Tiers and Tears: Lessons Learned

Braiding RtI/PBIS in Burke County Public Schools

Vivian Haithcock, Staff PsychologistJohn Gann, School Psychologist

About Burke County

Western NC 17,000 students 17 Elementary Schools (one K-2, one 3-

5) 5 Middle Schools 4 High Schools High percentage of free & reduced

lunch Primarily working class families

Braiding Initiatives

Currently Burke County Public Schools has braided the training and implementation for Responsiveness to Instruction and Positive Behavior Intervention & Support into one training.

Additionally, a school-based mental health initiative had been added as a Tier 2-4 support for students needing mental health services.

Where we started

One of the Five Pilot Sites for RtI beginning in Spring 2004

Mull Elementary WA Young Elementary Additional six schools trained in the 2006-2007

School Year

PBIS sites WA Young Elementary in 2005-2006 Three additional elementary schools (Drexel,

Hildebran, Oak Hill Elementary) in 2006-2007

Began Blending the Initiatives in Training in the Summer of 2007. All Elementary Schools have been trained on the blended initiative as of Summer 2008.

Building Capacity/Enhancing Services

School Based Mental Health Services

Spring 2005 – Burke County Public Schools partnered with local mental health authority (Foothills LME) to acquire grants to launch Integration of Mental Health Services in Schools initiative: Department of Education (18 months) Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust (3 years)

Building Capacity/Enhancing Services

School Based Mental Health Services

Highlighted Goals: Build awareness of concept of behavioral

health services in schools including stigma reduction (General Awareness PP)

Conduct comprehensive training (school-wide & team trainings)

Establish behavioral screening & referral process in schools (Student Success Teams)

Build behavioral treatment capacity within schools

Build infrastructure necessary to successfully deliver behavioral health services in schools

Building Capacity/Enhancing Services

School Based Mental Health Services

07/08 School Year School-based Therapy Services: contracted

therapists from community agencies provide individual and group therapy during and/or after school hours.

17 schools with therapists delivering services on site

362 students referred for services 340 students served 80% Medicaid or state funded

Building Capacity/Enhancing Services

School Based Mental Health Services

07/08 School Year Community Support Services: school employees with

mental health credentials deliver Medicaid reimbursable service in school, community and home of students with mental health diagnosis and proven medical necessity – case management and skill building components.

Available system-wide 56 students referred for services (non EC) 19 students served 100% Medicaid or state funded

Why integration?

Doing what’s good for students Working in response to student needs Gives overall picture of student

(problems are often multi-faceted) Recognizes academic performance may

be influenced by behavioral/mental health needs and addresses those needs as a part of the problem-solving process

Reduces splintering of services

If This is the Philosophy of RtI

Proactive instruction should be provided within general education setting

Prevention is more cost effective than remediation

Teachers and parents deserve the resources necessary to meet the educational needs of all children

Is it not applicable for social skills development/behavior? What about emotional needs?

School-Wide system of support for student achievement should look like this: (Key is to develop a system. Achievement success is based on more than just academics.)

Intensive Intervention 5%

Strategic Interventions 15%

Core Curriculum 80%

“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.”

“If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.”

“If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.”

“If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.”

“If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we……..... ……….teach? ………punish?”

“Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do the others?”

John Herner, Counterpoint John Herner, Counterpoint (1998, p.2)(1998, p.2)

WHY DEVELOP A BEHAVIOR CURRICULUM?

Behavior-Instruction ConnectionInfrequent Errors

Procedures for Academic Behaviors

Assume student is trying to make the correct response

Assume the error was accidental

Provide assistance (model-lead-test)

Provide practice Assume student has

learned the skill and will perform it correctly

Procedures for Behavior Problems

Assume student is not trying

Assume the error was deliberate

Provide a negative consequence

Practice not required Assume student will

make the right choice and behave in the future as a result of the consequence

Behavior-Instruction ConnectionFrequent Errors

Procedures for Academic Behaviors

Assume student has learned the wrong way

Assume the student has been taught the wrong way (inadvertently)

Diagnose the problem Adjust presentation, use

effective instructional strategies, provide feedback, practice & review practice

Assume student has learned the skill

Procedures for Behavior Problems

Assume student is refusing to cooperate

Assume the student has been taught right from wrong and has been told often enough

Provide negative consequences & remove student from setting

Provide more negative consequences & continue to remove from the normal context

Assume student has learned a lesson

RTI/Behavior

It is important for each child to know and understand what behaviors are expected from him/her in each setting of the school, the rewards in place and the consequences for inappropriate behavior.

Furthermore, it is important that we, as teaching staff, actively teach expectations in each setting and that we do not assume (by a student’s age, etc.) that he/she knows what is expected in each setting.

Targeted Group Interventions•Small group instruction•Focused academic help sessions

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Tutoring•Academic Remediation Plans

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Positive Behavior Support Plans (could include SBMH)•Data Driven Decisions

Targeted Group Interventions•Social Skills instruction•Reinforcement of specific skills•Data Driven Decisions•School-based Mental Health ServicesUniversal Interventions

•School-wide rules and procedures•Systematic reinforcement procedures •Recognition of accomplishments

80%80%

15% 15%

5% 5%

Universal Interventions•Effective instructional practices •Recognition of academic achievement

Problem-Solving UmbrellaProblem-Solving UmbrellaTotal Integration of RtI and PBISTotal Integration of RtI and PBIS

Academic Behavioral

Behavior Academic Systems (How things are done)

Team based problem solving Data-based decision making Long term sustainability

Data (How decisions are made) Behavior Screening On going data collection & use

based on Tier ODR’s (# per day per month,

location, behavior, student) Suspension/expulsion,

attendance, tardies

Practices (How staff interact with students)

Direct teaching of behavioral expectations

On-going reinforcement of expected behaviors

Functional behavioral assessment

Systems (How things are done) Team-based problem solving Data-based decision making Long term sustainability

Data (How decisions are made) Continuous data collection & use

based on Tier (e.g., Benchmark, Strategic, Frequent Progress Monitoring)

CBM (or members of the CBM “family” like DIBELS) as the critical outcomes for basic skills

Performance discrepancy (Educational Need) and Benefit (Rate of Improvement)

Practices (How staff interact with students)

Scientifically based curriculum (good tools)

Scientifically based instruction (good training)

Consultation when students aren’t benefiting (support)

Tiers I-II: Academic & Behavior

Universal level, all students Scientifically-based, right content and direct

instruction Greater intensity and increased measurement

precision for students below benchmark trajectories

Criterion for success? 80% to 85% are at or above benchmarks Assess classrooms, schools, districts Identify students needing additional assistance

“PBIS is an example of how the RtI model is applied to behavior.” George Sugai, NC 58th Annual EC Conference. November 18th, 2008

Tier I & Tier II

Behavior Data- Take from classroom behavior plans. Can compare how student looks compared to other classroom peers or other students across the grade level.

Behavior Screening

Screening for Preschool and Kindergarten students using the ABLE

Screening for first grade students using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders

And Yet, We Still Progress Monitor Behavior & Academics

Basic Principle #8 of PSM Progress monitoring an essential

aspect of the intervention phase

Basic Principle #9 of PSM Decision making in regards to the

effectiveness of an intervention is based on analysis of progress monitoring data in relation of goal

Progress Monitoring

There is no guarantee that interventions will be successful, thus the intervention must be “tested” to evaluate effectiveness

Increased emphasis of specific outcomes for students, data base must be generated to guide intervention decision making

Pre/post testing has be shown to be unreliable (small amount of data) and provides too little data to allow for Essential for four reasons

Instructional decision making – progress monitoring allows for evaluation of level of performance and rate of learning

Research has shown that progress monitoring is associated with improved educational outcomes

It is needed for academic and behavior. So why train as different initiatives?

Progress Monitoring

Essential components that must be in place for successful progress monitoring A well-defined target behavior A measurement strategy Identification of student’s current level

of performance (baseline) Intervention Goal Graph Decision-making plan

Progress Monitoring

How do you progress monitor academics? What types of tools do you use?

How does progress monitoring look different?

Sounds Great, Huh?

But it didn’t come without bumps, bruises and lots of tears…………. And they continue as we realign to do what is best to serve all students.

But Our Past Shows…..

Initially introduced as two separate initiatives.

One pilot school included both RtI and PBIS. Therefore trained as two separate teams

(with common members on both teams). Did not work to create “buy-in” (wished we

had know that one earlier) as extensively as we should have.

Approached initial training aiming at individual students, not targeting core curriculum.

But Our Past Shows…..

Some building administrators still see it as a “hoop-jumping” process to get to special education.

Did not bring in enough general education folks from central office at the beginning.

Did not establish district-level team to guide training.

Attempted to train schools in the afternoons.

Lessons Learned……

Definitely take time for staff “buy-in”. Have central office key players at the table. General Education involvement. Work differently to change mind-set. Assess the core curriculum, then

instruction, then specialized assessments (CBM’s, etc.)

Establish district-level team. Please be kind, we were an initial pilot site in

’04-’05.

Lesson Learned….

Trained separately but speaking the same language and running together in the same circles.

Teachers thought a behavior student could not be brought to the SST committee because they thought only academic concerns go to SST. Created confusion

Learned that we needed improved communication and emphasis it is a problem-solving process and has application for both areas.

Lessons Learned…..

Never train after school. Never train everything at once. Pace

training on data (implementation rubrics).

Be purposeful about the data you want to collect along the way and how you will use it to drive your decisions. Make sure you have baseline!

Use a coaching model/not train the trainer. Once trained, actively work through Tiers within classrooms, grade levels and support teams

In Other Words……focus on overall curriculum needs before

looking at specific/targeted interventions.

…focus on interventions rather than on what is wrong with the student

…focus on the solution rather than the problem

…focus on addressing the needs of ALL students having difficulty, not just those with labels

…focus on ALL educators being responsible for ALL students

More Lessons Learned….

Summer 2007….. Trained RtI and Module 1 of PBIS in same

week. 5 days total training. (County offers staff

development in reading academy, etc.) Days 1-3, introduction of RtI, progress

monitoring, and one day of interventions. Days 4-5, PBIS Module 1 training begins.

Results…..

Were not truly integrated. Still separated PBIS and RtI though both use the same problem-solving process.

Over-focused on Tier III when implementing at the schools

Still had communication breakdown in having staff understand that the same approach is used for academics and behavior.

What to do? Work on training module for better integration.

Summer 2008…..

Created new training series that truly looked at side-by-side how academics and behavior relate.

Have 5 days of training with RtI and PBIS working together with presentation (with heavy concentration on curriculum)

Addition of personnel who have been trained in PBIS, RtI, Reading and Math Foundations. (Thank you Susan Griffin).

Results……

Still coming in but we know we need to tweak training module.

Presentation as one initiative for training gave way to better understanding that behavior and academics are tied together.

You can have a copy for $10,000,000 (or a tank of gas, whichever is more).

Where we think we would go if we could start over…….. Train an overview of the problem-

solving process and then work on buy-in. Use that time (at least a year) to look at curriculum (Reading Foundations and Math Foundations), collect baseline data and determine what continuum of services are available at the school and what may be needed.

If we started over……

Next blend Tier I and II Module training of RtI with Module I training of PBIS.

Train Tier III of RtI with Modules Two and Three of PBIS

Set up coaching model at each school participating.