Positive behavior intervention support: secondary tier interventions

Schools all across the world are adopting tiered models of intervention for academics and behavior to meet the needs of the diverse population of students. With these changes, educators are required to implement these proactive interventions in the classroom. Research literature not only indicates that the tiered system of PBIS (positive behavior intervention and supports) is an effective system to support students in the classroom, but that teachers and staff need professional development to implement and sustain usage of these proactive strategies instead of reactive strategies. Furthermore, the research notes the need for schools to use more secondary tier interventions, such as check-in check-out (CICO), social skills groups, mentoring, and classroom meetings utilizing restorative practices, and for additional professional development, specifically on these secondary tier interventions. The purpose of this project was to create a professional development series for school staff members at a K-8 elementary school in Northern California, which would increase their understanding of PBIS and more specifically, secondary tier interventions. This professional development series included, an overview of multi-tiered PBIS system; a session focused on the secondary tier intervention of check-in check-out (CICO); a session focused on the secondary tier intervention of classroom meetings utilizing restorative practices; and an annual refresher session for all staff. The professional development series was not implemented, but the conclusions reached after the review of literature and a needs assessment survey of the teaching staff at the elementary school are that teachers and staff need more professional development opportunities and continued support and time to address the need for knowledge and skills in the areas of PBIS and in particular, secondary tier interventions. Furthermore, additional research is needed to add to the literature to determine the long-term effectiveness of secondary tier interventions such as check-in check-out (CICO) and classroom meetings utilizing restorative practices.