North Carolina Positive Behavior Support Initiative - Partners' Update (Feb, 2009)
Heather R. Reynolds
NC Department of Public Instruction
Bob Algozzine
Behavior and Reading Improvement Center
Who Is Providing Support?
STATEWIDE PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT
One full-time Consultant and eight part-time Regional Coordinators support implementation of PBS in NC. The Consultant is in the Behavior Support and Special Programs Section of the Exceptional Children Division at the NC Department of Public Instruction. The Regional Coordinators are hosted by LEAs or another agency in their region and spend 1/3 of their time working with the PBS implementation in that school system or Charter School. The primary role of these professionals is to coordinate training, support trainers/coaches/coordinators in LEAs, and facilitate the evaluation of the statewide initiative.
Who Is Receiving Training and Support?
During the past year, individuals, schools, and systems receiving support continued to grow with PBS programs implemented in more than three-fourths of the counties in the state. North Carolina also has an active Positive Behavior Support Leadership Team that includes state and local representation as well as professionals from college and university professional development programs and community agencies. The team has a focused Action Plan and meets regularly to define and refine the work being done in North Carolina’s PBS schools. The PBS Regional Coordinators co-lead three subcommittees that are working on coaching and training, evaluation, and visibility and political support. The work of the subcommittees and the PBS Leadership Team is also greatly expanding North Carolina’s capacity to support the schools implementing and evaluating efforts to improve academic and social behavior in its schools.
<More than three-fourths of the counties in the state have at least one school participating in the North Carolina Positive Behavior Support Initiative>
Positive Behavior Support started in August of 2000 as a part of North Carolina’s federally-funded State Improvement Program that included seven centers focusing on reading, one center addressing mathematics, and one center targeting improvements in social behavior. The primary purposes of the grant were professional development of school personnel and systems change. Steady growth in the number of Local Education Agencies implementing PBS has been evident in North Carolina.
<Currently, about 93% of the 115 counties and local education agencies in the state have at least one school participating in the North Carolina Positive Behavior Support Initiative>
Steady growth has been evident in the number of schools that have implemented PBS and current estimates suggest that about 85% are still implementing.
Improving and sustaining the effort has been supported with continued state funding and local education agencies are contributing to support the effective programs in their schools.
To What Extent Have Practices Changed?
Average [07-08] scores on SET subscales varied across levels of schools (N=200) and were generally higher for elementary (n=117) than middle (n=49), high (n=18), or combined (n=15) enrollment schools.
Scores were generally higher during the 2007-2008 than the 2006-2007 school year; and, during the current reporting year, 16% more schools (70% vs. 54%) documented both SET total and Expectations Taught subscale scores at or above the 80% target criterion reflecting a high level of implementation of schoolwide positive behavior support.
<More schools reported SET scores and they were generally higher for 2007-2008 than for the previous school year>
To What Extent is There an Impact on Student Behavior?
(Office discipline referral data (majors) from schools implementing PBS in North Carolina [07-08] compare favorably with national averages>
Disciplinary offenses often dealt with using short-term suspensions which can last up to ten days almost always have a negative impact on achievement and progress; suspending students from schools takes valuable time teachers can devote to instruction and administrators can spend on other leadership activities. There has been a consistent decrease in suspensions across schools implementing PBS in North Carolina over the past three years.
Levels of behavior risk evident in schools implementing PBS in North Carolina were comparable to expectations guiding similar practices across the country and they were better than those evident in comparison schools not systematically implementing PBS.
To What Extent is Implementation Affecting Outcomes?
Rates of office discipline referrals were lower in schools that met SET expectations; small differences evident during early years of statewide implementation (2005-2006) increased in recent years, consistently favoring schools with high levels of implementation support.
While achievement differences were not statistically significant across schools with different levels of implementation, effect sizes reflecting practical differences were large (.55 for reading and .98 for mathematics). Although the difference was not statistically significant, End-of-Grade Achievement scores were higher in schools that met SET expectations.
The relationship between reading achievement and office discipline referrals in a sample of 44 schools was statistically significant.
| The North Carolina Positive Behavioral Support Initiative is part of
the North Carolina State Improvement Program funded through IDEA.
Questions regarding the program should be directed to Heather Reynolds
[Positive Behavior Supports Consultant [hreynolds@dpi.state.nc.us]. |
Report Citation:
Reynolds, H., Irwin, D., & Algozzine, B. (2009). North Carolina Positive Behavior Support Initiative Evaluation Report 2007-2008. Raleigh, NC: Department of Public Instruction, Exceptional Children Division, Behavioral Support Services.
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