What is Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)?

PBIS is a school-wide program that includes positive strategies for teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviors in order to create a safe and happy school environment.

The PBIS Model:

• Define expected student behavior
• Teach students expected behavior
• Reinforce expected behavior
• Continually model and practice expected behavior 

The goal of PBIS is to provide and maintain a safe learning environment for students. This model is used across all school settings, including: the classroom, library, hallway, restrooms, cafeteria, playground, gym, office, bus, and all other settings.

How does PBIS work at Shenandoah Valley?

Shenandoah Valley has several unified, school-wide expectations for student behavior. You will see these expectations posted throughout the school, and your child will be learning them during his or her first few weeks at school.  

One of the universals is our PRIDE expectations. We say the Panther Pledge every day during morning announcements. The Panther PRIDE expectations are as follows:

Practice Safety

React Responsibly

Initiate Kindness

Demonstrate Respect

Embrace Cooperation

Although our school-wide expectations carry across all school settings, we use them to create more individualized expectations within each classroom or learning environment. Below lists examples of these expectations:

School-Wide Expectations Examples

Practice Safety

• Keep hands and feet to yourself
• Line up quietly
• Wash your hands after sneezing or coughing

React Responsibly

• Follow directions the first time they are given
• Finish and turn in homework on time
• Keep materials organized

Initiate Kindness

• Say “please” and “thank you”
• Use kind words
• Include others
• Offer to help others

Demonstrate Respect

• Listen to the speaker
• Raise your hand before you speak
• Use an appropriate voice

Embrace Cooperation

• Give others turns
• Wait for your own turn
• Share materials
• Listen to others’ ideas

Students may earn Panther Paws at school for demonstrating Panther PRIDE. Each morning a few students are recognized on the announcements for receiving Panther Paws.

Give Me Five is another one of our universals. When an adult hold up their hand and says “Give Me Five”, students are expected to follow these instructions as they also raise one hand:

Eyes on the speaker

Mouth quiet

Body still

Ears listening

Hands free

Another universal at Shenandoah Valley is voice level expectations. We have 3 voice levels the students are expected to follow in various areas of the building.

Level 0 – Silent/No Voice (ex: independent work time, hallways, restrooms)

Level 1 – Whisper Voice (ex: partner/group work)

Level 2 – Normal Voice (ex: asking and answering questions, cafeteria, class presentations)

As part of our PBIS model at Shenandoah Valley, staff members use a wide variety of strategies to increase student learning and decrease classroom disruptions. To keep all students actively engaged when teaching academics and behavior, some of the practices we use include:

• providing students with more positive feedback than correction
• using prompting, pre-correcting and redirecting during instruction
• looking for positive behavior first, then providing immediate, frequent and explicit feedback
• talking to students in a respectful manner
• continuously teaching and referring to our school-wide and classroom expectations

How can PBIS help my child at home?

The link between families and PBIS is extremely important.  When families are actively involved in promoting positive behavior, their children do better in school.  Children thrive in a setting where expected behaviors are clear and consistent.  

Home Paws

 We are extending our Panther Paw system to the home.  You have the opportunity to recognize your child for showing his/her Panther Pride at home. 

A strong home-school connection is important for parents, students, and teachers.  Students significantly benefit from this connection as they tend to perform better in school when their teachers and parents are working together. 

When you send in a paw, your child will be acknowledged for the great behavior at home.

The following lists examples of rules or expected behaviors for home that tie in with Panther Pride: 

Practice Safety:

• Tell a parent before going outside, wash your hands after using the restroom 

React Responsibly:

• Make your own bed, clean up your room before bed

Initiate Kindness:

• Help family members with chores, ask your sibling(s) to play with you 

Demonstrate Respect:

• Listen when your parent is talking, when your parent gives you a direction follow it the first time

Embrace Cooperation:

• Take turns when playing with your sibling(s), work together to finish chores