Mt. Vernon Register-News

Local

September 20, 2009

Behavior program yields positive results

By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — The Positive Behavior Intervention System at Casey Middle School has been responsible for a decrease of more than 850 disciplinary referrals since it was started in 2002.

Casey Middle School was the first in the area to offer the program, which is a systemic approach to discipline and referrals in schools, and emphasizes positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior, while still addressing disciplinary needs. The program at Casey began during the 2002-03 school year.

During the inaugural year, the school had 1,413 disciplinary referrals, with the majority in the area of showing disrespect, fighting, disruptions, inappropriate language and harassment.

The second year of the program saw a decrease in referrals by 94 — to 1,319. The majority were still in the areas of disrespect, fighting, disruption, inappropriate language and harassment.

The third year of the program saw a rise, which Assistant Principal Shannon Marler has previously said is typical, but resulted in the program being “tweaked” for the needs of the school.

“Each school is different and has different problem areas,” Marler said, and added that PBIS allows schools to adjust the specifics of each school and the needs of the students.

During the 2005-06 school year, referrals dropped dramatically, by 316. There were 1,191 referrals in the main areas of disrespect, fighting, disruption, inappropriate language and harassment.

The next year, referrals began the slide back down with 1,019 — 191 less. Disrespect continued to remain the main reason for referrals, with fighting and inappropriate language coming in second and third.

The most drastic drop in referrals happened the next school year, 2007-08, with a total of 698, down by 321 from the previous year. The majority of the referrals seen were in disrespect, fighting, disruption, harassment and inappropriate language.

It was during the 2007-08 school year that District 80 implemented PBIS in its other buildings, the Primary Center and J.L. Buford Intermediate Center.

The success of PBIS at District 80 has been noticed outside the community. In October of 2008, the PBIS team from Casey Middle School was invited to make a presentation at the National Middle School Conference in Denver. Also in 2008, the Primary Center and J.L. Buford received letters of commendation from the Illinois PBIS Association.

Referrals have continued to decline, with 527 reported for last school year, down by 171.

“We continue to take it to a new level with PBIS,” Casey Principal Mike Green said. “Everyone works together, from the students to the bus drivers, staff, teachers — everyone.”

Settle said PBIS creates a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“We know we want things at school to move forward and be positive,” Settle explained. “Once things get clicking and we address the referrals, the kids are in class more, then the test scores go up and then we can be more proactive on programs to address the needs of students. And, (Assistant principals) don’t spend all their time dealing with referrals, they can be in the classroom.”

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