teachers, and guest staff all know the expectations. Students are so happy to receive positive reinforcement from anyone on campus with loops. It’s nice as a teacher to reinforce the great behaviors I see throughout the school and to see the smiles on students’ faces. We are lucky to have the support of all staff and to be on the same page with what we say to students as well. Students understand the expectations so it’s not a surprise if we have to review broken expectations. Students know what expectation they broke and how to fix it. I am proud to be a part of this great school. Y. Abel, 4th Grade

Students and parents all know the Simis stop, walk and talk procedure. They also know that when a student receives an MIR that the teacher has gone through a multitude of teaching, modeling, re-teaching, practicing, and reinforcement. Teachers know how to set high behavior expectations and how to get students trained to meet these expectations. Having all staff members of the school also enforce these expectations helps during the unstructured parts of the day (like recess and lunch.). All Simis teachers and staff feel responsible for all students and know that the expectations are the same for all students. B. McCarthy, 2nd Grade

MCAT High School is an alternative school in the Marana Unified School District that serves 11th and 12th grade students who are at risk for continued struggles both academically and behaviorally. Key features of the school are its small size and the school team’s ability to connect with students. All staff share the same vision of building supportive relationships with students- accepting them for their unique needs, while encouraging personal growth. It is rare to find a student who is not connected with 1 or more staff members, and students affectionately refer to MCAT as “family.” The student centered approach is a large part of the school’s efforts to promote a positive school culture that values student input through leadership groups and encourages student based school improvement projects (such as the student run garden and coffee shop). Our PBIS team currently in our 3rd year of implementation as well as being in the 2nd year of a district wide School Climate Transformation Grant.

In order to encourage student growth both behaviorally and academically, students and staff incorporate 3 school wide expectations into our daily routines: Academics, Attitude and Attendance. On a quarterly basis, students are reminded of the importance of their successful performance in these areas, known as the “3 A’s.” Interventions, support systems and incentive programs revolve around these expectations and are constantly modeled and prompted for students. A popular incentive is the “Cheetah Ticket” where any staff member can give a student recognition for positive strides in one, or all, of these areas. Even with 17-19 year old students the Cheetah Ticket Jar regularly fills up for our biweekly drawings that include prizes for school shirts or gift cards to local businesses.

Alongside the universal practices of relationship building and incentives that are used on a regular basis, our PBIS intervention team has devised other programs to support continued success for students. For example, in the area of Attendance we realized that our data was showing Mondays with a higher rate of absences than the rest of the week. The team developed “Monday Funday”- a use of school time each Monday where students can choose from a wide range of activities- such as football, basketball, cooking, yoga, music, art and others. Monday Funday activities encourage team building and allow students and teachers to build more positive connections with each other outside of the classroom. Another strategy we have developed was based on the data about problem behaviors on campus: use of tobacco has been a recurring problem over the years. This is a challenging concept to explain to 18- and 19- year old students who can legally possess these items, but not on school grounds. This year we developed an alternative to suspension for this behavior, and students can now participate in an educational program about the dangers of tobacco. Offenders watch a video during lunch, and complete a packet about the dangers of tobacco (comprised of current articles and check for understanding worksheets our team created) instead of being suspended from school. Our incidents in this are have dropped dramatically, and we are also seeing less instructional time lost due to suspension. We are also pleased that this is a proactive, educational approach for students and we have only had 1 repeat offender this year.

It is through these efforts that our team is seeing dramatic gains in many areas: academically- in our graduation rate, and average credits earned data; more time spent in the classroom and fewer days of instructional time lost due to suspension; and finally improved attendance, with students attending school on a regular basis and recognizing our team as an important part of their support system to attain their personal and academic goals.

Since the implementation of PBIS at SHARP school in 2013, we have continued to improve upon the fidelity and effectiveness of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. SHARP is a highly specialized K-12 school in Mesa Public Schools that services students with significant academic and behavioral challenges.

Motivated by the mighty purpose of PBIS, SHARP has been reformed into the elite model of services for MPS. Immediate outcomes were achieved which included: decrease in major behaviors, decrease in restraint and seclusion, improvement in staff and student morale and academic improvement. Now that SHARP is in our fourth year of implementation we continue to see academic and behavioral improvements, improved social skills, continued decrease in restraint and seclusion, decrease in the amount of time and resources needed to address behavioral problems, and a highly positive and effective culture and climate.

SHARP embraces changing adult behaviors to improve student outcomes. PBIS has provided SHARP with a system that allows teachers to provide an uncommon experience for our students, in return we are rewarded with uncommon efforts from our students.

As SHARP continues to improve and refine our multi-tiered systems of supports, driven by the data and supported by evidence-based practices, we have proven that the PBIS systems can benefit the most academically and behaviorally challenged students and change the course of their future. Other outcomes of SHARP’s efforts have reached beyond our walls and campus. Mesa Public Schools has now embraced PBIS and declared the initiative to implement PBIS in all 84 schools, reaching 64,000 students.

Hiam G. Ginott said it perfectly,
“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

PBIS has provided SHARP the framework that will allow our students to become what they are capable of becoming, through the guiding and caring efforts of our staff.

Desert Shadows Elementary exemplifies the theoretical framework for Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports. A genuine cultural shift occurred over the past 2.5 years due to the fidelity of how PBIS was implemented. The school transformed through a collective unified belief supported by staff, students, and families. The school has been used by the district’s PBIS committee as a model of success in the implementation of PBIS.

The multi-tiered systems of supports model was implemented to decrease behavioral referrals so students would remain in the classroom to have increased access to academics. Data shows a decline of 81.4% in referrals from the initial year of implementation. In addition, a recent survey showed that 93.7% of students reported feeling safe on campus. This success stems from our school community believing that the PBIS philosophy needs to be embedded within each part of our daily activities and procedures. JAWSome prosocial behavioral expectations are at the center of our mission to support equitable educational opportunities for all students. This is taught and applied through the use of common language, modeling through role play, assemblies, student council refreshers, lesson plans, and staff in-services. Furthermore, students have opportunities to attend a social skills group to assist in decreasing negative behaviors while increasing self-regulatory and social language skills.

Academically, students have gained reading skills within the intervention system through the use of small group and more individualized supports when needed. There is a steady increase in school-wide academic performance and standardized test scores. This positive trend is continuing during the 2016-2017 school year.

Overall, PBIS is a platform on our campus whereby universal expectations were created to increase safety, a sense of ownership, and common language. The greatest change is noticed in students. One can hear the children use PBIS to apply conflict resolution skills, they cheer for peers and teachers who earn JAWSome recognition, and display a sense of pride when sharing their knowledge about school-wide expectations.

Pinnacle Peak Elementary School has benefited in many ways following several years of training and implementation of PBIS. Quantifiable impacts included in this submission include a reduction in the need for exclusionary discipline as evidenced by the graph noting a significant reduction in out-of-school suspensions. We believe that as a result of teaching and acknowledging expectations consistently school-wide and in correcting errors earlier through our discipline system, we have had a reduction of significant discipline incidents. This has allowed us time and capacity to address existing discipline issues with restorative practices, rather than exclusionary practices. This allows our students to be at school learning and not suspended at home. Also related to a reduction in overall behavioral concerns, we believe we are seeing the benefits of increased academic engagement time in the classroom. This is reflected in our steady increase in 3rd grade DIBELS reading scores reflected in the included graph. Other less quantifiable effects of PBIS have been improved climate for students and staff. We have a very orderly and safe school where equity is at the forefront; we have systems in place for all students to get the behavioral supports they need. One anecdote involves the planning process for expanding beyond 6th grade with the addition of 7th and 8th grades. When we engaged our 6th grade students as stakeholders, the first concern that was shared was a hope that SOAR (our PBIS framework) would be continued for our expanded grade levels.

Lowell School continues to benefit from PBIS. Tier I practices are deeply ingrained practices and targeted and intensive interventions are well underway. Lowell has seen a dramatic decrease in office discipline referrals and an increase in meaningful positive reinforcement. Students from Kindergarten to 8th grade use and understand PBIS language. We continue to see an improvement in academic outcomes since implementation. Staff members are engaged in the process and regularly bring new expertise to improving reinforcement systems, behavior management and tracking methods. Overall, our school culture has become a collaborative team effort that supports each other and all our students.

Mary Mcleod Bethune Elementary School is a Title 1 school located in PESD #1. We are home to nearly 500 students PreSchool – 8th grade. We educate a large McKinney Vento population with two Family Shelters in walking distance to our school. Our school has a high population of students in need of both academic and behavioral interventions due to circumstances often outside of their control. Bethune was in need of a system that encouraged and motivated our students. The implementation of PBIS has done just that. Our school climate has changed dramatically over the past three years. We have seen positive changes for students, families and staff. Our students now consistently follow the three expectations of being Respectful, Responsible, and Positive. Visitors often compliment the students because they greet all individuals with a polite smile, a hello and hold the door open for both adults and peers. They say “please” and “thank you” and assist others when needed. The discipline referrals have decreased since the implementation of PBIS. Even if we doubled the amount of referrals we have now, it would still be lower than what it has been in the past. Last academic year nearly 80% of our staff returned to Bethune. This was a big accomplishment as in years past we had a large turnover of teachers and staff. Our once “intense” climate is now peaceful and feels safe. For these reasons, we can say that PBIS has had a positive impact on our school and we will continue to implement this program to improve the overall operation of our school. Thank you PBIS!

Mohave has been a PBIS school for over 6 years and we have incorporated a number of approaches and activities to ensure fidelity and sustainability. Our PBIS system is always evolving and adapting based on discipline data and teachers’ classroom observations. Our PBIS culture is based on our school-wide expectations which are Practicing Respect, Accepting Responsibility, Working Together, and Safety Matters (PAWS). Our PBIS team is actively looking at the data and identifying needs and solutions school-wide.

Starting on the first day of school each year, teachers teach, model, and practice the expected behaviors in the classroom. Teachers and staff use PAWS tickets as positive reinforcement. Within the first week of school, we pull the school together for a PBIS kick-off assembly. The assembly takes the classroom conversations about behavior and connects them to the school-wide expectations that provide a unified message. Students participate in the assembly and then take a “tour” of different school areas to practice the expected behaviors. When students show undesirable behavior, they are re-taught the expectation and prompted to reflect on the behaviors. We focus on proving opportunities for students to practice and learn the expected behaviors throughout the year. Students report that they enjoy the activities and find the lessons valuable. Data has shown that these boosters are effective.

To keep PBIS a year-long focus, discipline data and teacher observations lead our PBIS committee to target specific behaviors and identify new incentives to keep the kids engaged. The committee has implemented special-colored PAWS tickets to target specific behaviors based on our data and these efforts have been effective. Our data shows that when we re-teach specific behaviors and reinforce those targeted behaviors they improve.

We have a PBIS tier 2/3 team called the Intervention Team, this team meets weekly to discuss student’s needs, identify interventions and monitor progress. Additionally, this year teachers are meeting weekly as grade level teams to discuss students and classroom interventions. Teams track minor behaviors and brainstorm ways to help students with multiple minors. The goal of the weekly team meetings is to focus on addressing minor behaviors before it becomes an office referral.

Our students are active participants in our PBIS system. In our Video Production class students write, film, and produce PBIS instructional videos highlighting topics determined by our data. These films have been submitted to International and State PBIS film festivals where they have been showcased. These videos are often shown on our daily morning announcements.

Overall, PBIS has been effective at our school in reducing behavioral challenges, increasing learning and creating a positive, proactive and caring environment. Our teachers are committed to using data to make decisions and our students are a big part of our system. We continue to assess, monitor and adjust our system to assist in the sustainability of PBIS at our school.

Mesa Center for Success- West Campus is a public/private partnership school that serves the academic and social emotional needs of students with significant disabilities. We believe that every child can and will learn. Our students are preparing to be 3 C Ready- College Ready, Career Ready, and Citizenship Ready. Our goal is to ensure that all students master the academic and social skills necessary for an independent and productive life. We create an Optimal Learning Environment that is well structured, instructional, safe, engaging, and responsive to students needs.

PBIS has been essential in helping our school provide our students with an Optimal Learning Environment. PBIS has given us the framework in which to clearly define behavioral expectations, teach expectations, and acknowledge our students (and staff) when meeting expectations. Mesa Center for Success-West Campus displays high fidelity in implementing all the critical Tier 1 components as reflected on the attached SET results. Within our PBIS framework, along with teaching universal expectations, we use data and the problem-solving process to provide students exhibiting a need for additional supports with evidenced-based interventions.

Since implementing PBIS beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, we have noticed a shift in our climate and culture, a reduction in referrals to our Crisis Intervention Behavior Stabilization (CIBS) room, and a reduction in the behaviors requiring crisis de-escalation. These outcomes reflect an increase in the amount of instructional time students receive. Additionally, we are experiencing student growth not only in academics, but with our students’ social/emotional well-being. The learning gap is closing and Mesa Center for Success students are excited to come to school. Our students crave the positive reinforcement and thrive in an environment where they have been taught how to be “responsible, respectful, and role-model” students.

Our parents and community stakeholders have seen the amazing transformation PBIS has had on their child and with our help have begun implementing PBIS in their homes and group homes. Mesa Center for Success is proving that multi-tiered systems of support can not only better the lives of high- needs, at risk children, but also better their families and greater community as well.

Southwest Academy is a Private Therapeutic Day school that supports students with social/emotional, behavioral, and cognitive disabilities. Southwest Academy’s guiding principle is “we will never give up.” We are deeply committed to developing innovative strategies for ensuring that the children in our programs are not left behind. We maintain high expectations for our students, in terms of both academic and social-emotional growth, countering the prevailing prejudices commonly found in the education of children with disabilities. We understand the necessity of preparing students for success in post-secondary education, in careers, and as productive citizens of a changing 21st century world.

Our staff are dedicated to ensuring that our students are preparing to be 3 C Ready- College Ready, Career Ready, and Citizenship Ready. Our goal is to ensure that all students master the academic and social skills necessary for an independent and productive life. We create an Optimal Learning Environment that is well structured, instructional, safe, engaging, and responsive to students needs.

The PBIS framework has given our school the structure in which to teach our students to be STARS by demonstrating Safety, Teamwork, Accountability, Respect, and being Scholarly. Southwest Academy displays high fidelity in implementing all the critical Tier 1 components as reflected on the attached SET results. Within our PBIS framework, along with teaching universal expectations, we use data and the problem-solving process to provide students exhibiting a need for additional supports with evidenced- based interventions. Since implementing PBIS beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, we continue to see overall improvement both behaviorally and academically. Specifically, our behavioral data indicates a reduction in referrals to our Crisis Intervention Behavior Stabilization (CIBS) room and a reduction in the behaviors requiring crisis de-escalation. These outcomes reflect an increase in the amount of instructional time students receive.

Our staff work diligently to know our students and build trusting relationships with each student; while teaching expectations and providing students with the necessary feedback (both confirming and corrective) to be productive academically and behaviorally. As a result, we find that our students are excited and engaged in the learning community at our school and we look forward to the continued success of our students.

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has impacted our school in various ways. First, there is a more positive culture and environment. More students are correcting negative behaviors and learning positive behaviors rather than learning consequences. Secondly, there is a better rapport and climate among teachers and staff. All staff have an understanding and agreement of procedures on how to help students in a positive way. Lastly, students are spending more time in the classrooms. They are learning how to correct positive behaviors in the classroom rather than having to face consequences. Overall, PBIS helps our school have positive, student success.

Inca Elementary School staff consistently uses SWIS data to action plan and improve the implementation of PBIS on our campus. This year our focus is to improve classroom climate through implementing various ways to recognize positive behavior. The students are responding well to the recognition through our new incentives; Cafeteria Silver Spoon Award, weekly PBIS cart, quarterly incentive rewards, Panther Pride wall with special red tickets, and opportunities for students to combine their tickets for a classroom reward. SWIS data supports the success of these new incentives by reflecting an increase in positive behavior and the gain of 211 instructional days over the last three years. Another area of focus for this school year was to decrease the referrals from the playground. Our data has also shown a decrease in office referrals and increase in safety due to reducing playground boundaries, adjusting grade level combinations, and adding more structured recess activities. We continue with the use of “check in-check out” for at-risk students by providing them with a mentor that positively impacts their behavior. With 70% of our CICO students meeting their daily goal of 75% or higher, Inca has effectively implemented this Tier 2 intervention. According to the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) that the PBIS team did this year, we are implementing PBIS at an 89% fidelity rate. Our school scored a 100% in the following three categories; tier 2 evaluation, tier 3 teams and tier 3 resources. Overall, all teachers and staff at Inca Elementary have successfully implemented all tiers of PBIS this year and continually modify our action plan based on our SWIS data.

PBIS has impacted the way teachers at Jasinski approach students in regards to behaviors and re-teaching moments. The PBIS system gives a clear, language and universal expectations of how students should conduct themselves in all areas on campus. This system has provided a positive reward based program in which allows the teachers to think about “catching” the students being good rather then “bad”. PBIS has captured more teaching time by reducing the amount of referrals and time spent out of the classroom for discipline. It also allows for the kids that are doing what they are suppose to be doing to be recognized. Overall, PBIS has positively impacted our school by increasing a community based school wide system.

In the last two years PBIS has significantly impacted WestPark. With PBIS, WestPark continues to increase student performance and behaviors in a positive way through the implementation of our four school rules. The students begin each morning pledging to be safe, respectful, responsible, and kind, which allows them to take ownership of their actions throughout the day. PBIS provides WestPark the necessary tools for success through evidence based practices; which continues to promote student achievement and growth. Our PBIS teams are continuously recognizing both students and staff who display the positive behaviors of our Wolf Pride Pledge during our quarterly assemblies. Receiving recognition for meeting our school-wide expectations has facilitated both our staff and students become more aware of our behavior goals. Staff and students have developed a strong sense of pride in our school. Since the implementation of PBIS, WestPark has seen a significant reduction in disciplinary referrals, an increase in student attendance, and a positive environment throughout campus. The positive environment has motivated students and staff to continue achieving PBIS goals at an exceptional level. The staff at WestPark is thankful for the framework PBIS has provided because it has allowed us to lay a foundation of positive behaviors and increased student performance.

Through the successful implementation of Davidson Elementary PBIS we have noticed a significant decrease in the number of office discipline referrals (ODRs). This is most evident by the triangle data report, where there is a larger percentage of students labeled as tier 1. Data also shows that during the months of August – January there has been a decrease of 177 ODRs during the 2016-2017 school year, when compared with the 2015-2016 school year. There are two distinct benefits as a result of this data. First, students are maximizing instructional time in the classrooms, whereas previous data would suggest a greater amount of students were missing instruction due to disciplinary action. Second, as a result of tier 1 increasing, there has also been a decrease in the amount of tier 2 or 3 students. As tier 2 or 3 students have decreased, we have been able to better support their individual needs. Students in tier 2 or 3 are supported to make positive behavior choices by receiving a mentor through the check in / check out program, tracking their own points, and targeted social skill interventions. Another positive impact that we have seen in our data is a decrease in the number of students with 9+ ODRs from 15 students during the 2015 – 2016 school year to only 3 during the 2016 – 2017 school year. Moving forward, our goal is that the trend will continue and as a result we will begin to see a greater increase in student achievement.

PBIS impacting our school, absolutely! Anthem K-8 is basking in the positive impact that PBIS has brought to our school, staff, students, and community. Substantial changes are represented by Tier 1 efforts with school wide implementation and P.R.I.D.E. card numbers increasing, data representing downward trends, and Tier 2 and 3 proving to show great success. Students are earning more and more P.R.I.D.E. cards every day. Our school P.R.I.D.E. card count is quickly approaching 10,000. Teachers, staff, and students are handing out cards for other teachers, staff and students exhibiting school rules. Graphs for ODR’s or Office Discipline Referrals represent a downward trend. Implementing MIR, Minor Incident Reports have proven to curb high numbers of referrals that require office visits. Given this point, the result has been a more positive school and classroom climate. With the addition of our Tier 2 SOARS (CICO) the majority of students taking advantage of this program have shown vast improvements socially, emotionally, and academically. Students on this program have improved dramatically meeting their daily goal over 80% of the time. Specifically, students progressing to Tier 3, have been able to show success at Tier 2 avoiding the Tier 3 process completely. PBIS, in conclusion hosts a positive influence where staff, students, and community feel the impact. Our campus looks forward to future growth and additional positive advancements with our Anthem P.R.I.D.E. program.

Copper Basin’s implementation of PBIS has resulted in a cultural shift amongst the students and staff. The expectations provide a framework for positive conversations around student behaviors and student safety. The common language used has resulted in school-wide expectations, creating shared goals, and peer to peer accountability. The shared expectations of being safe, respectful, responsible, and empathetic bring together the positive efforts of the staff around a common goal versus individual classroom or grade level goals/expectations that while important and successful often did not translate to a larger effect on student academic or behavioral success. Students and parents have communicated an appreciation for the positive recognition and reward systems used when students demonstrate a school-wide expectation.

The positive impact that the implementation of PBIS has had on Florence High School over the last year and a half can be measured in numerous ways. A recent review of referral data in SWIS showed a slight decrease in the overall number of referrals when comparing the data from the previous school year. The data within SWIS also indicated that the national average for schools our size is nearly 4.5 referrals per day, while FHS is currently averaging just over 2 referrals per day.

Our Tier 1 committee members also noted that there has been a 55% decrease in referrals written in the classroom (165 total Classroom Referrals 7/24/15-1/25/16, 92 total Classroom Referrals 7/24/16- 1/25/17). This, along with our own efforts towards the implementation of Tier 2 interventions with students has also resulted in a positive increase in academic achievement at FHS. When comparing the Fall semester of 2015 to the Fall semester of 2016, the total percentage of A’s, B’s and C’s earned by all students increased by nearly 3% campus wide, while the total percentage of students earning a D or an F decreased by 2.3%.

The data above indicates a strong increase in the amount of time that teachers and students are focused on teaching and learning along with a decrease in time dealing with problem behaviors, which is the overarching goal of any school PBIS framework.

At Florence K-8 School, we are safe, we are kind and we are responsible. These are academic expectations and social expectations for the Gophers. Teachers are teaching the expectations and building relationships with students, which has a positive effect on academic growth. From the beginning of this year to date, daily referral rates have decreased by 55%. Now that referrals have decreased, it has been necessary for other systems to be implemented. We have around 80 students who have been involved in the check-in and check-out process this year. Over 35 of those students have been graduated from the program. When they meet their goal, we celebrate their success with them by having a pizza party. A Tier 3 Team of educators meets once a week and invites teachers that have students who are struggling with their academics or behaviors, and haven’t responded well to the teacher’s supports. The team collaborates together and comes up with research-based interventions for the teacher to try in class so she can collect data to bring back to the team. In addition to this support, we have started a Behavior Support Classroom. Data was collected and seven students were placed in this program where they learn the necessary social skills they are lacking. The PBIS program has continued to support our school’s focus on being safe, kind and responsible for our academics and behaviors.

Magma Ranch K-8 has been impacted by PBIS in a positive manner. Students have shown that they can be responsible, respectful and make right choices through our school-wide initiative to implement MR3. Since last year, physical aggression has decreased dramatically, with almost half the amount of referrals for physical aggression for 2016-2017 compared to 2015-2016. Theft has also reduced the number of referrals by half as well.
Through our DIBELS scores in 1st grade, it is apparent that PBIS has a huge impact. The scores have been steadily increasing since we started implementing PBIS in 2013. In the beginning of 2013, we had 9 students in the 50th percentile by the end of the year. Last year, we had 21 first graders in the 50th percentile. This is the greatest amount of first graders in this category in six years.

Since we have implemented PBIS, staff has become more consistent with giving Caught in the Act tickets so that students may be recognized for their positive behavior and are striving to be respectful, responsible and make right choices. PBIS has helped change the climate of Magma Ranch K-8, to a more welcoming and positive place where students want to come each day. A place where students feel safe and are learning the skills they need become productive citizens and community members.

The practice of PBIS Tier 1 on our campus has created a common language for staff, students and parents regarding expected behaviors. Tier 1 has created a more predictable culture at our school in that exepected behaviors are defined in the same way across campus as well as processed the same way. The staff and student rollouts have drastically reduced problematic behaviors around campus because there is continuity in teaching the expectations and conistency in how behaviors are managed. Tier one has also taught parents how to better support the PRIDE system on our campus and participate in reinforcement activitys. Our school has grown significantly in reinforcing positive behavior through a variety of ways.

Tier 2/3 practices on our campus have provided structure for students who need more support to recieve interventions. The practice of this tier has also provided training opportunities for staff. Our school uses CICO, behavior plans, student intervention team and social emotional lessons.

PBIS helps us to conduct routine data collection and analysis targets location, behaviors or specific students that is used to increase positive behavior across campus. In doing so we have now have the ability to identify our system weaknesses and strengths. For example our teachers are more aware of responses that reinforce negative student behaviors and are more mindful to curb their own behaviors.

Through the past two years, Desert Meadows School has shifted its primary focus onto proactive behavior management within the PBIS framework. As one example, we have adopted a mentoring program for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students designed to give them a positive way to express their frustrations and emotions, partnering with guardians to provide positive supports rather than simply implementing consequences when behaviors occur. For a Tier 1 student, our data shows that PBIS interventions result in a low number of repeat offenders. As a result of these changes, behavior referrals have dropped significantly, accompanied by an increase in achievement scores in virtually all grade levels and subject areas.

PBIS has changed our school’s culture in the six years that it has thrived by focusing our attention on the positive behaviors students exhibit versus the negatives. At Vista, our school mascot is a tiger. Our PBIS acronym is R.O.A.R. which stands for being respectful, organized, alert, and responsible. We recognize positive student behavior with the use of power paws and Tiger Tickets. Students can earn power paws, a reward ticket, that can be exchanged for prizes such as helping with morning announcements, sit by a friend in class and at lunch, and first in line at lunch, amongst many others. Once a year we survey both the students and staff to accommodate students interests for prizes. Tiger Tickets are awarded to students who go above and beyond the expectations at Vista. These students’ names are shared on the morning announcements and the students receive brag tags and other prizes. Safety and student behavior at our school has improved since implementing PBIS lesson plans for unstructured areas outside of the classroom such as the cafeteria and playground.

The implementation of this positive recognition has shown a correlation between the decrease in our referral numbers and an increase in our positive incentives. We had a decrease of 20% in referrals from 139 referrals in the 2014-2015 school year to 116 referrals in the 2015-2016 school year. One way that we track positive incentives is through the Tiger Tickets. The Tiger Tickets have helped to create a positive school climate over the last few years, which increased student achievement in the classroom and on district and statewide assessments. In addition to the decrease in referrals, we also had an increase in the Tiger Ticket recognition from 663 in 2015-2016 increasing to 826 in the present school year through students representing R.O.A.R. (respectful, organized, alert , and responsible). The 2015-2016 school year was a minimal decrease from the 2014-2015 amount of 850. We attribute the dip in the number of Tiger Tickets to the adjustment of the ROAR cards. As teachers learned to balance the ROAR cards and Tiger Tickets we have seen an increase in the number of Tiger Tickets this year. The decrease in referrals coincides with the increase in academics. Our student’s academic efforts are demonstrated by the many recognitions Vista has received in the past year. We have earned the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award for the 2015-2016 school year. In addition, our students earned the esteemed label of being an A+ school and NCEA Higher Performing School for multiple years.
In order for our school to better ourselves every year we look for ways to focus on what is best for all of our students(Tier I, II, and III). We have worked on developing programs that have been added to the Vista campus culture in order to help our Tier I, II, and III students. These programs consist of the mentoring program, peer mentoring program, check in check out (CICO), All Hands on Deck, student PBIS team, student of the month, and a consistent campus wide K-8 ROAR card. The ROAR card is a behavior system where teachers can reinforce positive behaviors and monitor negative behaviors.Our goal is to reward positive behavior while limiting negative behaviors and increasing communication between home and school. The ROAR card is sent home daily for families to review and discuss with students. Vista continues to recognize ROARING behavior by choosing a student in every class each month who has put in maximum effort and is a good role model of ROAR. The newest program that we have established is, All Hands on Deck in order to focus on those Tier II students concerning both academic and behavior concerns that are tracked monthly with the support of administration, grade level teachers, and support staff. Through the mentoring program Vista has increased both the number of students being mentored and the number of staff members who are the mentees each quarter in order to help our Tier II students with their guidance in academics and with their behavior. In the 2014-15 school year we started quarter one with 16 students connected with 12 staff members and by quarter four it had increased to 26 students and 18 staff members within our mentoring program. Through the use of a school wide documentation form we are able to identify specific skills students need to have reinforced based on both their academic and behavior needs. We also consistently monitor and adjust to meet the individual needs of the students. These reinforced skills are built upon during community time. The purpose of the community time is to build a solid positive classroom community centered on skill teaching to support with continued implementation of PBIS, to be proactive to equip students with skills, in addition to building a consistent language across all grade levels (TIER I, II, III). Students will model aspects of ROAR and teachers will guide conversations following being respectful, organized, alert, and responsible.

Vista continues to be a reflective community centered on identifying and supporting students’ individual academic and behavioral needs. Positive reinforcement is evident throughout the Vista campus on a consistent basis to ensure student success.

As result of feedback received from staff of Madison Camelview Elementary School at the end of last school year, the PBIS committee made a major refinement to our program for 2016-17: to implement a more efficient system for recognizing students’ positive behavior, which could be used frequently and consistently by every employee throughout the building. To accomplish this goal, we instituted a two-part recognition system.

The first part is that all classroom teachers now use ClassDojo to immediately and specifically recognize student behavior according to four expectations: Courtesy and Respect, Understanding Responsibilities, Being Safe, and Staying Organized (C.U.B.S). This has also allowed staff to engage in meaningful two-way communication with parents, of which 72% are connected to Class Dojo. This gives parents the opportunity to check their children’s progress at any time as they accumulate positive recognition points, as well as exchange information and messages with their child’s teacher. As of the end of January, over 313,000 positive Dojo points have been awarded, allowing students to subsequently receive brag tags for earning cumulative benchmark totals.

The second part is that all classified staff now acknowledge students’ positive behavior by using a raffle ticket system, since they are not able to access Class Dojo as easily as teachers. This has been an extremely important refinement, since our paraeducators, maintenance staff, front office colleagues, and cafeteria associates have a high degree of interaction with all of our students, throughout the day, in critical locations on our campus. Over 11,000 raffle tickets have been awarded as of the end of January, with weekly and monthly opportunities for students at every grade level to be selected to visit our prize closet.

These two revisions have resulted in noticeable changes to our school-wide data. Specifically, in our Referrals by Location, we have seen a decrease in incidents in 10 locations, most notably in our classrooms, hallways and playground. In our Referrals by Problem Behavior, we have also seen a decrease in problem behaviors. Our academic progress is also trending positively in NWEA assessments. We have increased our projected ELA proficiency from 26% at this time last year to 34%, while decreasing our projection for minimal proficiency from 59% at this time last year to 50%. In math, we have increased our projected proficiency from 19% to 25%, and have decreased our projection for minimal proficiency from 38% to 33%. These indicators show that Madison Camelview’s implementation of PBIS this year has had a positive impact on student behavior and academics.

PBIS has positively impacted Rose Lane in a number of ways this year. The continued reinforcement of common expectations has been practiced by all staff across campus resulting in a decrease in problem behaviors overall. Our most frequent problem behaviors of defiance, disrespect and disruption have all decreased this year as well as physical aggression. We have worked to provide common vocabulary in kid-friendly terms that students are able to understand. The PBIS focus has helped teachers emphasize the positive consequences and public reinforcement of students who are following the expectations. This has led to improved time on task in the classroom which has impacted academic growth and achievement. A well- managed classroom maximizes the instruction time and PBIS has helped improve those management systems. PBIS has also provided a framework to improve morale on campus with staff as well. The staff recognition program we implemented is well received and has led to increased community building activities this year. The data provided through SWIS, along with other measurements, helped our site leadership team make decisions about a social skills program that became a Tier 1 intervention for our school this year. All of these positive changes were a direct result of our participation in PBIS.

If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” -John Dewey.

We at Madison Park feel Mr. Dewey’s words capture the heart of PBIS. It is easy to become upset and frustrated when a student blurts out in class for the fifth time that day or when a student forgets their pencil, again. But as teachers, we must step back from the situation and realize we have two paths; we could become upset and share our frustration with the student which may create a hostile environment, or we could use those somewhat trying moments as teaching points and help guide students to what is expected. We simply cannot expect all students to automatically know how to walk in the halls or how to get our attention, we must teach them.

Four years ago, we shifted from a very negative based behavior program to the very successful, PBIS program. Our students are learning what it means to ROAR, an acronym very near and dear to us as our school mascot is a lion. Students are learning to be Respectful, Outreach to those in need, Achieve to the highest standards, and be Responsible for their actions. When students showcase one of the ROAR attributes, they are issued an immediate and specific acknowledgement and a ROAR ticket. Those ROAR tickets are then placed in a weekly, monthly, and quarterly drawing where incentives are awarded to a handful of students selected at random. As a result of this shift to a more positive teaching atmosphere, we have seen a considerable decrease in problem behaviors and an increase in respectful behaviors.

Looking at our data, the total number of referrals has declined over the past 3 school years as a PBIS school. In August 2014 to January 2015, there were a total of 200 office discipline referrals. The following year, August 2015 to January 2016, there were a total of 142 office discipline referrals. This year, August 2016 to January 2017, we have had 104 office discipline referrals. Looking even further into our data, the number of incidents resulting in an off-campus suspension has reduced from 43 to 13. More specifically, classroom disruption incidents have reduced from 48 to 15 and disrespect incidents have reduced from 19 to 2 over the past three years. Our school-wide positive efforts of teaching students how to behave are working. Our campus is positive, inviting, and a place where students feel success academically, emotionally, and behaviorally thanks to the culture shift with the help of PBIS.

The PBIS framework is an active part of our school culture at Rattlesnake Ridge. The implementation and practice of PBIS has had a tremendous impact our school climate. PBIS has given the students and staff a common language to clearly define, discuss, and demonstrate expected behaviors in various locations around campus. This allows us to not only make sure the students clearly know the expectations, but ensure the fidelity of the PBIS model among staff members. We regularly acknowledge and recognize students who are acting appropriately and making good choices. The students love this recognition and positive reinforcement. PBIS has created a positive environment, which has led to a decline in negative behaviors and lower rates of discipline incidents at our school.

Twin Peaks Tiger Cubs are “Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn.” Over the past decade, Twin Peaks Elementary School staff members have diligently worked to improve our Positive Behavior Intervention Supports program. Each year, we develop an action plan to identify areas of concern and improvement. An evaluation of our office discipline referrals in relation to suspensions, Student Climate Survey, the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET), The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Next (DIBELS) scores, and the School-Wide Tiered Fidelity Instrument (TFI) demonstrates that we have been able to positively impact our students’ growth in their positive behaviors, student safety, and academics.

“Respectful”–Office Discipline Referrals (ODR): Between 2013 and 2016 we had a decrease in office discipline referrals. The total number of suspensions decreased from 37 to 9; indicating that the student behaviors were less severe according to our district-wide discipline matrix. This was accomplished by promoting positive behaviors school-wide using the PBIS Tier-leveled Interventions. (See data graph). Students with consistent referrals were given opportunities to make personal improvements with various individual interventions including adult mentors, school counseling, behavior plans and positive reinforcement.

“Responsible” –Student Safety: Based on 3 indicators of our Student Climate Survey student responses showed an increase in Safe and Healthy Environment, School Climate and Student Trust. Over the course of 3 years, students reported on our Climate Survey an increase of feeling safe and healthy within our school, thereby demonstrating that our PBIS action plan and interventions are having a positive impact. As our climate has positively increased through the PBIS Team’s recommendations, our students are reporting that they trust each other and the actions of adults’ responses. Although Bully Reports have increased, student data supports that they feel empowered to report to an adult and trust the matter will be resolved. Students participate in school-wide, classroom and individual activities that promote and support positive relationships. Our students know how to stand up to bullying and be “Bystanders that Rule” at Twin Peaks Elementary School.

“Ready to Learn”–Academics: Each year for the past 3 years we have seen an increase in academic growth of our students in the area of reading. Our goal was to improve the number of students who achieved the benchmark in reading. Students are identified and monitored through our Child Assistance Team, DIBELS testing, and other individual interventions in order to ensure that they are “ready to learn.” Teachers are provided professional development on reading instructional strategies, and parents are provided with resources to help their children become better readers at home. Students receive positive reinforcements on a daily basis, as well as monthly drawings for ready to learn behaviors and quarterly awards. Another indicator that students are feeling successful is through our Student Climate Survey in the area of “Academics.” There has been an increase each year from 2014-2016.

In our second year of implementation, Kino Junior High School has served as the model for PBIS success in the Mesa Public Schools. Last year we described PBIS as “the agent of change on our campus”, and this has continued to be the case. With 1,032 students, Kino Junior High School is classified as a Title I school with 75% Hispanic, 12% White, 7% Native American, and 4% White students; over 90% free and reduced lunch; and close to 55% of our teachers have less than 6 years of teaching experience. We know that our teachers, staff, parents, and students need a positive program to support building relationships, encouraging engagement, and focusing on classroom learning. By rooting our PBIS tenants in responsibility, respect, and safety, we have been able to increase successful observable behaviors on buses, lunchrooms, restrooms, hallways and classrooms. With our booming success in our 2015-2016 implementation year, we continue to see amazing data trends. In the last two years we have seen our attendance rates increase over 5%, there is a 58% drop between students with 2 and 3 ODRs (the number continues to diminish after that), and in-school suspension rate has dropped by 85% and our out of school down by 61%. Our referral rate to alternative placement dropped from 23 in 15-16 school year to 8 in the 16-17 school year. We are still waiting on end of year testing data, but in our mid-year science tests we did see an upward trend of 3-5% improvement per teacher on their scores. Our social studies classes went from an average 60% passing rate (15-16 school year) on the Civics Test to over 90% (16-17 school year). As an administrator, I have depended on PBIS to stabilize our school culture in order to focus on academic achievement. We will continue to be champions of PBIS in order to facilitate this improvement.

As we continue to implement PBIS, Riverview has seen a reduction in aggressive and defiant behaviors on our campus over the past two school years. Reductions in aggression, drugs and alcohol, long-term suspensions for major infractions, and fighting has provided a safer opportunity for our students to learn. In addition to the reduction in major referrals, the success rate of our students has also increased. Just two years ago, our students recorded a 61% success rate in terms of credits earned. That number has increased to 78% this past semester. We believe that a solid foundation in Tier 1 has set us up for success. As we continue to implement and monitor our Tier 2/3 interventions, we are confident that our success and service to our students will only continue grow.

Lake View Primary is a K-2 school where teaching students’ appropriate behavior is significant to their individual learning success. This year we have created a positive school environment by creating a “Family Atmosphere” of clear expectations in all student settings. These areas include the classroom, playground, monthly assemblies, hallways, bathrooms, and transportation. These expectations set a supportive and encouraging climate where students are positively reinforced by all staff to promote and extend our expectations throughout Lake View. In a recent PBIS climate survey 95.83% of students said that “they enjoyed coming to school.”

By sequentially using the Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 PBIS system; Lake View Primary has decreased unconstructive behavior significantly since the initial implementation of PBIS. By consistently using this program students have the ability to be more focused on learning academic curriculum. This program allows our teachers to spend more time on classroom instruction while support staff focuses on the needs of Tier 2 and Tier 3 students.

Lake View Primary has seen a decrease in Office Discipline Referrals and Suspensions from prior years. Students at such a young age need to be in the classroom to learn fundamental skills that they will use throughout their lives. We have been able to put additional support in place for students who need it, and allows them to stay in their classroom.
Using PBIS along with Positive Action has decreased the number of Office Discipline Referrals, replaced inappropriate behaviors with positive behaviors, and increased student academic progress. It also carries over to their lives outside of school. Students feel more connected to their school community and appropriate behaviors are carried home because of the successful continued implementation of this program.

PBIS at Page Middle School is now a system to define, teach and reinforce behavior, as well as supporting students who struggle to meet behavior expectations. Common expectations create a climate of cooperation, academic excellence and respect at Page Middle School. We intentionally teach these behaviors to establish a common language and expectations used by all staff and students. The immediate reinforcement of expectations by staff members facilitates a positive interaction between students and teachers which encourages a respectful school climate and culture creating a safe and supportive school community. Now students remind each other of the expectations and look forward to the immediate, intermediate and long term reinforcements such as the PRIDE store, monthly reward rallies accomplished with parent volunteers, quarterly PRIDE assemblies led by the student council, and teacher selected students of the year and student selected teachers of the year. In addition to providing reinforcement to students, PBIS has provided a system to identify and support students. As a result of ODR data regarding defiance as a problem behavior, the tier 1 PRIDE team identified that teacher support was needed in understanding better the mind of a middle schooler and professional development was provided to the teachers. Also the identification of tier 2 students has increased to include surveys completed by teachers about more covert behaviors to be able to provide appropriate group counseling to students who may not be identified through ODR data, or other data. Page Middle School will continue to refine each tier of systems to support a positive learning environment in which all students can succeed.

Since the implementation of PBIS, we have seen consistent ODR decreases each year. We have a school-wide system that teachers, students and parents understand. Expectations are clear and consistent. This year, we implemented more tier 2 data-driven supports and we identified tier 3 needs. Climate survey indicate that parents, students and staff feel that Whittier is a positive and safe place to learn. Academic growth has been seen at all grade levels since the implementation of PBIS.

Sacaton Elementary School is now in their fourth year of implementation of PBIS. With our continued implementation of PBIS we are finding that the students are responding positively to the immediate feedback with a Braves’ Buck. Our teachers are utilizing the tools they have been given to deal with minor behaviors in their classrooms and as a result, less behaviors are being sent to the office. Teaching school wide social skills has given extra support to the students.
We are eager to continue to see the positive trend of less ODR’s, an increase in academic achievement, as well as positive behavior growth.

At Arredondo Elementary School, we foster a safe, respectful, responsible and welcoming environment throughout our campus. We strive for students and staff to use their Lifeskills and Lifelong Guidelines to make Arredondo a great place to learn and work. The implementation of PBIS along with consistent adherence to the Positive Discipline philosophy has given Arredondo a common language amongst teachers, staff, parents, and students, thus allowing for a strong collaboration amongst all. We also offer Positive Discipline for Parents through our 21st Century Community Learning Center grant and the Tempe Elementary School District’s Thrive to Five program. Happy Grams are used to provide specific positive praise for students. Since the implementation of PBIS, Arredondo’s Roadrunners have embraced a culture that provides a strong sense of belonging, the right to respect, and the expectation for everyone to contribute to a positive learning community. Our teachers are the key component, as they have implemented these practices through effective and positive instructional practices that contribute to a healthy and rewarding school community. Our school is consistently increasing student achievement as measured by district and state assessments. Additionally, through positive behavioral practices, we have developed routines that focus on building relationships on a daily basis, hosting community involvement on a monthly basis, and providing every student with a safe learning environment. Our inclusive campus celebrates differences. Each week, students are publicly recognized for demonstrating their Lifeskills and Lifelong Guidelines at our Friday, all-school assembly. We involve every student in our positive school community. Staff members also frequently show appreciation to each other with Happy Grams, and positive shout-outs that are posted in a place for everyone to see. Arredondo is a place where we are all committed to modeling, teaching and reinforcing behaviors that ensure a positive community as measured by our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.

In our second year of PBIS implementation, Davidson Elementary has continued to strengthen our culture of student-centered supports and data. Shared leadership in implementing PBIS practices school-wide and the belief that all students can learn at high levels has fostered a positive environment for Davidson students. Our staff has developed a deeper understanding of the systems, data, and practices that support an effective Tier 1 PBIS program to support students. Positive student behavior is consistently and frequently acknowledged by staff, our students’ achievements are recognized monthly, and our students are thrilled each time they are acknowledged for making good choices and ROARing. This year, “Minor” violations have decreased nearly 50% from August 2016 to February 2017, compared to the same time frame last year. Furthermore, nearly 93% of students have had 0-1 office discipline referrals. This means most Davidson students are demonstrating successful behaviors at a much higher rate, compared to last year.

The 2016-17 school year is our second year implementing Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS continues to improve and change our school environment. Teachers and students are very well versed in the expectations of not only the desired behavior, but also the process of implementing every aspect of the program. The principal and I are receiving far less referrals. We are seeing a lower number of overall referrals (location, type of behavior, etc). Through the PBIS SWIS application the graphs back up all of this data.

Every quarter we have awards assemblies for students who have earned awards for positive behaviors as well as academics. The list of students who are receiving those awards is steadily growing. Also, at the end of each quarter we have a drawing for all of the of the students who received our PBIS ticket (Respect, Responsibility and Kindness – RRocK tickets). At the end of our 2nd quarter we had an estimated 8,000 tickets. Lastly, all of us believe that this campus is making huge strides in the area of PBIS.

PBIS has made a huge impact on the climate at Sundance Elementary School in many ways. Staff members are more friendly and approachable. The staff has bought in to pre-teaching expectations and identifying the positive early on which has cemented a positive environment for our campus. Students feel more comfortable in taking risks and chances within the classroom environment. They take initiative and show kindness to their peers. Staff does the same and, overall, there has been a large shift in the way that staff speaks to other staff. At Sundance, PBIS has made our environment more like a family. Our younger students are encouraging other students to do their best, modeling how they are supposed to accomplish a task, as well as taking from the “Random Acts of Kindness” board so much that we can’t keep it stocked. We have middle school students eager to earn horseshoes so that they can purchase things from our “Mustang Market,” and our younger kids get so excited when their name gets called to pull something from the treasure chest. These improvements are evidenced by our reduction in major referrals school wide, as well as our increase in the percentage of students who demonstrate success by earning one or fewer referrals. The CICO program has been able to help a student who in the past might have received many major referrals experience a more positive and productive time on campus. Students get to realize that they are capable of success and that there is something to look forward to. For many of our kids, Sundance is a second home. Thanks to PBIS, now it is a more positive, kind, and respectful place to be.

Stetson Hills School is in our third year of implementation as we have brought our vision of PBIS to action. We began by establishing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports in Behavior (MTSS-B) Team who created a school-wide common expectation of “PACE” which stands for Pride, Accountability, Caring, and Excellence. Year two, with the input from staff, students, and parents, we created a campus-wide behavior matrix and posted explicit expectations for common areas to include the cafeteria, playground, classrooms, and restrooms. Additionally, we formulated PACE tickets to recognize students who were “Keeping the PACE.” Students are then put into a pool, where there are weekly drawings for Stallion of the Week (one student per week per grade level are chosen). The Principal and Assistant Principal recognize these students by awarding them with a certificate, pencil and a special phone call home to bring parents good news. Furthermore, students who go above and beyond PACE expectations are selected to attend Stetson Hills’ monthly PACE Luncheon with their parents and campus administrators. The primary goal of year three was reduce campus suspensions and increase student academic performance. The MTSS-B team began using a uniform analysis worksheet to evaluate office referral data. From this analysis, the team recognized a need to refine the Campus Discipline Flow Chart to better articulate office versus classroom managed discipline and the process for creating office referrals. Additionally, the team created a communication plan to inform staff regarding trends in Office Referral Data. This has brought awareness to teachers which have allowed them to create more effective Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions. Through the implementation of PACE, our campus suspensions have decreased 79% and our academic achievement per the AZMerit has increased by 9% in ELA and 8% in math.

West Wing is proud to be in its fourth year of PBIS implementation. Throughout our journey we have developed a proactive approach to promoting positive behaviors, rather than merely managing undesirable conduct. Students, staff, and parents have a clear understanding of our three main behavioral expectations- Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. Students know the “Three B” expectations in all areas of the campus, and are rewarded with GRIT tickets as positive reinforcement. Our staff has developed and implemented a behavior flow chart which allows teachers to consistently identify behaviors that can be managed within the classroom versus those that should result in an office referral. Grade level teams implement tier one interventions to address classroom level behavior infractions, but they are also highly skilled at differentiating interventions to meet individual student needs. Our campus is committed to reviewing and responding to data each month. Through this process we have reduced office discipline referrals, reduced off campus suspensions, and reduced incidences of tardies and physical aggression. However, we are most proud of the improved climate and culture that our staff and students experience through our PBIS approach, and we look forward to continued growth.

The mission of Skyline Ranch K-8 School is to “Ensure ALL kids receive the extra time and support needed to achieve at a high level.” In order for us to accomplish our mission, we believe that support includes academic as well as behavioral interventions. Since we began our implementation of PBIS in our school we have seen more cohesion among our staff with respect to teaching and reinforcing our school rules; more recently we have seen our classroom expectation mirror our school-wide expectations. Since those first baby steps of implementation we have seen our referral counts dramatically decrease. Our PBIS teams are committed to ensuring the longevity of the framework we have built over the last four years. Part of that commitment lives in monthly reviews of our Tier I systems and bi-weekly reviews of our Tier II and Tier III interventions. We have transformed from a staff that makes decisions based on feelings and observations to a team that collects and reviews data in order to provide the best supports possible for our students. Our Check-In Check-Out program (PAWS Club) is currently utilized by about twenty students. Over the last two years we have seen more than fifty students participate in PAWS Club; many of those students have gained the skills needed to now be successful with only Tier I level support. Our students have made a major shift in their overall behavior over the last four years. They have developed a sense of ownership of their school. Our school has become a place that students love to attend; parents feel safe sending their kids here, and teachers love working here so much they recruit their teacher friends to come to our school. Since its inception at Skyline Ranch K-8, PBIS has been the key to building a culture of pride, success, and leadership. Prior to PBIS our school had a negative reputation. In the last two years we have seen families that left to attend other districts or charters return. We have the highest number of open enrollment students of any K-8 school in the Florence Unified School District. With PBIS we have been able to improve our student behavior which in turn has helped us improve our academics which has improved our reputation. PBIS is the reason we able to proudly proclaim our mantra; Believe, Succeed, Lead. It’s GREAT to be a Bulldog!

PBIS implementation at Southwest Junior High has been an eye opener not only for students, but for all stakeholders: administrators, teachers, parents, and staff. The trainings and strategies shared during the trainings have given us the opportunity to provide professional development over a variety of topics. Thus far, these training sessions have positively contributed to a successful Tier 2 implementation. The impact that PBIS has had over our school reflects on the number of office referrals, which had a slight decrease in comparison to last year.

Collaboration has been a key component of PBIS implementation. Through continuous application of PBIS systems and G.R.I.T., all Tiered teams have participated in school-wide and SWIS data analysis, behavior and cooperative learning strategies, and surveys that have increase teacher/student awareness of expectation in every setting within our school. As a result, we have noticed that G.R.I.T. expectations are displayed throughout the school, as well as positive interventions and rewards are directly proportional to a decrease on behavior incidents and referrals.

The PBIS program at Cheatham Elementary has shown great impact in the culture and climate of the school. The phrase ‘PAWS’ is truly a part of everything we do at Cheatham Elementary School. We have many things going on at the tier 1 level for all students and faculty. We pass out our PAWS which stands for Practicing Respect, Accepting Responsibility, Work Together and Staying Safe. These can be redeemed at the PAWS store Bi-monthly for the students to reap the benefits. We also display the prizes in the cafeteria to get the students excited. We hold quarterly PBIS rally to get everyone on the same page and get excited about PBIS.

At Cheatham we have PAW to PAW which is when the older students go down to a little kids room and teach a PAW lesson. This helps promote the message and create leaders. We also implement Peer mediation for students to help prevent behaviors in a positive manner. We also hold school-wide mentoring-The Village Program. This is helpful for the tier two students and tier 3 students to have support at the school level. We also employ a minor behavior ticket-this helps curb small behaviors and show trends that the PBIS team can analyze at the weekly meetings.

All of the above have influenced Cheatham in a very positive light over the last two years. Our discipline referrals have dropped by almost 40% in one calendar year. This alone has shrunk the days lost significantly for the 16-17 school year. The academics is slowly rising with more students remaining in the classroom. The climate is a different place now with all teachers holding the students to the standard of, “Walk, Talk, and Act like a Cheetah.”

At Madison Meadows Middle School PBIS continues to have a positive impact throughout our campus. Teachers & staff recognize students for exhibiting our RAMS expectations (Respect & Responsibility, Achievement, Maintain Communication, & Safety). These expectations are explicitly taught at the beginning of the year and revisited throughout the year and as necessary. Students can earn RAMS tickets which can be traded in for a variety of passes (i.e. wear a hat, choose your seat, VIP cafeteria seating, homework extension) or used at our bi-monthly RAMS store which is run and funded by our PTO. Our PBIS team looks at the data from SWIS monthly and shares that data with teachers who work as grade level teams to identify areas of reinforcement & refinement. Defiance & disruption have been two of our highest areas of problem behavior. Compared to last year our numbers for these offenses have declined. Consistency & fidelity to our Tier 1 program as well as developing supports with Tier 2 have helped reduce these numbers. One teacher stated, “Two of our most notorious 7th graders, leaders on the “”Most MIRs”” list, have both been put on behavior contracts. They have gone from competing for top honors as disruptive class clowns to competing for the greatest number of twos (high marks) on their behavior contract sheets. They are showing marked improvement, both in behavior and grades. It’s hysterical to hear them comparing their numbers as they walk out of the class.”

Madison Meadows belongs to a district which strives for Extraordinary Learning for All. PBIS is definitely helping us achieve this at Meadows.

We are extremely proud of our PBIS growth and progress at Madison Heights Elementary School this 2016-2017 school year. Our PBIS program continues to improve and develop through teacher, student and parent teamwork. Positive outcomes in both climate and behavior are observed in several areas.

PBIS efficacy can clearly be observed in the decrease of minor classroom negative behaviors from 304 minor office referrals in 2015-2016 to 67 minor office referrals this year to date. Teachers report using the flowchart with fidelity, which allows students an opportunity for correction prior to cycling into major office referrals. Students report they understand the steps within the flowchart and have an opportunity for self correction prior to cycling into a major office referral. In other words, students have clear parameters and set expectations for positive behavior and are encouraged through positive reinforcement to make good choices in the classroom.

The Three Keys to Success; Respect, Responsibility, and Participation play a huge part of our school success story. Students are recognized daily for meeting these positive behavior expectations with PBIS “Shout Outs”. Each day two students are drawn using Classdojo points from the previous week. These student names are announced over the school PA and may come to the front office and take care of “Eddie the Eagle” (our school stuffed animal mascot). Needless to say, students really enjoy the public recognition and work hard to be the one to care for Eddie the Eagle for the day.
Not only has classroom minor behaviors decreased, there is also a drop in the area of harassment from 19 office referrals last year to 10 office referrals to date. We attribute this decrease to the ongoing PBIS rallies focusing on targeted behaviors along with Stop Walk and Talk PBIS rallies.

PBIS has been a game changer for our campus. Students feel safe and teachers have a framework that guides and promotes positive behavioral expectations for our learners.

PBIS on our campus has helped to create a positive environment with students and to provide a consistent way to discuss expectations and appropriate behavior with all students. Students on our campus can easily recite our school wide expectations. Staff and Teachers incorporate the expectations in classrooms, on the playground, in assemblies etc. We are able to have discussions with students regularly about what respect looks like, what it means to be responsible, and how we are safe. We also find that using PBIS, we can start developmentally appropriate ages and build on them from year to year. PBIS can be used with all students; mainstream, special ed, higher level behavior students, etc. Our students love receiving Compliment Tickets and earning rewards for appropriate behaviors. We believe PBIS helps with a decrease in bullying incidents, lower rates of discipline (especially repeated behaviors) as well as allowing us to work with specific interventions and plans for students that have higher needs or home life situations that do not breed automatic appropriate behavior. PBIS creates a positive environment and allows for encouraging positive, appropriate behavior, while helping to model and correct inappropriate behaviors in a constructive way.

PBIS has brought a major change to the climate for our school. We have become a caring campus where students hold doors open for others, and courtesy has become the norm. The level of respect in the classrooms has risen and there has been a decrease in loss of instructional time. There is an overall paradigm shift for the good as we have seen a more positive atmosphere on the campus. Trainings are conducted twice a year school wide, with expectations taught to all students. Weekly announcements are used to remind students of our PBIS ways, with tips on areas of focus. A variety of award celebrations are held to recognize great behaviors, great academics, and perfect attendance. Marana High School has become such a positive place to be.

Our PBIS training was an eye opener for our staff and administration. The training was very detailed and we appreciated the time to work as a staff to decide what this would look like at our campus. Our team that went to training became our trainers – so this has been unfolded teacher to teacher. In comparison to 2015-2016 our teachers have had almost 50% less discipline in the classroom. (see data and graphs) Teachers tell me what a nice group of students we have this year…even though many are the same students from last year! Our ALC teacher can work on other important tasks because she rarely has students to supervise. Students love the tickets and my teachers are truly creative about rewards. The student buy in has been very high since the teachers make it fun. It has been positive for the whole school, students know the expectations and teachers reinforce the positive. We have had a carnival and a movie day to celebrate school-wide targets for tickets earned. We have only been in implementation for 5 months but the difference is noticeable for our campus culture. Our Griffins are learning to SOAR!!

Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) was implemented at Rhodes Junior High during the 2014-2015 school year. Each year Rhodes’ PBIS Program continues to get stronger and is becoming the foundation of Rhodes’ School Culture. Two areas that Rhodes’ has targeted based on last year’s discipline data include: (1) classroom disruptions and (2) defiance/disrespect. Rhodes’ continued professional development on PBIS best practices and on-going use of PBIS data to make informed decisions has shown to impact Rhodes positively. One way our campus has been positively impacted is a significant decrease in classroom disruptions and defiance/disrespect documented compared to last school year. The decrease of these two targeted areas of behavior has created a learning environment where effective instruction can occur and more time on task from students. Students who could benefit from additional behavior interventions were identified in a timely manner due to daily PBIS data collected. Tier 2 and 3 interventions were then put in place to support identified students and impacted the decrease in Rhodes’ targeted area of behaviors. In addition, Rhodes’ PBIS Program has shifted staff’s attention to noticing positive behaviors versus solely reprimanding for negative behaviors. Rhodes’ campus is becoming an educational environment where students clearly understand behavior and academic expectations. PBIS has aligned our focus and mission to put positive supports in place to meet all student’s needs in order to set them up for academic success.

PBIS was introduced and implemented in the 2015-2016 school year. During that time, we worked to establish a positive climate and ensure that our culture shifted with the PBIS. Initially we struggled with implementation and our initial SET showed areas of weakness. Using the 2016 SET data, we implemented several changes and started using data to guide decisions. Our 2016-2017 school year saw a disturbing trend initially as we struggled to get a grip on some behaviors, but as we reviewed data with staff, retaught students, and blitzed areas, we turned a corner and began seeing the numbers of office referrals drop. We also started seeing students make more positive choices and avoiding situations that had previously led to disciplinary referrals.As a result, both our staff and students are happier and smiling more as they move about campus with clear expectations for everyone.

This year is Mountain Vista School’s first year of implementing Tier 1 of our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports system, and we have seen great enthusiasm from our students. To continue keeping the lines of communication open between our school and community, we had a Meet the Teacher Night before school started in which students had the opportunity to meet their new teacher and the parents were introduced to our PBIS expectations matrix and behavior flow chart. We rolled out this year with a huge beginning of the year assembly the first day of school that introduced our PBIS expectations and Pride Cards and set the tone for the rest of the year. The students were and continue to be excited over receiving Pride Cards and positive feedback from staff members.

Having the same expectations for everyone on campus and quarterly reviewing them has allowed staff members to consistently praise and redirect students no matter what grade level they are in. We had more referrals in September because this was our first year of implementation and students were not used to our expectations. However, after having practiced, been redirected, and reinforced, our office discipline referral average per day per month has decreased in the last five months. Over 88 percent of our student population has not had an office discipline referral so far this year because the consistency has made regular practices commonly known routines. Only about nine percent of our student population has had two to five referrals, and even less than three percent has received more than five referrals. We are currently working on our CICO and anti-bullying programs that we will implement next year and are fully confident that once these pieces are in place, our ODRs will continue to decrease. We are committed to continually improving student and staff relationships and behavior practices to ensure that Mountain Vista School is an uplifting and productive learning community.

Narrative not available.

PBIS has given Horizon High School a base to drive new refreshed schools spirit and helps revitalize culture and climate through positive reinforcement of representing the core values of the campus: Pride, Courage, and Respect. Both staff and students are given daily opportunities to demonstrate how to lead by example and be recognized for doing so. Discipline at Horizon has decreased because of the surrounding culture of positivity and encouragement throughout the campus.

Peach Springs has improved drastically in declined student behavior and increase of desired behaviors.

PBIS has had a significant impact on the culture of Dunbar School. PBIS language is present in all of our classrooms and our FIRE Power expectations unite the students, staff, and parents. We have seen a significant reduction in office discipline referrals (nearly 80% since implementation). One of the most noticeable differences is how the staff’s language regarding student behavior has changed. Staff give meaningful and effective praise and students can expect the same language whether they’re at recess, in the classroom, or on a field trip. Staff are also able to have data-informed conversations about students’ behaviors which aids in our effectiveness at intervening when necessary. Dunbar is proud of our progress and we look forward to continuing our efforts to improve student outcomes.

PBIS has continued to have a positive impact at Sacaton Middle School. Currently in our sixth year, with our population composed 100% of Native American Pima students, teachers have come to realize that our students can actively participate in their education without major acts of defiance. With the continued implementation of PBIS at our Middle School we find that students are very responsive to the strategy of providing students immediate specific feedback with a Brave’s Buck and daily school-wide recognition. With the continued implementation of a Tier 2 intervention, CICO, it has continued to give the extra support to our students as teachers provided immediate feedback on their personal behavioral goals each day. We started with 11 identified CICO students and graduated 5 of those students so far this year.

As we continue to train staff to maintain program fidelity, teachers have reported many positive aspects including: students enjoying changing the color of our Brave’s Bucks, students’ attitudes have positively shifted, and PBIS language has become our school norm. We are optimistic for the near future in continuing to the next phase of PBIS to address Tier 3 interventions. With students responding positively to PBIS procedures and teachers continuing to implement PBIS with fidelity, we are confident that we will continue to see positive academic as well as behavioral student growth.

Located on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in rural San Carlos, AZ with over 1,000 students in grades Pre-K through 6th, Rice Elementary School has worked over the last three years to implement a comprehensive PBIS System. Throughout this process, the school has rolled out a universal Tier I program for all students for the past two years where students are universally taught school-wide expectations. This universal program has recently shifted the focus from knowledge of expectations toward living them and internalizing them. This year, Rice Elementary has worked intensely with our staff members to implement selected small group Tier II supports in the form of Check In, Check Out, support groups, restorative practice sessions, and social skills groups. Also within this school year, Rice has worked to pilot Tier III supports utilizing the Prevent, Teach, and Reinforce framework for individualized behavior support and the Family Check-Up Program through Arizona State University. Throughout this entire process, one of the largest statistical gains can be seen in terms of referral decreases. A majority of the months that school is in session have demonstrated a linear decrease of ODRs at Rice Elementary School for the past three years. Even though there was an unusually high turnover rate at the end of last year where Rice Elementary sustained a significant loss of the nearly 80 certified teachers, new staff has been vital in continuing the successes with the school’s PBIS system. While behavior data is clearly in support of Rice Elementary School’s progress, attendance data demonstrates a nearly 1% annual increase within the same time-frame over the last three years. The implementation of an Academic Alternative Room (our version of In-School-Suspension) program and Saturday School have both proved to be just a few examples of the instructional alternatives to suspension the school has implemented. Finally, teacher, student, and parent climate surveys have all demonstrated progress in creating a safe and support school climate at Rice Elementary.

Mesa Center for Success- East Campus is a public/private partnership school that provides for the academic and social emotional needs of high-risk children and adolescents. We believe that every child can and will learn. Our students are preparing to be 3 C Ready- College Ready, Career Ready, and Citizenship Ready. Our goal is to ensure that all students master the academic and social skills necessary for an independent and productive life. We create an Optimal Learning Environment that is well structured, instructional, safe, engaging, and responsive to students needs.

As a new school this school year, PBIS has been essential in helping our school provide our students with an Optimal Learning Environment. At Mesa Center for Success-East campus, our students are taught to be “responsible, respectful, and a role-model.” PBIS has given us the framework in which to clearly define behavioral expectations, teach expectations, and acknowledge our students (and staff) when meeting expectations. Mesa Center for Success-East Campus displays high fidelity in implementing all the critical Tier 1 components as reflected on the attached SET results. Within our PBIS framework, along with teaching universal expectations, we use data and the problem- solving process to provide students exhibiting a need for additional supports with evidenced-based interventions to help them be successful.

Since implementing PBIS, we have seen a reduction in referrals to our Crisis Intervention Behavior Stabilization (CIBS) room, a decrease in the amount of time our students are spending in the CIBS room, and a reduction in the behaviors requiring crisis de-escalation. Additionally, we are seeing an increase in the percentage of our students responding to our Universal (Tier 1) supports. These outcomes reflect an increase in the amount of instructional time students receive. Our staff work diligently to know our students and establish trusting relationships that promote academic and social emotional growth. As a result, PBIS has helped us to establish a positive school learning environment that welcomes each individual student.

PBIS at Aguilar continues to bring strong school-wide improvements in student behavior and a positive learning environment. The new implementation of the Second Step social – emotional learning curriculum this year has led to closer bonds between teachers and students, and it has prompted students to utilize more tools and coping strategies when faced with a variety of conflicts and struggles at school. The results from the recent staff survey, the SAS, have taught us much about our strengths and weaknesses as a school, generating great discussions about our future PBIS priorities and opportunities for individual, team, and school growth. Additionally, we have established a school-wide attention grabber which has allowed us to lead smoother assemblies, have quieter cafeteria behavior, and ask for attention anywhere on our campus. Our completely revised Student Behavior Management Flowchart and revised Staff-to-Staff communication forms are increasing consistency in staffs’ responses to students’ misbehaviors, and these forms encompass many best practices for preventing problem behavior to more proactively support all of our students. Through our monthly data reviews, we have been able to see a decrease in Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs) due to our targeting of specific areas needing additional supervision or support and due to our reteaching of replacement behaviors for our most concerning offenses. More specifically, several types of aggression are occurring less frequently, and we are assigning fewer days of Off Campus Suspensions this year in comparison to last year too. We continue to use Positive Paws and specific praise to reinforce students for following the Aguilar expectations, to open the school store weekly for students to shop with their Positive Paws, and to reinforce staff for following the expectations. Despite having about 80% of our students coming from families with low Socio-Economic Status (SES) and the research that shows schools with comparable SES populations generally have significantly more behavioral struggles (University of Oregon PBIS Workgroup, 2010), our school goes above and beyond to provide nourishment, safety, and resources to overcome these challenges. Due to our comprehensive PBIS efforts to support our students, our numbers of ODRs remain far below the national ODR averages of schools with comparable populations. Finally, our BOQ scores have shown improvement with moving from 77% of Tier 1 implementation last year to now implementing Tier 1 at 96%. With pride and appreciation, we know that our staff’s effective implementation of PBIS values, procedures, and systems are making our school a positive environment full of happy, life-long learners.

University of Oregon PBIS Workgroup. [July 2010]. Monthly variation in ODR per 100 students per day. Evaluation brief. Educational and Community Supports, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.

At Broadmor Elementary our mission is to nurture children, to promote greatness and to ensure success for each and every student. Broadmor is consistently at the top of the district for student achievement and our PBIS program plays an integral role in promoting an environment where these things are possible through school wide behavioral expectations, a multi-component student recognition program, systematic character and social skills instruction and a PBIS team that works to analyze data and solve any problems that may arise. We strive for students to Be Kind, Safe and Responsible in every area across our campus and throughout their lives. Students are taught what these behaviors look like in their school and are reviewed regularly to maintain consistency and keep the language common across our campus. This consistent language is observed on the walls, seen on our “Pawsome Tickets” and in the daily morning announcements heard by all. Students are rewarded for displaying these behaviors through tickets, weekly drawings for prizes, office and hallway displays and quarterly assemblies. Our PBIS program has helped us experience a marked decrease in both the number of Office Discipline Referrals and top behavior violations from last year to this year. These events and a general focus on good choices help to promote a positive feeling across the campus. At Broadmor we are committed to success for every child and our continued focus and fidelity with PBIS will continue to help Broadmor grow stronger and stronger each year.

With PBIS at Rover for the past 2 years, we have seen overall behavioral growth, academic growth, and positive climate improvement throughout our campus. We attribute our progress to PBIS in many ways. Our new Behavior Management Flowchart, which identifies a clear distinction between student behaviors managed by the teacher versus student behaviors managed by the office administration, has improved communication between administration and teachers and has provided teachers with many preventative tools for increasing positive behaviors. This year, we have also newly implemented the weekly Second Step social – emotional learning curriculum, creating stronger teacher-student bonds with more opportunities to learn, practice, and apply appropriate social-emotional skills. This progressive movement of Second Step is contributing to our common language between all-aged students and all staff, and it is helping students and adults to manage emotions appropriately, thereby creating more peaceful interactions overall. Our ongoing efforts to frequently reinforce positive behaviors through delivery of RAMS Awards and classroom incentives are establishing a dominant culture of positive recognition. The presence of more positive social-emotional behaviors has been enhancing the engagement of our learners! We are currently academically exceeding in our district and state, and we have strongly improved our AzMERIT ELA scores as a result of powerful PBIS implementation. We continue to have well-below the national averages of discipline referrals for a school of our size and with our grade levels. Although our small numbers of Office Discipline Referrals don’t provide us with a large enough data set for reliable statistical analysis, it has been rewarding to review our monthly data to clearly see students’ improvement in response to the implementation of individualized behavior plans. We have worked diligently this year to gather data via PBIS assessments, namely the SAS, a parent survey, and a student survey. A school-wide behavioral screener will also be rolled out in the near future to assist with the identification of at-risk students who may also need additional supports so we can keep any struggling kiddos from falling through the cracks. The recent feedback obtained on the BOQ and SAS is enhancing our PBIS team’s recognition for how to enhance staff members’ understanding of systems and procedures, where to focus our future trainings, and how to improve students’ supports. We are thrilled to see all of the ways that PBIS has helped our students and staff members grow, and we are looking forward to seeing all of the ways that PBIS data, systems, and practices will continue to help us behaviorally and academically improve!

We foster a safe, respectful, and responsible environment where students are ready to learn at Thew Elementary. PBIS has brought a positive impact, providing a strong curriculum that includes character education and school-wide social skills with the addition of secondSTEP. Upon its implementation, PBIS at Thew has a designed structure for students and staff by, creating and following a student behavior matrix along with a discipline flow chart, staff expectation matrix, and classroom PBIS management plans.

The Thew PBIS committee meets monthly to assess discipline data and identify the needs of our students. Based on those needs, expectations are practiced and reviewed during morning announcements. Our school is fortunate to have limited behavior referrals and discipline incidents in the past, so we haven’t seen the significant decrease in office referrals that some schools may see when they implement PBIS. What makes Thew unique is the positive impact PBIS has had on students, parents and teachers since its implementation. Staff has been trained to look for and acknowledge positive behavior of students. “Bulldog Bravos” are given when students demonstrate school wide expectations and expected on campus behavior. These Bravos can be used to purchase items students have requested at our PBIS store on Fridays. Added to this, students also have the opportunity to earn Positive Referrals when they are seen showing the 4 B’s: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Ready.

When staff writes a positive referral, those students are celebrated during morning announcements, and an administrator makes a call home to notify parents of this accomplishment. The positive referrals are then put into a raffle where those students that are drawn eat lunch with the principal. Parents are sometimes caught off guard and pleasantly surprised when they find out a school administrator is calling with positive news. It has been a nice reminder to everyone at Thew that there is far more positive that happens on campus, and positive referrals are one way we communicate that to our families. Overall, PBIS has helped Thew Elementary School to meet its vision of Building Futures…Every Child, Every Day.

Mansfeld PBIS system has been in place for a number of years. We believe in the PBIS approach and have worked with fidelity to make sure the program is being implemented by all stakeholders. After a few years of building the our PBIS program, we have used the last two years to fully implement. We just had our first ever SET walkthrough and scored 99.1 This data along with ODR graph data has really provided positive data about our PBIS program. Some specific outcomes are: Academic and Behavioral outcomes are shared by all stakeholders. Practices are evidence based. Data information is used to determine effectiveness of program practices, identify changes, and recognize participation. The PBIS program has led to high behavior expectations for students, consistent behavior flow chart process for teachers, an enriching environment for instructional environment which has led to greater academic achievement results for the school. Mansfeld is ranked in top 25% of all middle schools in TUSD based on academic achievement. PBIS has been extremely effective is creating a positive school culture for teachers, staff and most importantly students.

The most important of Grijalva Elementary School’s morning announcements is when we say together, “Remember Grizzlies, being RRSK is not just something we say—It’s what we do and who we are!”

What makes this statement so powerful is that it’s true! Our School-Wide Evaluation Tool of 100% (up from 81% from last year) demonstrates strong fidelity to Tier 1 PBIS. Students and staff know what we expect, and are recognized for the great things that they do. In fact, our students earn more than 5,000 Grizzly tickets every month, representing more than 5,000 moments that staff members noticed positive behavior and took time to reinforce what is good in our learners. Even better, our referrals show a dramatic decline, indicating not only the considerable skill of our teachers in responding to unexpected behaviors, but in the quality of our supports at Tiers 1, 2, and 3.

We’re going for silver next year!

Prior to implementing school-wide Positive Based Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Ocotillo Elementary School office discipline referrals (ODRs) consistently ranged from 1,000 – 1,100 ODRs per year. The Ocotillo Leadership Team developed goals to reduce ODRs by 25% by focusing on best-first instruction in every classroom and implementing PBIS throughout the campus. The Ocotillo PBIS committee planned during the 2014-15 school year and then begun implementation during the 15-16 school year. The PBIS Leadership Team provided professional development in these areas throughout the first year of PBIS implementation, confident that if there was an increased number of students on-task, engaged in their work, and being positively praised for meeting the high expectations throughout the campus, the number of office discipline referrals would decrease and student achievement would increase. This goal has become a reality. As evidenced in the Ocotillo ODR History Graph and the Data Graph, Ocotillo has experienced a continual decrease the total number of office discipline referrals as well as in the areas of student aggression and harassment, threat and intimidation. The students at Ocotillo have also shown an increase in their student achievement as evidenced by our district pre- and post-assessments and AzMERIT results. On the 2016 district assessments, Ocotillo showed the 2nd highest growth out of 32 schools in English/Language Arts, missing 1st place by only 1%! In addition, our growth percentage on the State AzMERIT English/Language Arts test was 6.25% and the district average growth was 2%. Our growth percentage on the State AzMERIT Math test was 5% and the district average growth was 3%. Ocotillo Elementary has truly seen a positive impact through the implementation of PBIS and is proud to serve as a model PBIS school for our district, hosting meetings and walk-throughs with fellow principals, and serving on the district PBIS leadership team.

Hiaki High School has implemented the use of PBIS techniques since the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year. These techniques have assisted our school with the development of a school-wide approach for positive behavior management practices. Our Tier One program appears to have incentivized students to engage in positive behaviors and interactions on a daily basis. One of the most “visible” techniques that we have implemented is the distribution of “Warrior Tickets.” Staff awards a student with a “Warrior Ticket” when they are observed engaging in a behavior that demonstrates one of our school rules:
1.) Be Respectful
2.) Be Responsible
3.) Be Honorable
Each month, student tickets are collected and a drawing for prizes is held at the school-wide assembly. We have been impressed with the level of student buy-in, especially at the high school level. Staff have noted that students seem motivated by this reward/recognition system and in the pilot year, the total number of school disciplinary referrals decreased greatly.

We have a unifying mission and have started experimenting with whole school rewards. Our team has done a lot of the foundation work, and our staff has started reviewing and commenting on matrices and other materials. Our presentation to the staff has gone very well and the staff is excited to see how PBIS will raise morale and provide consistency throughout the campus. The PBIS framework has given the school leadership a positive direction to move in collaboratively working with all stakeholders to affect positive change in our school.

I would first like to start off by saying that we are so early in this process that it is very difficult to tell how PBIS will truly impact our school. All of the time and preparation that is being put in is to insure that it has a huge positive impact on the culture at Poston Butte High School, not only on the students, but on staff and all other stakeholders as well. We are in year one and the best part about the process so far is having conversations among our PBIS team, Admin team, and our staff as a whole on how we can effectively implement this program at the high school level. We have received amazing input and support which makes this even more exciting as we move towards year two and actually implementing these strategies into our school. While we can’t measure the impact that PBIS has had on our school quite yet, we can predict that creating this framework on our campus to define, teach, and support appropriate behaviors will most definitely have a positive impact in so many different ways.

San Tan Heights K-8 is in a very unique situation. Our school implemented PBIS starting in 2011. When we began we were the only school from our district that was attending the trainings. It was a very eye opening year for our school. We realized that we didn’t have any set school-wide expectations. People could walk around our school and wouldn’t see rules and expectations posted. The students would all respond with different answers when asked what the expectations were in different locations around the school. When we began PBIS, our school was a Kindergarten through fifth grade school. Last year our district became a four-day week district and also added sixth graders to our campus. This year we became part of a new district, Florence Unified School District, which is a PBIS district. We also added two more grades to our campus and went back to five days a week. As part of the Florence Unified School District, we now serve preschool through eighth grade students on our campus. With all of the changes came new administration, new staff, a new mascot, and new school-wide expectations. Since we previously were a PBIS school we were able to transition into the new year with a lot of positives. We already had the tiers in place, plan for teaching the new staff members and an acknowledgement system in place. We knew that the beginning of the school year would be challenging due to all the changes and we did have an extremely high amount of referrals for the month of August. However, it was through our SWIS data and PBIS strategies we were able to learn from the first month and create a better learning environment for our students. Also, with the exception for the month of August, our referrals have decreased drastically from last year. The climate is shifting at our school. This can be seen in how students are politely addressing staff, how classroom management has improved, and how teachers are more empowered to handle issues in their own classrooms. Students are seeking adult conversations and making connections with staff more and more as the year goes on. Students are also showing more interest in their education and future options in high school and beyond. This increased academic interest and self-advocacy can be seen at all grade levels which is sure to positively impact performance.

Though in our first year which is primarily training, PBIS has helped our campus staff have some much needed and productive meetings to discuss how we conduct business at Walker Butte K-8 Leadership School.  We have seen how operating a K-8 as a K-5 is not meeting the needs of our middle school students and how actions of middle school students and teachers impact our K-5 students and staff.  In addition, we have seen that we do not recognize nearly enough the majority of our students who come to school daily and follow campus expectations.  We need to celebrate our accomplishments and good.  Many of our staff have expressed a desire to come together to meet the needs of all our students.  In conclusion, we also house a district program for students who are on the autism spectrum as well as serving our other students with individual learning plans.  Our discussions have helped us realize that we need to recognize these students as well and that as we apply Tier 1 recognitions and interventions, all students will be better served.

San Luis Middle School has experienced various positive changes thanks to PBIS implementation. The staff has been exceedingly supportive of the program and is enthusiastic to put PBIS strategies to practice. During the Tier 1 staff presentation, teachers and staff worked on different aspects of school-wide PBIS and created skits, chants, graphs, and other visuals to explain school-wide PBIS. The principal of the school has put a few students on CICO to test-drive it and support the students. We have seen great change in those students based on discipline data and incident reports. Our Tier 1 and Tier 2 PBIS teams are very hard-working and dedicated to presenting the most effective aspects of PBIS to staff and give them constant support to implement PBIS with high fidelity.

P.B.I.S. has provided M.C. Cash with standardized expectations for student behavior. Students who demonstrate behaviors that are Respectful, Accountable, Committed to a Safe School, and Engaged are recognized for their efforts. Using the P.B.I.S. framework has contributed to a significant decrease in the number of discipline referrals, out of school suspensions, and instructional days lost due to suspension.
Referrals OSS Suspensions Instruction Days Lost

The findings on the S.E.T. evaluation led the P.B.I.S. team to a renewed focus on compiling, reporting and analyzing school wide discipline trends. The team continues to examine and revise the P.B.I.S. handbook to reflect desired practices and behaviors. M.C. Cash is committed to reducing negative student behaviors while increasing recognition for positive behaviors.

In our inaugural year at Paseo Pointe, we have worked hard to establish positive behavior interventions and supports. We began over the summer by developing our motto: “Rams RISE to Success–Rams are Responsible, have Integrity, are Safe, and Engaged.” Students who exhibit these positive behaviors are recognized in a variety of ways–they can receive Ram Bucks, which are exchanged for positive experiences on campus, and RISE Rewards, which are awarded for going “above and beyond” with positive behavior. Throughout the school year, teachers explicitly teach and reinforce positive behaviors in all areas of the school–including classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, restroom, gym and playground. Staff members created lesson plans as a team and have refined them over the school year to meet our students’ needs. Posters placed around the school remind students of expectations. As a new school, our PBIS has provided clear expectations for students, and encourages a learning community and culture focused on positive behaviors and mindsets. Our motto and acronym have provided teachers and students a common language to use to reinforce and refine behaviors, and each day students are reminded on the announcements that “Rams RISE to Success.”

The introduction and consistent implementation of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program has resulted in considerable improvements here at Laveen Elementary School (LES). The PBIS Committee, which is comprised of the assistant principal and several teachers representing each grade-level, meets bi-weekly to share discipline data, small wins, observations, and suggestions based on the needs of students and teachers. The Committee works collaboratively to ensure that information is disseminated to each teacher to maintain consistency throughout the school of approximately 800 students. Resultantly, LES has demonstrated some considerable improvements by way of student behavior, academics, and campus morale. All of which are critical factors in ensuring the highest quality and accessibility of education for each student.

When comparing discipline data from the first five months (first semester) of last year to this year, a significant decrease in the number of students receiving in-school detention (ISD) and out-of-school suspension (OSS) is demonstrated. For the first semester of the 2015-2016 school year, there were 97 incidents that resulted in ISD and 83 resulting in OSS, which caused a total of 338.5 days of lost instruction. However, for the first semester of this year (2016-2017), there were 43 incidents resulting in ISD and only 15 for OSS. Resultantly, there were only 118 days of lost instructional time. Thus, comparatively, there has a been a 66% reduction of incidents resulting in ISD and an 82% reduction in those resulting in OSS, which demonstrates a 65% reduction in lost instructional days.

This dramatic decrease in the number of referable behavioral incidents has directly improved the quality and accessibility of education due to students remaining in class and receiving consistent instruction. This effect is notable in LES demonstrating the highest academic growth, as indicated by Galileo, in science and algebra in the entire district, which is comprised of eight school. Furthermore, per Galileo, eighth-grade English language arts scores are the second highest in the district. These results highlight the importance and impact of PBIS within LES.

Due to the significant reduction in student behavior issues and a greater focus on academics, the morale of the campus, for both staff and students, has increased this year. Teachers are more equipped to work with students to prevent behavior issues by rewarding desirable choices. Furthermore, when teachers do encounter referable behaviors, they feel more supported as the administration is able to focus on implementing restorative practices with a few students instead of punitive practices for many students. Thus, when teachers refer students, the students are provided tools to work through similar situations in the future, which then prevents repetitively poor behavior and allows the teacher to focus on classroom instruction. Accordingly, the students feel more empowered to make positive behavior choices because they are consistently and constructively acknowledged for desirable decisions. This emanating confidence encourages students to focus more on classroom learning than enacting distracting behaviors to receive attention and validation.

The PBIS program has proven invaluable in improving multiple facets of the school, namely in terms of student behavior, academics, and campus morale. While there are areas in need of refinement, the observable advancements within the last year demonstrate a strong, linear trajectory toward continuous improvements through the sustained development and implementation of PBIS.

Rogers Ranch strives to provide consistent positive behavior intervention supports throughout our campus in order to develop, sustain, and enhance the positive climate and culture of our school. Over the course of the past three years, we have documented a steady decrease in student referrals leading to a significant increase in instructional days and academic performance. Our PBIS program has supported teachers with a common and systematic set of procedures, a variety of incentives, PBIS vocabulary and expectations for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.

PBIS continues to have a positive impact at Madison #1 Middle School. Our staff encourages positive student behaviors with daily, weekly and monthly incentives/rewards. Currently, our school is in Tier 1 implementation, and has demonstrated a significant growth in the School-wide Evaluation Tool assessment. Our school increased from 66% to 97% in the overall implementation score. More teachers have demonstrated value in recognizing students’ positive behaviors and intervening when unwanted behaviors arise rather than seeking for punitive punishments. Through the implementation of our clear behavior expectations and well-defined consequences our school has provided a safe environment that is consistent and fair to all students. Our Student Council members noticed the positive impact PBIS has on our campus that they chose to donate funds to purchase Gift Cards for an additional recognition for their peers. They also began to recognize their fellow classmates through our, “Wildcat School Announcements”. In addition our Parent-Teacher Organization also noticed this and donated additional funds to help encourage teachers to continue to recognize positive behaviors with teacher incentives/prizes (gift cards).Our team continues to utilize data to make collaborative student-centered decisions and to intervene in different modalities. As well we monitor our growth towards meeting our school-wide PBIS goal to decrease office discipline referrals by 25% from Q.2 to Q. 4. We have seen a significant decrease in ODR’s from November to February. PBIS has helped improve student behaviors and build trusting relationships between staff and students. Our NWEA/MAP school data has demonstrated academic growth in some grade levels in which we can connect to PBIS. We look forward to celebrating the academic achievement in AZmerit 2017 and Spring NWEA/MAP assessments, due to the higher percentage of teachers implementing PBIS Tier I.

Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) is a major component of Gladden Farms Elementary school’s overall climate. As a new K-6 Code to the Future School, computer science immersion school, we wanted to create an environment for students to thrive academically, socially, physically, and emotionally. We have been implementing PBIS since the first day of school. PBIS expectations have played a major role in creating a culture of safety and learning. Our students feel safe and accepted. They know and respect the expectations of our school. Gladden Farms Elementary has a very modern structure that includes glass walls and flexible seating. In order for students to make the best use of these aspects of our school, we created positive expectations on how to appropriately use the space and resources. This has resulted in students not only feeling safe and respected in their school, but our student’s academic engagement has increased. Our school has also implemented a PBIS club called the PBIS Ambassadors. This club consists of intermediate school aged students who believe in and are encouraging role models of the importance of PBIS. These students facilitate the PBIS culture by giving friendly reminders, handing out PAWSitive Paws, creating buy in for the trainings and incentives and being a positive student voice in our PBIS system. PBIS integration has made our school a confident learning community where students appreciate their school and are proud to uphold the PBIS expectations.

We’ve noticed a change in the number of Office Discipline Referrals. Last year, at the end of the year, we logged the data into a spreadsheet. We didn’t do anything with the data. This year as a result of the PBIS implementation process, our team is looking at the data, and sharing the data with teachers and staff. We use the data to support buy-in and to increase support for PBIS. We believe this is working and changing the climate of our school.

Adams Elementary has successfully implemented PBIS in ways that have greatly impacted culture of the school. Specifically, it has increased the ability for teachers to hold students to high levels of behavior expectations and safety. PBIS has given Adam’s staff the insight to recognize behaviors in positive ways throughout the school year. When this shift occurred, staff were more apt to place energy into seeking out compliance and celebrating followed expectations. The data tracking system has allowed the PBIS team to analyze behavior trends and add supports to teachers, aides, and locations. This in turn, created a dynamic where the staff moved to being positively proactive, opposed to negatively reactive.

PBIS has significantly impacted Mesa High’s campus for the 2016/2017 school year. Already we have experienced a significant decrease in classroom/teacher generated ODRs compared to previous years. We track MIR data with fidelity and the largest problem identified by the PBIS committee is truancy to first hour. This issue has been addressed vigorously by the administrative staff which has caused a decrease in the % tardy as well as our actual tardy numbers compared to last year. As visitors come to our campus they will see “We are MESA” posted everywhere. This phrase epitomizes our culture of Maturity, Ethics, Safety, and Accountability. Portions of our expectation matrix is posted on campus according to location. Training takes place at the beginning of each semester with school wide lessons delivered by the entire staff each hour. We provide booster lessons via our CCTV with our self-produced “Bryce Noir” video series. Positive behavior is reinforced by all staff members by handing out “purple tickets” to students and drawings are held every Friday for 10 lucky winners. Mesa High is proud to be a PBIS School.

We feel that PBIS has unified us as a staff. It has given students and teachers a clear picture of the school expectations. Our staff is learning to focus on the positive, which is a new mindset for us. The matrix has given us a common language to use amongst ourselves (including ALL staff), parents, and students. Our PBIS leadership team has developed a reward system for both staff and students who are exhibiting expected behaviors. PBIS World has been a wonderful resource to assist teachers with ideas for interventions and rewards. As a result of PBIS on our campus, student disruptions have decreased which means learning time has increased.

Taylor has experienced an immediate and visibly positive response to its implementation of PBIS for the 16-17 school year. Not only have discipline incidents been reduced to a fraction of previous years’ incidents, but we have seen our days of OSS and ISS also reduced significantly. The result of this is students are in class more and academic achievement is rising, as evidenced by our comparative benchmark scores in math and ELA. More than that, however is the notable difference int he positive culture of the school and common language. Visitors, students and staff have all commented on the improved culture of the building. We consistently work at maintaining and sustaining these results, through site meetings, surveys, and use of rewards. PBIS has made the most significant improvement to Taylor over any other system. It is a pleasure to walk into the building and see it in action.

PBIS was implemented at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year at Superstition High School in Mesa, Arizona. As a result, we have seen great changes in school climate and student behavior. Our students are very receptive to the way discipline is now handled at our school and constantly voice how much they love being here. We believe this is due to the positive reinforcements and incentives that they get and the way their teachers interact with them. Teachers are open to adapting to PBIS methods and their change in behavior has resulted in a reduction of office discipline referrals. Our ODRs have decreased by 58% from 2015-16 to 2016-17. There is more time for administration to spend outside of the office developing relationships with students, staff, and parents instead of dispensing discipline in the office. We have seen a large, positive impact across all spectrums, but we have seen the most change in school climate. PBIS has brought consistency across our campus and made our school community more united to accomplish our student achievement goals.

PBIS has allowed our campus to “catch” students doing the good things and using them as a model to correct negative behavior. If negative behaviors occur, our training through PBIS has allowed us to dive into the behavior and find the reason for what was happening, whereas before this training we were quick to assign a consequence. PBIS Tier 2 and Tier 3 training has been the most beneficial of all. Through Check-In and Check-out we have been able to focus on our Tier 2 students that needed a little bit of TLC and have had success with decreasing their negative behaviors in the classroom. For our Tier 3 students, our behavior coach has been able to utilize Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Plans to work with teachers in the classroom in order to best assist students with working on turning those behaviors around. PBIS has also allowed many teachable moments for our staff to be specific with their expectations and to consistently reiterate those expectations when students are not complying with the behavior matrix.

PBIS has positively impacted Page High School in various ways. Students are beginning to be recognized for positive behavior more consistently. The tier 1 team consistently uses bi-monthly PRIDE card drawings, pep assembly PRIDE card drawings, and a movie reward each semester to recognize those who follow the expectation matrix. The staff notices that students have a better understanding of the behavioral expectations as evidenced in the ownership that students take of the campus when they pick up trash or hold a door open for another person. Furthermore, students are starting to take on leadership roles within our tier 1 system. They plan recognitions and re-teaching opportunities alongside the staff. Students are present not only as members of the tier 1 team but also through partnerships with PHS Student Council and REACH One Alliance. During planning sessions students offer the ideas while staff members provide the feedback. This flipped approach is also visible during PRIDE card drawings where students become the face and voice of the recognition. The staff reports an increase in consistency with classroom expectations and a more positive environment as well. Our PBIS system is beginning to make a shift toward an intentional focus on learning social skills which gives teachers tools to create positive classroom interactions and relationships. Likewise, new members of both tier 1 and 2/3 teams have fostered new opportunities for positive behavior supports to surface.

During the 2015-2016 school year, it was determined by Greenway Middle School staff that a large percentage of students in different subject areas lacked motivation. In addition, it was of high interest to address student behavior in a positive manner. As the staff continued to talk about how to motivate and change the mindset of each student, they realized a change in how behavior is approached at Greenway was needed. As Greenway Middle School started the 2016-2017 school year, we were given the opportunity to take part state-wide grant and are currently in training towards a full implementation for the 2017-2018 school year. As part of educating the staff on what the core team was learned in the trainings, the GMS PBIS Core team implemented a T.E.A.M card. This card is passed out by the PBIS core team to staff members to recognize the effort that they do on a daily basis and a drawing takes place bi-weekly to highlight two staff members. Each staff member receives a gift card as part of the recognition. As the PBIS Core Team continues to attend the quarterly state training, we have been able develop a well rounded program for the Greenway community for the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

Shea Middle School in the Paradise Valley Unified School District will participate in the Multi-Tier Behavior Supports (MTBS) training offered through the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) this fall. Participation in the training will allow our site to move forward with the creation and implementation of research-based, multi-tiered, positive behavior supports (PBS) for all students. Implementation of these supports will assist Shea’s team with the development of school-wide approaches for positive behavior management practices. Participation in the ADE MTBS training will ultimately provide for three years of training and support for Shea’s team to gain knowledge, implement strategies, and create a sustainability plan.

School-wide PBS implementation is a systems approach for establishing the social culture and individualized behavioral supports needed for schools to be effective learning environments for all students. Research has shown that implementation of a PBS framework results in measurable positive outcomes such as: decreased office referrals, increased instructional time, more positive staff-student interactions, and higher achievement scores. A continuum of PBS systems, data, and practices will lead to improved school climate and safety.

Shea Middle School has the baseline data and looks forward to PBS implementation and observing how the framework affects our site’s office referrals, academic achievement, and school climate. Data will be collected and examined every step of the way in order to make effective decisions. Already the discussion of moving forward with PBS has affected our site as teachers have come forward expressing their interest and support. Staff are already looking for ways to teach expectations and recognize students who are meeting those expectations and current discipline procedures are examined for effectiveness.

Vista Verde Middle School is excited to have been selected to receive the PBIS grant and begin the journey towards a positive change in school culture. Currently, our school processes a high volume of office referrals. We are confident that with PBIS implementation, office referrals will decrease, increasing student in-class time resulting in higher student achievement. Our site team is working on lesson plans to teach our students the expected behaviors around campus. It’s our plant that positive incentives coupled with a tiered behavior matrix approach will become engrained as “the Vista Verde way!”

Blake Primary has successfully implemented Tier 1 of PBIS. The students understand the expectations in all locations. The expectations are taught in all areas on a quarterly basis. The teachers have created a shout out board where staff members acknowledge each other for their positive interactions on campus.

Le Pera Elementary is working on implementing Tier 1 PBIS with fidelity. The team has developed an action plan based on the SET results. Staff members are excited about the work and supportive of the program. Le Pera has a game room where students can use their Rebel Bucks to buy game time.

Wallace Elementary School has implemented Tier 1 PBIS. The staff is working on implementing Tier 1 with fidelity. An action plan has been developed and staff is very supportive of the work. Students have helped design and paint murals about the expectations throughout the campus.

The biggest celebration for our school this year in regard to PBIS is being more clear and consistent in our expectations and the way in which we communicate those expectations to all stakeholders. We have also strengthened our use of assessment tools in ensuring fidelity of procedures and getting an accurate and specific picture of where our most pressing refinements are needed. Perhaps the most important improvement is consistently using data analysis to identify students who are struggling and in need of additional supports and intervention. Decision making regarding discipline and interventions are guided by data rather than simply our thoughts. Our school has a lot of improvements in the fidelity of our systems, but this years work has solidified a foundational system in comparison to previous years.

Our school has greatly benefitted from PBIS in the last three years. Our ODR’s have reduced, bullying has been on the decline and overall there is a more positive school climate. The students strive for positive behavior and each student can repeat the three “Panther Promises” (expectations) if asked. There has been growth in commitment among the staff for implementing the expectations for behavior on campus. It has been encouraging to see and hear staff and students alike using the same language. It has created a positive culture at our school. The “Panther Promises” are used in conjunction with parent meetings, discipline, etc., to reinforce the expectations both at home and at school. A major highlight of the week is when the students are recognized by getting to put up a “paw” on the “paw wall” if their name is drawn. The students enjoy showing their parents where their name is at on the wall. We look forward to continued growth in developing a positive culture at our school through PBIS in the coming year.

One of the biggest changes I have seen since implementing PBIS at our school is climate change. More teachers are smiling as they come to work every day. Interactions between teachers and students are much more positive. Children are happy. Teachers are happy. Which makes parents happy. This then lends itself to an increase of parent involvement on our campus.

San Carlos Secondary School is in its second year of PBIS implementation. Despite many challenges over the 2015 – 2016 school year, (such as changes in administration, reformation of team leadership and lack of funds for student incentives), the secondary school now has a strong Tier 1 foundation. Changes began in March 2016 with our current administration and team leadership. Assessments and surveys completed at the end of the 2015 – 2016 school year showed a significant increase on the School Evaluation Tool (SET) and on the Team Implementation Checklist (TIC). Climate surveys and Self-Assessment Surveys (SAS) provided data to guide completion of the 2016-2017 school Action Plan. Team members worked together over the summer months in order to roll-out the Action Plan to all staff prior to the start of the 2016 -2017 school year. All certified and classified staff attended two full days of training in July 2016. During the training all aspects of PBIS Tier 1 were reintroduced to the staff with opportunity for staff feedback. By opening The Brave Way (PBIS) Store, the Brave Breakthrough tickets given for expected behaviors, were even more valued by staff and students. The team has seen a significant increase of tickets given out by staff from the last school year. Monthly award assemblies were added to the school calendar to recognize students and staff with perfect attendance. In addition, teachers recommend students for citizenship awards, which recognize those who follow the three Brave Way Expectations of Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe. Academic achievement is celebrated quarterly as well. An increase in academic performance was noted in multiple areas (ELA, Math, and Science) based on quarterly benchmark data. Family and community engagement was initiated through quarterly Family Nights, weekly radio broadcast and PBIS sponsored concessions at athletic events. With the implementation of all these activities, school and community members have noted a significant change in the school climate.

Southwest Education Center – Casa Grande is a Private Therapeutic Day school that serves the academic and social emotional needs of high-risk students. We believe that every child can and will learn. Our students are preparing to be 3 C Ready- College Ready, Career Ready, and Citizenship Ready. Our goal is to ensure that all students master the academic and social skills necessary for an independent and productive life. At Southwest Education Center, we create an Optimal Learning Environment that is well structured, instructional, safe, engaging, and responsive to students needs.

PBIS has been essential in helping our school provide our students with an Optimal Learning Environment. PBIS has given us the framework in which to clearly define behavioral expectations, teach expectations, and acknowledge our students (and staff) when meeting expectations. At Southwest Education Center, we teach our students to be Ready to Learn, Respectful, and Responsible.

Since implementing PBIS at Southwest Education Center, we have observed a significant increase in our student enrollment and a significant reduction in behaviors requiring crisis de-escalation. PBIS has given our school the structure that allows all staff to have consistent expectations, use a common language, be consistent in their intentional language when giving feedback, and consistent in their responses to student behaviors. This structure allows us to provide each and all students with an Optimal Learning Environment that promotes student academic and social emotional growth.

Implementing PBIS has made a significant impact on the already positive and upbeat attitude of Carminati Elementary School. Students and staff have become “Bucketfillers” as well as demonstrating the expectations of Safety, Responsibility and Respect. Focusing on positive behaviors has lifted spirits and helped redirect problem behaviors. PBIS has given all staff a common language to use with all students. It has allowed our staff to reward positive and good behavior and build a community that includes students, teachers, parents and community. The staff at Carminati have become a unit that use the same common language to redirect problem behavior and praise positive behaviors. We use our Carminati PBIS Handbook which includes Student and Teacher behavior expectation matrices that allow students to monitor their own behavior and teachers to ensure they are using our common language. When everyone is using the same verbiage, it is much easier for students to stay on track and understand that each teacher has the same expectation. The Carminati PBIS Handbook has been a great tool for teachers to implement PBIS and the results are apparent. Teachers and staff are consistently using positive words to change and reinforce behaviors. Also, with PBIS Carminati has been able to reward students for all of the positive choices they do make. The PBIS Committee meets monthly and looks at discipline data and behavior trends as well as plan celebration activities to reward those students who follow the PBIS expectations. Each month we have started celebrating during our Carminati Corral. It is a time where the whole school and community come together and celebrate students who have received Golden Tickets. With these Golden Tickets, students are entered into a drawing for $25 Cobra Cash which can be spent at our student Cobra Cash Store at the end of the month. Furthermore, students who continue to make positive choices and “Bucketfillers” throughout the month can earn a Positive Choice Dress Down Day. The Carminati Student Council has determined the themed dress down days and students can earn them by making positive choices. Lastly, teachers and staff are rewarding students by having Positive Choice Celebrations. As you can see, the infusion of PBIS throughout our school community has made Carminati a place “where all kids count!”

Rise Up, Be the Change

Gililland Middle School Roadrunners are rising up to be the change. We are implementing our PBIS Matrix and our newly adopted Capturing Kids’ Hearts Program creating a nurturing atmosphere at GMS. Positive Behavior Interventions Supports, PBIS, empowers our students, teachers and staff to Give Respect, Make Responsible Choices, and to use Safety Always. PBIS posters are displayed in all areas of our campus to remind everyone of our expectations at GMS and staff reinforces them in all locations. Drive Dollars are an incentive used to reward students for doing good deeds and following the PBIS Matrix. Students go shopping using their GMS currency in the Drive Store every Friday. Our teachers work diligently to continually monitor and adjust our programs to build a cohesive learning community. At GMS two students from each grade level are recognized monthly as a Student of the Month for exhibiting stellar citizenship. Students who excel academically are recognized for being on one of two Honor Rolls quarterly in a school wide assembly. At the end of every quarter, students not attending RLC, Respect For Learning Classroom throughout the quarter, celebrate by being invited to the end of quarter PBIS Party. We strive to educate our students socially, emotionally, and academically to be successful learners at Gililland and beyond. Our committees of teachers meet regularly, with district support ,to analyze the data supporting the success of PBIS and Capturing Kids’ Hearts. We adjust and revise these programs to (I deleted a bit here) ensure our students’ success at GMS. Together, we are rising up to be the change of the future!

The vision of Holdeman Elementary School is to provide a safe school community that is committed to excellence. Our goal is to achieve that vision by supporting the academic and social achievements for the 21st Century learner by the implementation of school-wide PBIS. As a whole staff, we have created and used a common language for our school wide student expectations to Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be A Learner. These expectations are displayed throughout our classrooms, hallways, and common areas. Over the summer, we met as an entire staff to collaboratively build the cornerstone of our PBIS (ie. behavior matrices, define behaviors, etc.) so that it can be implemented across the entire campus. Reinforcement and recognition for following our school-wide expectations is by all staff giving students “Positive Paws”. Our PBIS Committee consistently is working towards improving academic excellence and implementation of PBIS across the campus with fidelity. From the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, the “feeling” and tone of our campus has shifted from prior years. Weekly our staff receives an email that contains a PBIS focus area and monthly our parents receive PBIS communications in our school newsletters. Across our school we provide student-level, classroom-level and teacher awards to recognize the hard work and effort. This year, we’ve built into our master schedule a weekly 30-45 minute period for positive celebrations and for the implementation of our social emotional curriculum. Evidence that our efforts are making a difference is that we have made incremental academic gains and decrease our behavior referrals. This year, our commitment to being positive and finding ways to celebrate academic and behavior successes with each of our students is making a difference!

Hudson Elementary School provides a respectful and nurturing environment committed to academic excellence and student success through a structured learning environment. The implementation of PBIS has allowed us to strengthen and nurture the development of positive self-esteem through our PAX Leadership program. The PAX program is based on the Latin word, PAX, which means people have productivity and peace, and they are happy and healthy. Each month students are nominated to be the PAX leader of the classroom. This year we are integrating our PBIS with our Project Based Learning and students are creating arcade games for our upcoming School Carnival. The benefit of this integration is that our General Ed students are working collaboratively with our Special Ed students in designing and building the games. Another result of PBIS is the Positive Behavior Referral used by teachers to recognize good behavior in the classroom and around campus. The teacher fills out a simple form explaining why the student is being recognized that tie into our school-wide expectations including safety, respect, and responsibility. The positive referral is then turned over to the administration and family is called to share the comments. The student and the principal film a video announcement where the comments are read to the entire school and the student receiving the referral gets a coupon for a free McDonald’s Happy Meal. Hudson Elementary’s commitment to PBIS has enhanced and empowered the teaching and learning community in a positive manner.

Over the past three years as Laird has begun the process of becoming a PBIS school we have benefited in a variety of ways; from fewer discipline issues, better communication, and happier students, staff and parents. Laird used to be a school where all discipline was handled in the office and the teachers decided what needed to be handled. As we moved to integrate a class based positive behavior intervention system, behaviors began to improve and less discipline was sent to the office. Each year as we have implemented a new aspect of PBIS with fidelity, it has had a positive effect on discipline, behaviors, and the school climate is a happy place where students are safe and want to be. Laird is still on this journey, and we know we must do more to truly benefit from all PBIS has to offer. Meeting monthly in a PBIS Committee has allowed for more input and buy in from staff. Meeting monthly has also allowed us to have conversations about where the “hotspots” of our discipline referrals are. By doing this we can proactively anticipate problems and try to fix them before they occur. This year we also implemented positive referrals that are shared at a monthly school assembly. Though it is a small thing to do, it has really motivated students to make better choices. We look forward to continuing our PBIS journey as we work to better educate the parents, new staff members and new students at Laird.

At Nevitt Elementary, our students daily practice the motto “take care of myself, take care of others, and take care of this place.” It is typical to see students helping each other when in need, using positive language when talking about or to a peer, and showing compassion for their classmates. Every staff member holds every student to the highest of expectations and with that, the students rise to the challenge. Students are praised daily for their positive contribution to the school by receiving Nevitt Notes. Students earn their Nevitt Notes and then spend them in our student store. Nevitt enhances PBIS by including components from SecondSTEP, Boystown, Nurtured Heart and soon incorporating aspects of the program Capturing Kids’ Hearts. Through this combination of programs, our students strive to be an asset to the school and correct their own behaviors, which in turn enhances our students’ social/emotional learning. When assessing discipline data at our monthly PBIS committee meetings, Nevitt has seen a steady decline in student referrals reflecting that the PBIS program set in place is successful. Our students have taken the school motto to heart by demonstrating “taking care of myself, taking care of others, and taking care of this place.”

PBIS has positively impacted Scales Technology Academy in many ways. Through PBIS, teachers and staff have established consistent practices for teaching expectations, rewarding expected behavior, and responding to unexpected behavior.

First, teachers and staff regularly model school expectations with our Procedure Parade and through repetition and reminders. Clear expectations are posted in the hallways, cafeteria, and bathrooms. Students also get involved in this process by creating music videos to reinforce expectations in the hallway, on the playground, and in the classroom.

Additionally, we have developed clear and consistent rewards to reinforce positive behavior for students, such as our “Power On” reward tickets that can be redeemed for prizes. We have also developed rewards for whole classes that follow behavioral expectations, including Class Dojo points and music in the cafeteria. Once a month, we conduct PBIS assemblies to recognize students who practice exemplary behavior.

Furthermore, teachers and staff have developed and implemented consistent practices for redirecting students who are not following expectations. For example, most teachers and staff use the 1-2-3 Magic system to keep track of behavioral issues. After three infractions, the student receives a consequence and completes a think sheet. This helps teachers to stay consistent with consequences and to think rationally about student behavior.

Lastly, the PBIS Committee meets regularly to discuss the effects of PBIS and to analyze behavioral data. Through observations and analysis, the committee has been able to recognize areas of weakness, and to brainstorm ideas to address them. We can see that these reward systems, coupled with clear expectations and procedures, have helped teachers and staff to stay consistent and positive, and to hold students to high standards. As a result, students and staff at our school strive to be respectful, responsible, safe, and scholarly every day.

The PBIS program at Frank Elementary School has helped increase student responsibility and decrease behavior referrals. The PBIS team, consisting of teachers from each grade level, specials teachers, counselor, and administration, meets monthly to discuss data and develop support plans for Tier II and Tier III students. Students can recite the four basic school rules: Be Safe; Be Respectful; Be Responsible; Be a scholar. Not only can students recite these rules, but they live them every day. Using this common language in every aspect of the school day helps remind everyone what they should be doing. From the classroom and the cafeteria, to recess and before-school clubs, staff, students, and even community members use this common language as a positive way to teach and redirect. Students love earning “Panther Paws” for making good choices, and teachers are happy to see students spend their Panther Paws (or save and budget!) on items at the Panther Store weekly.

The vision of Wood Elementary School is that we commit to be problem solvers, motivated to reach beyond our maximum potential by growing academically, emotionally, and socially in a diverse and safe instructional environment. Our mission is for our Wood Wolves, both students and staff, to be leaders of the PACK – Positively Acquiring Continuous Knowledge! Both the mission and vision at Wood Elementary School tie directly to the implementation of our school-wide PBIS. Across campus there is a common language in place for students to be safe, be respectful, be responsible, and be a learner. These expectations are displayed throughout the Wood classrooms, hallways, and all common areas. The staff at Wood school directly teaches the students these expectations while in the natural location during a campus tour twice yearly. Furthermore, students are educated on social-emotional learning through the schoolwide implementation of the SecondStep program. Students are recognized for following the expectations daily with specific praise, PACK tickets, and positive behavior referrals that reinforce the desired behaviors. With PACK tickets, students may redeem prizes weekly at the school store or contribute to a class collection of tickets for a class prize. At Wood school, the teachers and administration regularly communicate with parents when students are demonstrating the PBIS expectations. Parents are notified of every positive behavior referral and are invited to the monthly PBIS assembly when their child is going to receive recognition. In addition, the staff remains just as communicative with parents through our tiered PBIS discipline system – which includes Think Time, Positive Choice Academy, and when warranted, Office Referrals. With all that Wood School has in place with PBIS we have seen a remarkable decrease in discipline and a huge jump in school morale. Specifically, from the 15-16 school year in comparison to the 16-17 school year office referrals are down by 27%, in-school suspensions are down by 21.8%, out of school suspensions are down by 65.2%, tardies are down by 21.9%, and absences are down by 1%. At Wood school we are continuously striving through reflective practices and data analysis to improve our PBIS in order to continue to grow our school into a safe and wonderful place to be.

At Hollinger PBIS has impacted our school by creating a positive culture where adults and students are recognized for following the three Bs. Student discipline has been reduced especially in our middle school. Student have taken ownership of our school La Tiendita (store). The climate at Hollinger makes it a school that students, parents, and teachers are excited to be apart of.

Miller Elementary School has accomplished a successful implementation of Tier I interventions during the 2016-2017 school year. With input and support from our staff, the climate in our school has been positive and systematic throughout our campus. Our teachers and support staff use a common language to teach and reinforce school-wide expectations. There has been a decrease in Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs); from 33 in the month of September to as low as zero ODRs in the month of December. The number of positive reinforcement tickets awarded to students has increased significantly from 788 reinforcement tickets awarded in August to up to 1,900 in the month of November.

Our PBIS team has been an essential asset in supporting and making positive changes to our PBIS school-wide systems. The team is cohesive and has a common vision. Data, discipline reports, and teacher input have allowed us to complete planned tasks, provide professional development, and increase buy-in among other staff members. Our Benchmark of Quality overall result of 76% was encouraging and provided the team with clear areas of focus for improvement. The PBIS team, administrators, and staff look forward to continued progress of Tier I interventions in addition to the implementation of Tier II and Tier III intervention systems, which will allow us to provide a more positive environment and maximized support for our students’ behavior and academic success.

PBIS has positively impacted our staff’s level of buy in. The formation of a PBIS Leadership team has been an integral piece of the process. With this team we are able to deploy PBIS and the teachings of KOI in a manner that create fidelity amongst all stakeholders. At this time, we have established school-wide expectations in various locations. We have clarified classroom managed and office managed behaviors. In an effort to strengthen the ownership aspect we have revised our mission statement. We have established a baseline of information. At this time only 3% of our student population exhibits behavior concerns. We are working toward reducing any disproportionality of subgroups with regard to negative behavior and believe that PBIS will modernize this process. We will use PBIS to address our number one behavioral issue of aggressive acts. We will also use PBIS to address the 20% of our student population who exhibit poor attendance which directly affects the 10% of our student population who demonstrate academic concerns. It is our hope that the deployment of PBIS will complement our efforts to address behavior, attendance, and academic concerns.

We are in the planning stages of formalizing a PBIS plan for campus rollout in August 2017. Tucson Magnet High School is the flagship of Tucson Unified School District with over 3000 students. We have assembled a team of 20 people to address behavior issues facing our school. Our team has begun to meet and formalize our PBIS strategy. Team members have completed the Team Implementation Checklist and the accompanying Action Plan. In addition to our team, teachers and students are providing input to redesign our PBIS matrix and Badger P.R.I.D.E. displays. Our school is part of a pilot program that has begun to utilize an intervention management tracking system. Soon we will have enough data to study the results and track progress of our efforts.

PBIS has positively benefited our school in many ways. Our school staff explicitly teaches our PBIS expectations, the “4 Bs”, in all locations of the school. These expectations are regularly reviewed by teachers and classified staff. As part of Tier 1 classroom redirection, teachers routinely ask students to reflect on which of our schoolwide expectations they can improve in. We have two reward systems in place to help positively reinforce our schoolwide expectations. Individually, students can receive a “Cool Cat Coupon” when they’re caught demonstrating one of the 4 Bs; these coupons can be spent every Friday on prizes (erasers, pencils, stickers, keychains, etc.) as well as for special activities (Pizza with the Principal, Soccer with Mr. W, Ping Pong and Popcorn, Basement Tour). Students themselves run our Cool Cat Coupon store on Fridays; school safety patrol demonstrating the 4 Bs are responsible for setting up the store and overseeing sales to the younger students. The other reward system we use is “Wildcat Cards” – this is a coupon that a class can receive for collectively demonstrating one of our schoolwide expectations. All staff members have both Cool Cat Coupons and Wildcat Cards and aim to give out at least 3 per day. This year we’ve also begun using Check-in Check-out (CICO) as a Tier 2 behavioral intervention. We currently have 22 students doing CICO with promising results. Based on teacher feedback and data from a month’s worth of daily CICO papers, CICO seems to be improving behavior (and/or academics and/or attendance) for about 75% of those students.

This school year, Rincon High School will continue to implement SWPBIS to encourage and reinforce student behavior which will positively impact student achievement.

Several years ago, this school was doing very poorly regarding student behavior and academic achievement. It became a “turn-around” school. New leadership was brought in many new teachers were hired. The very hard work of the administrators and teachers resulted in great improvements in the school culture. PBIS was one of the factors that lead to this success.

When I arrived at Rincon HS this school year, I was happy to discover so many elements of SWPBIS were already in place; incentive tickets, a behavior matrix posted in almost every classroom and routines in place to acknowledge positive student behavior. There is much room for growth and the Rincon PBIS Team is working towards deeper implementation.

This year at Chaparral we implemented the first year of Positive Behaviors Intervention and Support to our campus. We took the 2015-2016 school year to plan and prepare for this year’s roll out. Our PBIS committee has representatives from all grade levels, classified staff, and a parent representative. This committee has really served as a lightning rod to unify our campus through our common expectations of being respectful, responsible and safe. Implementing our new PBIS expectations around our campus has had so many positive impacts. For instance, our students are now rewarded for showing positive behaviors and we have seen a dramatic change in student behaviors. As the year has progressed we take a look monthly at our discipline data. The data has not changed from years past as far as the number of referrals, but the quality of the referral has changed. In years past, students would be sent to the office for numerous reasons, with all of them not worthy of a referral. With common expectations implemented and a clear understanding of the discipline flow chart our referral are more appropriate. We know from collecting student data through surveys that the students feel more safe and comfortable on campus and the students feel more staff members are aware and keeping track of holding students accountable. We also surveyed over 100 parents and the data told us they are thrilled with our new procedures and parents love how all students’ behavior is handled more equitably. Whether it’s the 150-gallon fish tank that is filling with our student Paw-some tickets, our weekly Sparky Club members of the week, wheel of fun, parent and teacher paw-some tickets, or our quarterly PBIS assemblies, PBIS has made a tremendous impact on our culture, climate and ultimately made Chaparral a safer learning environment for all of our students.

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports(PBIS) have made an impact on our school campus this year. Students and teachers know the three major school wide rules of Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful. Our Eagle Pride tickets for catching students meeting school wide expectations have helped individual students make good choices in all areas of our campus. They are excited to see whose name will be drawn on morning announcements to get a prize from the refocus room. Students get their tickets back to take home to their families. Families have talked about how they are excited to see the eagle pride tickets. Siblings have contest at home to see who can get the most eagle pride tickets, etc. Teachers are also excited to give out the eagle pride tickets. There are rewards in place for one teacher a day to be the staff member of the day (receives a fountain drink on Friday) and on Fridays, the last name drawn, the teacher who wrote that ticket will also receive a special parking spot for the following week. In January we added a new classroom incentive. Classrooms can earn a class eagle pride ticket for being caught meeting school wide expectations. Administration, paraprofessionals, custodians, office staff, etc. can give a class a class eagle pride ticket. Once a class has 15 class tickets, administration will come in to their classroom with a wheel of prizes. It is reinforced why they received those tickets and encouraged to get more to spin the wheel again. A student from the class will spin the wheel and the class can receive erasers for every student, pencils, lunch on the stage, 15-minute dance party, extra recess, otter pops, or even a guest teacher for 30 minutes. This has helped classrooms to work together as a team to earn tickets around campus (lunch recess, café, assemblies, special areas, library, walking in hallways, etc.). Something as simple as these individual and class tickets has improved our student climate at school. There is so much excitement for a student to receive a ticket from a teacher, and classes are ecstatic to see the wheel coming their way!