MOUNT VERNON – The Knox County Career Center has been honored by the State of Ohio for its use of a teaching strategy that reinforces positive behavior.
It’s called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). It is a program strongly encouraged by the Ohio Department of Education for all schools.
“PBIS involves teaching students expected behaviors in a consistent and positive way, modeling and acknowledging those behaviors, and helping all students meet expectations and be successful,” the center said in a news release. “PBIS has been shown to improve student achievement, student behavior and school climate.”
The center was one of 63 schools to be honored with silver awards from the Ohio PBIS Network, a division of the State Department of Education, the news release said.
This is the fifth year the Knox Career Center has used PBIS; Amy Rine, KCCC district coach, said.
"We are very proud of our PBIS program and all of the work that Mrs. Rine and her committee puts into highlighting the positive things our students are doing with the four A's: Attendance, Achievement, Attitude and Appearance,” Kathrine Greenich, superintendent of the center, said.
According to the State, PBIS requires a long-term commitment from school systems, usually taking three- to eight years to implement a high-quality program.
“PBIS is not a curriculum or a one-day training,” the State said on its website. “PBIS is a systems change process that requires on-going commitment in order to create effective systems for teaching and addressing behavior and social-emotional skills.”
The State develops materials and other resources and provides training to schools to implement PBIS.
The program focuses on positive feedback for students and staff.
“The positive refers to a change of focus from reactive— constantly pointing out what students did wrong (negatives), to proactive— teaching and recognizing what students are doing right (positives),” the State said. “It refers to an overall change in the school climate to a learning environment where students and teachers feel appreciated, safe and respected. Acknowledgments are used to assist staff to focus on the positive.”
The State’s vision is for all learning environments in Ohio to implement PBIS as an “effective and proactive framework for improving safety, social competence and academic achievement for all students.”
