Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
by Roger Stock, Rocklin Unified School District Superintendent
Rocklin, CA- The past several weeks have been a whirlwind. Between welcoming back all of our dedicated teachers and staff members, preparing school sites and, of course, inviting our Rocklin Unified families and students back on to campus– each and every member of our RUSD family has been working tirelessly for the exciting year ahead.
As you know, from academics to athletics and the arts, we have many accomplishments and there is one I want to share that is receiving both state and national recognition. The superstar Bulldogs from Rocklin Elementary School have taken an active effort in positively changing their behaviors at school and beyond, and have even received the highest recognition awarded by the California Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Coalition.
PBIS was adopted at Rocklin Elementary School during the 2014-2015 school year and was the first school within RUSD to utilize the program. Today, their leading efforts have helped to implement PBIS at each of the elementary and middle schools within our district. It has truly changed the whole dynamic and culture in our schools. Districts from around the region and state come to our experts to learn more on how to make PBIS work at their schools.
Rocklin Elementary School first-grader, Grayson, describes this program well, saying that it involves being kind, being nice and sharing your heart. More precisely, PBIS is focused on building a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional and behavioral support at all levels of education. This, in turn, improves the social, emotional and academic outcomes for every student. This program is based on ensuring that each child has clear expectations for their behavior and access to differing levels of support required to help them achieve success. It insures that their needs are met while developing a passion for and self awareness of what drives them as a learner and as a person.
The data surrounding this systematic approach to assisting our kids continues to impress! Third-grade teacher and PBIS lead at Rocklin Elementary, Lisa Phillips, sees the transformation happen in her classroom each day. “When you have an engaged student, you have a student that’s learning, a student that feels safe and positively praised for what they’re doing right, they’ll fall in love with school,” said Phillips.
RUSD Director of Elementary Programs and School Leadership Dr. Bill MacDonald was a key stakeholder in implementing PBIS at our elementary schools across the district. He continues to oversee the successes that all our schools are achieving with the program. Dr. MacDonald says that because staff members are able to proactively teach the behaviors that they want to see in their students, PBIS sets the stage for success and is valued by all.
Because of the positive results of PBIS in RUSD, the early-adopter school– Rocklin Elementary– was chosen to be featured as a success story by the California PBIS Coalition at their annual statewide conference in October. To celebrate and demonstrate their outstanding efforts, a short video that documents their PBIS implementation was created and can be viewed here. This special video will also be premiered at the upcoming 1st Annual Placer County PBIS Recognition event where our middle and elementary schools will be receiving special honors.
Have you seen a difference in your student’s behaviors since PBIS was implemented throughout RUSD? This tremendous program has truly helped to fulfill our duty to educational excellence in Rocklin. It is so great to watch our students grow in the program, at school, and at home. I’d love to hear your child’s positive results from PBIS at Rocklin Unified! Please drop me a line anytime at [email protected].