schools and districts learn to use their data and apply evidence-based practices with high fidelity. Nevada schools went from a designated week of respect to a year of respect!”
—Ashley Greenwald, director of Nevada PBIS, research assistant professor, University of Nevada,
Reno, Nevada (personal communication, January 9, 2017)
Principle 6: Focus on a Schoolwide Perspective
A schoolwide perspective means that SWPBIS is used throughout the entire school and that the whole staff work collaboratively to support it. Instead of each teacher managing behavior or issues by him- or herself, the faculty takes a team-based approach. The practices and systems associated with SWPBIS are used in every setting and classroom, and the staff work akin to a pit crew coordinating services to achieve a goal (George, 2009).
A schoolwide perspective also means that issues are considered from a systemic perspective. Whereas school teams will monitor implementation and the impact of supports for individual students, they will also monitor implementation and impact of the entire model, including the collective needs of groups of students (Newton, Horner, et al., 2009). When issues arise or when a student needs support, school teams consider whether the identified problem is indicative of a larger, systemic issue or if it’s an isolated problem. Additionally, the school teams create systems that provide efficiency, coherency, and consistency with student discipline. This means that the totality of factors and structures within a school, such as resource allocation, leadership, and processes for accessing support, are aligned to support SWPBIS.
As an example, one team at an elementary school we worked with reviewed its office discipline referral data and identified a large increase in referrals from a handful of students in the afternoon (Harlacher, 2011). Before deciding upon a solution, the team examined additional data and discovered that a lot of sixth-grade students were receiving referrals for behavior during specials time (for example, music). Instead of singling out certain students and developing behavior plans, the sixth-grade staff simply retaught the schoolwide expectations to all sixth-grade students for behavior during music and increased reinforcement during that time. As a result, the number of referrals decreased as the expected behavior during music improved. This team-based approach illustrates the systemic perspective that school teams use with SWPBIS (Sugai & Horner, 2006). Had the team implemented individual plans without considering the system or context, it would not have efficiently or effectively addressed the issue.
The six aforementioned principles comprise the conceptual background of SWPBIS in which the overall goal is to achieve sustainability (McIntosh, Filter, Bennett, Ryan, & Sugai, 2010) and improve the social and academic functioning of all students and the overall climate of the school. These principles highlight the difference between SWPBIS and other behavioral initiatives in schools. SWPBIS is a school reform framework that emphasizes evidence-based practices and uses data to help staff make decisions that will prepare students to be productive members of society (George et al., 2009; Horner, Sugai, et al., 2005). See table 1.3 for a list of what SWPBIS is and is not.
Table 1.3: What SWPBIS Is and Is Not
| SWPBIS Is … | SWPBIS Is Not … |
| A framework for decision making | A packaged program |
| A systemic and cultural change that is embedded throughout the school and culture | A scripted intervention or something that is added onto existing structures |
| Data driven | A rigid manual to follow |
| Preventative and responsive | A temporary solution |
| Inclusive of all students | Only about extrinsic rewards |
| A continuum of support using universal and targeted evidence-based practices | Just for students with chronic behavior issues |
Source: NTACPBIS, 2010.
Four Key Elements
The principles behind SWPBIS may appear complex, but in practice, SWPBIS consists of four key elements: (1) outcomes, (2) practices, (3) systems, and (4) data (see figure 1.2; Sugai & Horner, 2006). These four elements provide a framework for organizing all of the pieces of SWPBIS and allow teams to think through the components they need to have a sustainable SWPBIS model. Outcomes are defined as the social, behavioral, and academic outcomes that school teams wish to achieve through the implementation of SWPBIS. Practices are the strategies and methods used to support students in displaying prosocial behavior, and the systems are processes and procedures put into place to support the staff in implementing those practices and gathering the necessary data (Sugai & Horner, 2006). Data are the clear pieces of information used to monitor implementation of the system, monitor its impact, and determine if the identified outcomes are achieved. As seen in figure 1.2, the outcomes should promote social competence and academic achievement. Staff then gather data to support decision making to determine the extent to which the students are reaching outcomes are effective, that the practices teachers implement to support students’ behavior in achieving the outcomes, and that the systems are in place to support staff with implementing the designated practices and gathering the necessary data to make decisions.
Source: PBIS Center, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education, 2017.
Figure 1.2: Four key elements of SWPBIS.
George Sugai, a professor at the University of Connecticut and leading researcher in SWPBIS, is credited with an analogy to help think about these elements. If you consider going on a vacation, the outcome is the destination. Sometimes we take trips to a faraway or new destination, and other times we take trips that are closer and more familiar. Practices can be related to the way we drive. Some of us are “Sunday” drivers who like to take our time along the way, making lots of stops and taking in all the scenery. Others are like delivery truck drivers who only stop when the service station is on the right side of the road because it is more efficient than crossing traffic to stop for services on the left side of the road. In our vacation analogy, systems can be thought of as the car we drive to our destination. A reliable mode of transportation versus a car that continually breaks down and needs service makes a huge difference in whether we are likely to arrive at the destination. The data make up the map or GPS information we use to get to the destination. It is important that the information we use to determine how to arrive at our vacation destination is accurate (updated with detours and construction information) to increase the precision of our decision making about which routes to take. Similarly, the more complex the route to the destination, the more data we are likely to need. These four key elements interact with each other and are the salient features that comprise the SWPBIS framework. When all four elements are in place within a school, teams can develop a sustainable SWPBIS framework (McIntosh, Horner, & Sugai, 2009; Sugai & Horner, 2006).
Outcomes: Promoting Social Competence and Academic Achievement
Prior to implementing SWPBIS, school teams will identify the specific and relevant outcomes that they want to achieve with implementation. Outcomes are the “academic and behavior targets that are endorsed and emphasized
