Building good behavior with positive reinforcement -- 'I am like a whole new kid'

The Tehachapi Unified School District (TUSD) has implemented a program that seeks to change student bad behavior by rewarding good behavior.

The concept is called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) and is the outcome of a national initiative to find a better solution to disruptive behavior than suspension.

"Students who are suspended have a higher dropout rate," Clair Rhea, learning director at Golden Hills Elementary School, said during a presentation at the Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council July 5 at the Tehachapi Police Department community room. "Suspending a child does not change their behavior. Rather than suspending, we are looking for alternatives."

The goals and lessons of PBIS impact all the students, and intervention starts early.

"We are focusing on all the students, not just the ones who misbehave," Golden Hills Principal Kendra Bailey said. "We seek to prevent rather than react."

Youngsters who come to school with little understanding of the kind of behavior that is acceptable in society are given the opportunity to learn the norms.

The results, according to district officials, have been good.

The TUSD presenters told of two young students who had rocky beginnings to their school experience, yet with intervention and guidance, they learned how to behave (see boxes below, Student 1 and Student 2).

Following the intervention, support and guidance, one of the youngsters announced proudly, "I don't know how I am doing so good. I am like a whole new kid."

"Some kids have societal norms, some don't," Bailey said. "We teach them what we want them to do."

At Golden Hills, teachers and administrators reinforce good behavior randomly by giving out "eagle eggs." (Golden Hills mascot is the eagle). Students can win raffle prizes with the eagle eggs, and ultimately a prize box.

"We catch them being good," Bailey said.

When a child is having trouble learning appropriate behavior, a team of parents teachers, support staff, the school's PBIS team and the principal come together to build an intervention plan for that child.

The program calls for clarity and consistency. Students know exactly what the rules are. They understand what is expected of them. The expectations are constantly reinforced. Teachers, administrators and counselors are consistent in their reactions to undesirable behavior. Parents and guardians are active participants in the effort to modify a youngster's behavior.

"We do not go immediately to negative consequences," Rhea said.

The behavior modifications transfer to home and to public settings like restaurants, Bailey said.

"In general, the kids are more polite. It helps them. It instills a moral compass."

Another bonus, Rhea said, is "the teachers are happier."

The program has been introduced district-wide.

"The culture of the junior high [Jacobsen Middle School] has turned around," Bailey said.

TUSD Chief Administrator of Instruction and Technology Regina Green said the Jacobsen attendance has seen a significant two percent increase as a result of the PBIS initiative.

Two California legislative bills laid the groundwork for local PBIS programs, Assembly Bill 1729 and Senate Bill 1396.

"This bill would...authorize a superintendent of the school district or principal of the school to use alternatives to suspension or explusion that are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the pupil's specific misbehavior, as specified." Bill 1729 says.

The genesis of the movement arose on a national level from the U.S. Department of Education and studies from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which was concerned with the high suspension and dropout rates among minority students. The implementation of the program, however, is equitable and applies to all students.