Developing School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan
Step 1- Form a lead group of key stakeholders and define the purpose of the school-wide behavior plan.
The lead group should include: school administrators, special ed
teacher, department chairs, lead teachers, and possibly volunteers from
the community. To define the purpose of the plan, develop an
all-encompassing statement of purpose. An example might be, "The Irvine
Elementary School community, including parents, teachers, and
students, must work together to create and maintain a supportive and
safe learning environment that promotes teaching and learning."
Step 2- Establish school-wide behavior expectations. With your lead group, brainstorm a list of all of the expected student behaviors.
For example:
-All students will treat others with kindness and respect.
-All students will act responsibly in all situations.
-All students will seek to build friendships with other students be always being courteous and kind.
From your list, create a list of 3-5 clearly defined expectations that are: known to all, clearly stated, concise, and viewed as being important for the school.
For example, your school might use something like this
1. Be Kind
2. Be Respectful
3. Be Responsible
Step 3- Clearly define school-wide behavior expectations Staff, students, and parents need to know what the behavior expectations look like in practice. One way to demonstrate what the behavior expectations look like is to create a school behavior matrix. On the y-axis you list the 3-5 clearly defined behavior expectations, and on the x-axis you list the different school locations. Fill in the matrix with how each expected behavior would look in the various school settings.
Review the matrix with the lead team and with the entire staff. Make sure you have at least 75% staff buy-in before proceeding. The naysayers will get on board once they see how well it works.
Step 4- Develop a plan to help students understand the behavior expectations. Students who do not understand or appreciate the new behavior plan might oppose it. Your school should development school buy-in by:
1. Planning a special assembly to kick-off the new behavior program.
2. Distribute information to parents and students.
3. Have teachers talk about it with their students.
4. Arrange meetings with student leaders.
5. Publish information on the school website.
Step 5- Develop Logical Consequences Students will support a system that is logical and fair, with consequences that are reasonable and well-defined.
1. Decide what consequences will be for different types of infractions. Make sure the consequences are meaningful and will likely change behavior.
2. When violations are repeated or severe, there needs to be additional consequences.
Step 6- Ensure Total Staff Commitment Unless the majority of the staff supports the new school-wide behavior plan, it is destined to fail. Individuals at all levels should be given the opportunity to contribute ideas to help fine-tune the school-wide behavior plan. Offer all faculty the change to engage in the development of the behavior plan. It is also important to seek out members who appear oppositional or disengaged. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. Conduct staff development to familiarize everyone with the new program and to answer questions.
Step 7- Start Implementing the System 1. Start a logical time of the year- beginning of the school year, after or before a break.
2. Have extra personnel available during the first couple of weeks to ensure consistent implementation. If it is not implemented consistently right away, the plan will likely fall apart over time, or students will not take it seriously.
3. Provide regular reminders and refreshers to students and teachers.
4. Provide continual staff development to solve problems and improve the system.
Step 8- Analyze Data, Improve the System, Repeat Process 1. Collect student behavior data so you can analyze where you need to focus your attention for school improvement. Find trends in behavior incidents and collaboratively come up with solutions to address these problems.
2. Find what is working and what is not working. Make continual improvement
Step 2- Establish school-wide behavior expectations. With your lead group, brainstorm a list of all of the expected student behaviors.
For example:
-All students will treat others with kindness and respect.
-All students will act responsibly in all situations.
-All students will seek to build friendships with other students be always being courteous and kind.
From your list, create a list of 3-5 clearly defined expectations that are: known to all, clearly stated, concise, and viewed as being important for the school.
For example, your school might use something like this
1. Be Kind
2. Be Respectful
3. Be Responsible
Step 3- Clearly define school-wide behavior expectations Staff, students, and parents need to know what the behavior expectations look like in practice. One way to demonstrate what the behavior expectations look like is to create a school behavior matrix. On the y-axis you list the 3-5 clearly defined behavior expectations, and on the x-axis you list the different school locations. Fill in the matrix with how each expected behavior would look in the various school settings.
Review the matrix with the lead team and with the entire staff. Make sure you have at least 75% staff buy-in before proceeding. The naysayers will get on board once they see how well it works.
Step 4- Develop a plan to help students understand the behavior expectations. Students who do not understand or appreciate the new behavior plan might oppose it. Your school should development school buy-in by:
1. Planning a special assembly to kick-off the new behavior program.
2. Distribute information to parents and students.
3. Have teachers talk about it with their students.
4. Arrange meetings with student leaders.
5. Publish information on the school website.
Step 5- Develop Logical Consequences Students will support a system that is logical and fair, with consequences that are reasonable and well-defined.
1. Decide what consequences will be for different types of infractions. Make sure the consequences are meaningful and will likely change behavior.
2. When violations are repeated or severe, there needs to be additional consequences.
Step 6- Ensure Total Staff Commitment Unless the majority of the staff supports the new school-wide behavior plan, it is destined to fail. Individuals at all levels should be given the opportunity to contribute ideas to help fine-tune the school-wide behavior plan. Offer all faculty the change to engage in the development of the behavior plan. It is also important to seek out members who appear oppositional or disengaged. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. Conduct staff development to familiarize everyone with the new program and to answer questions.
Step 7- Start Implementing the System 1. Start a logical time of the year- beginning of the school year, after or before a break.
2. Have extra personnel available during the first couple of weeks to ensure consistent implementation. If it is not implemented consistently right away, the plan will likely fall apart over time, or students will not take it seriously.
3. Provide regular reminders and refreshers to students and teachers.
4. Provide continual staff development to solve problems and improve the system.
Step 8- Analyze Data, Improve the System, Repeat Process 1. Collect student behavior data so you can analyze where you need to focus your attention for school improvement. Find trends in behavior incidents and collaboratively come up with solutions to address these problems.
2. Find what is working and what is not working. Make continual improvement
