Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports

Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports

Along with the Mentors in Violence Prevention (grades 9-12) and Olweus Bullying Prevention (grades K-8) Programs, Southeast Polk Community School District is committed to providing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (or PBIS; grades K-8) for all students. PBIS is a data-driven, school-wide system that helps staff to create consistent, clear, and achievable school-wide behavioral and character expectations for all students. Schools effectively implementing PBIS have been shown to improve the following:

  1. An increase in positive school climate and culture
  2. A decrease in bullying and inappropriate behaviors
  3. A decrease in administrative disciplinary referrals

If your child is struggling and you feel they are in need of support, please contact your child’s school counselor. 

Core Principles

  1. At Southeast Polk Community School District, we believe that we can effectively teach appropriate behavior to all students. As educators, it’s our responsibility to identify students that struggle behaviorally early on, so that we can provide the right supports. Our ambition is to work collaboratively with parents, so students can learn consistent expectations between home and school.
  2. We believe in intervening proactively before problematic behaviors escalate. By intervening before multiple problematic behaviors occur, interventions are both more effective and manageable. We achieve this by providing interventions that are progress monitored by a team of professionals in each building.
  3. PBIS teams examine multiple sources of data, to determine which students are in need of interventions. This data includes disciplinary / behavior referrals, teacher observations, and student responses to interventions. By collecting data, teams are able to determine what types of supports are needed, how frequent, and what type of parent support is necessary for students to consistently learn behavioral expectations for success.
  4. PBIS teams use a Multi-Tier System Support (MTSS) model of delivery (see diagram below). At each tier, interventions are provided based on the level of need, student response to interventions, and resources available.

Tiers of Support

  • Tier 1 Supports are used universally in general education settings with all students to teach expectations and appropriate behavior.
  • Tier 2 Supports are targeted interventions for some identified students with behavioral challenges.
  • Tier 3 Supports are both intensive and individualized for students exhibiting frequent, escalating behaviors.

Photo provided by Heartland AEA
Tiers

Additional Resources

PBIS / Olweus Diagram provides parents with a visual of how Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports & the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program work together in K-8 buildings to teach character education to all students, report bullying, and intervene early.

PBIS.org provides general information about Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. PBIS is supported by the U.S. Department of Education.

Heartland AEA 11 – Learning Supports PBIS Website provides regional information on professional learning for educators and technical support for districts / schools.

Iowa Department of Education – Learner Supports PBIS Website provides statewide information on districts and recognition levels for schools. Currently, over 550 schools and 107 districts use PBIS in Iowa.

Iowa Department of Education – Learner Supports MTSS Website provides statewide information on how Iowa is implementing MTSS statewide.