Horace Mann Huskies PBIS Newsletter
Our January Team Meeting Update
Our Building Wins, Questions for You, and Next Steps...
At our training we were asked to identify our wins as a building. Together, we talked about:
- Our school based team is meeting!!
- We have implemented PAWS, tickets, and coins with fidelity!!
- Home connections are starting to be made in some classrooms.
- We are using PBIS in our weekly goal setting in the classroom.
- We are unified in our commitment to implementing a cohesive system and know we have an amazing team. You are all rock stars!
A Question we have for you is...
We think all general education teachers are doing something related to PBIS in their classroom, but we'd love for you to send us a picture or brief explanation of what you are doing with your kids. Please send your snippets directly to Jess at jpatti@melroseschools.com.
Our Next Steps...
- We hope to establish an adult acknowledgement system for adults who are implementing our SWPBIS with fidelity. We will likely roll this out in September, but feel free to share an idea!
- We are ready to roll out ODRs and cannot wait to see the data that comes in! We are planning on looking at the data monthly at our PBIS meetings. Please keep reading to understand your role in this process.
- In the early spring, Jessica Patti will be coordinating a book study for Horace Mann families. Please fill out this link ASAP to give your feedback. You should choose a book that you feel will best align with our PAWS mindset. Please reach out to her for further discussion about the books or the process.
- We will be sending out a PBIS newsletter to families in the next couple weeks updating them on several aspects of our system. We will update you as this finalizes.
Summary of Our Training Days
On January 13th and 14th, representatives from Horace Mann attended the PBIS team training in Tewksbury. The team included:
Laurel Neubauer - Upper Elementary Representative
Wendy Florino - Lower Elementary Representative
Jessica Patti - District and (acting) Building Coach
Steve Goodwin - Administrator
Another significant part of our two days together that we are really excited to share with you is our Horace Mann Behavior Flow Chart. From this point on, please refer to this chart for classroom behaviors, to know the next steps you should take. We looked at MANY options from other districts to create a starting point for us. We welcome your feedback around the organization and language, as we will revisit this to adjust it as needed. (You can also check out this screencast that further explains the document to you.) Have questions or need a clarification? Feel free to ask a member of the team OR Jessica Patti is offering a Q&A session for the behavior flow chart and for ODRs (see below) on Friday, January 31 from 7:30-8:30 in the conference room. Please stop by for breakfast and to check in about a question you might have about these important systems.
We spent time reflecting on non-classroom challenging spaces/routines in our building. While we discussed several ideas, we came up with recess as a focus for our building to begin with. PBIS recommends thinking about the routine and expectations that we want for our students during that time and then explicitly teaching those expectations to ALL students. At our next building based meeting, we hope to create this lesson plan for the building. This will be the beginning of many other non-classroom lessons to come. For now, a great strategy to try at recess is the "Scan, Move, Interact" routine. You can read about it here!
5Ws of Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs)
When a student does not follow expectations, they may receive an ODR. Behaviors that receive an ODR are found on the Horace Mann Behavior Flow Chart. We acknowledge that this is a work in progress and our team strongly encourages feedback as we roll out this system.
Why are we using ODRs?
An ODR is used to document a challenging behavior that was previously identified via the Horace Mann flow chart, the intervention/response that follows, and any necessary follow up.
When should we start using ODRs?
Please start using this ODR form and this behavior flow chart right away. Feel free to ask a member of the team for clarification OR come to the Q&A with Jessica Patti on Friday, January 31 from 7:30-8:30. In the meantime, check out this screencast explaining the ODR!
Where can we find ODRs?
Here is a digital version of an ODR (paper version) and here is a digital version of the behavior flow chart. A paper copy for both will be placed in your mailbox. At this time, we are only using paper ODRs. We are hopeful that the online version will be ready by the end of February. Stay tuned for that update!! In the meantime, please use the paper version and submit all of them to Kathy in the office (minors do not need to come down right away).
Who has access to ODR data?
At this time, Steve and Jess are the only people who will have access to the ODR data. Using the data, graphs may be generated for staff review at PBIS meetings and staff meetings; however, student and teacher names will be left out.
How can we share feedback about ODRs?
Feedback on ODRs and the behavior flowchart can be shared with Steve or Jess.
Lookout for This New Visual!!!
Over the next few weeks, challenge yourself to try and do this with all of your students. A great strategy we heard about at PBIS was to put a Pom Pom in your pocket or in a jar on your desk for each positive comment and to track your positive feedback over time. If you try this, think about if it is impacting the behavior in your classroom.
What does Tier I look like at Horace Mann?
- PAWS Slips, Coins, and just language in general
- Behavior Matrix
- Adult Reminder to use PAWS
- This newsletter!!
- Monthly team meetings
- Behavior Flow Chart
- Voice Level Chart
* This will grow and grow as we progress with our Action Steps!
What does Tier II look like at Horace Mann?
- Check In Check Out
- Sometimes Individualized PAWS Plans
- Sometimes FAIR Plans
* We will spend more time on building this for the Horace Mann as we progress in the PBIS Academy.
What does Tier III look like at Horace Mann?
- FAIR Plans
- Individualized PAWS Plans
* We will spend more time on building this for the Horace Mann as we progress in the PBIS Academy.