When teachers and students enjoy coming to school every day, that's a catalyst for all learning. Supportive climates are a critical part of our member districts' efforts to develop students' life skills and to retain staff.
The field of education has been aware of a "tool belt" of positive behavior strategies since the mid-90s, when researchers like George Sugai founded the PBIS framework. Strategies such as: practicing classroom procedures, providing frequent and varied opportunities to respond, an “alley oop” prompt that sets students up for success, etc.
However, it takes a lot of deliberate planning and work — training, monitoring, reflecting, and coaching — for teachers and staff in a district to form "muscle memory" habits around these behavior strategies. While PBIS research offers clear game plans of how to make this happen and sustain it long-term, very few districts actually put in the legwork and invest in equipping their staff with this "tool belt" of strategies.
Each of our member districts identifies goals or areas of strategic priority, and in Hinckley-Finlayson, North Branch, Chisago Lakes, and Rush City, instructional leaders decided to embark on the path of implementing these positive behavior strategies with a long-term lens of sustainability. No "one-and-done" PD sessions; rather, they're planning out how to onboard new staff every year, monitor success, and differentiate support for all staff.
This is rare work in the state of Minnesota and in the world of education, and we couldn't be prouder of the moves that leaders are making to support their staff and students!