The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, established by the U.S. Department of Education, is currently implemented in more than 23,000 schools in the U.S. Math and Science Academy (MSA) in Woodbury is one of the most recent schools to hop on board; faculty training began in August.
Tom Johnston, MSA physical education teacher, was first exposed to this program at a St. Cloud school where he worked previously. Because of his familiarity with PBIS, it was only natural for Johnston to become the team lead at MSA. “It’s not so much of a program as it is a positive mind-set,” Johnston says. PBIS focuses on behavioral education and expectations to create an amiable and respectful learning environment for all students.
Johnston notes that while PBIS is a national program, it is highly flexible as well as data driven and thus allows individual schools to tailor the program to suit the needs of their particular school’s environment. MSA has created its own mantra—F.I.R.E.—to enforce its four school-wide expectations. F.I.R.E. stands for focus, integrity, respect and excellence. Johnston says within the first week of PBIS at MSA, students were already using the new language that came about as a result of the program. “It was very exciting,” he says.
MSA, a charter school that serves grades 6–12, is focusing the PBIS program on sixth and seventh graders with hopes that the F.I.R.E. mentality will follow them throughout high school and possibly translate into other areas of their lives outside of the classroom. The school-wide program requires participation from not only the students but the faculty as well. “Our team of nine teachers has been working very diligently,” Johnston says. MSA plans to continue using PBIS moving forward to address the distinctive needs of the MSA student body.
