PBIS is a school-wide system of support that includes preventative strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. A continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, buses, and restrooms). Attention is focused on creating expectations that help students improve overall character. Positive behaviors are noticed and reinforced while poor decision making gains less attention.

Caring
Accountable
Respectful
Dedicated
Safe

In the past, school-wide discipline has focused on punishing bad behavior. Research has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when it is used inconsistently and in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective. Introducing, modeling, and reinforcing positive social behavior is an important step of a student’s educational experience. Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. The purpose of school-wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.