The East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) Project handed out two awards for those making a difference in problematic student behaviors during a seminar held October 28 at the district’s Instructional Resource Center. 
 
Wildwood Elementary School was recognized as the district’s PBIS School of the Year (2009-2010) because of the commitment demonstrated by its principal, Alyce Kelly, to implement PBIS with fidelity on the campus.   The school’s PBIS coach, Kerri Keating, was awarded PBIS Coach of the Year. Keating has been an active PBIS school-based coach since 2008 and is the school’s dean of students.

Wildwood Elementary School also was awarded the highest honor from the Louisiana Positive Behavior Support Project last spring and is recognized as a Demonstration Site for exemplary implementation of the PBIS model.  Upon receipt of this recognition, Wildwood faculty received additional training over the summer in PBIS’ second tier, which addresses strategies for more at-risk student behavior.

PBIS is based on understanding why problem behaviors occur. It is the application of evidence-based strategies and systems to assist schools to increase academic performance, increase safety, decrease problematic behavior and establish positive school cultures.
 
On an individual level, PBIS uses functional behavior assessments to understand the relationships between a student's behavior and characteristics of his or her environment. On a school-wide level, the program relies on accurate and reliable discipline referral data to understand the behaviors occurring across campus. An analysis of the data allows a school team to identify the problem areas, brainstorm interventions (such as where and what to teach), reward the students exhibiting the expected behavior and communicate findings to the staff, students and families.
 
Positive Behavior Support is a mandated program to be implemented in all public schools in the state of Louisiana. This Act emphasizes that good student behavior and discipline are prerequisites to academic learning. For more information, contact Lee Dixon, the School System’s Director of Exceptional Student Services, at (225) 929-8601.