Getting Started with Positive Behavior Support in Schools for Students
You can play a big role in getting school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) into your school, if you think it’s a good fit:
1. Find Out
- Learn about school-wide PBIS at http://www.pbis.org/school and http://www.pbis.org/school/swpbis-for-beginners.
- Do you have friends in schools with PBIS? What do they think about it? What does it feel like to go there?
- Did you go to an elementary or middle school with PBIS?
2. Build Support
- Talk with other students about PBIS and whether it might be a good fit for your school. Ask whether they would be interested as well.
- Talk with your principal about it and see if she or he would be open to it.
- Talk with teachers. Would they be supportive?
- Talk with your family members. Ask if they would be interested in advocating for it?
3. Start Small but Think About the Big Picture
- Start a student group or committee. Find a faculty advisor who can support you.
- Ask your teachers and other staff about expectations for student behavior. Ask for clarity for rules that are unclear.
- Try it out. Compliment your teachers and family members for something they did well and see what happens.
4. Take Next Steps
- Tell more and more people about PBIS and what changes you’d like to see in your school.
- Suggest to your teachers and administrators that they use a school climate survey that might identify the need for positive approaches in the school.
- Find resources, such as “How to Get Positive Behavior Support in Your School” to guide you.