Pulaski County Elementary School

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

Program

Program Evaluation

FRIT 8435

Spring 2011

Georgia Southern University

April 25, 2011

Group Members:

Bonita Castleberry
Jennifer Edwards

Stephanie Hieber

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 Table of Contents

Executive
Summary…………………………………………………………………3

Introduction………………………………………………………………
……………5

Focus of the
Evaluation……………………………………………………………8

Brief Overview of Evaluation Plan and

Procedures……………………10

Presentation of Evaluation
Results…………………………………………...12

Conclusions and
Recommendations…………………………………………13

Appendices…………………………………………………………………
…………..16

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 Executive Summary

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) is a school wide

behavior intervention framework that was developed by the United

States Department of Education to provide schools with assistance in

disciplinary practices. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

(PBIS) was implemented at Pulaski Elementary School in January 2011

in an effort to reduce the amount of student discipline issues and

reduce the amount of administrative referrals. The purpose of this

evaluation is to describe the impact of Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Support (PBIS) and to determine if there is a

significant improvement in student behavior since its implementation.

The following questions were addressed and researched during this

program evaluation:

• Is there significant improvement in student behavior after using

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)?

• Are there differences in student behavior when comparing a

school that uses Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

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 (PBIS) to a school that does not use Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Support (PBIS)?

• What is the cost of implementing this program in an elementary

school?

• What are stakeholders’ reactions to this program?

Multiple data collection methods were used to answer the evaluation

questions. Office referral forms were reviewed and staff members were

interviewed to determine if there was a decrease in administrative

referrals since the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions

and Support (PBIS). The cost to implement Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Support (PBIS) and the budget were reviewed.

Stakeholders’ reactions to the program were assessed through surveys

and questionnaires.

Findings

Evaluation findings conclude that since the winter of 2011, office

referrals for disruptive student behavior at Pulaski County Elementary

School has decreased in grades Kindergarten through Second Grade.

In third through fifth grade there has been a slight increase in student

referrals for disruptive behavior. It was also found that stakeholder

reactions to the program have been very positive and stakeholders

seem to support the program and its continuation. The one negative

finding is that the program is not cost-effective for Pulaski County

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Elementary School since money is not allocated from the original grant

to Pulaski County Elementary School.

Introduction of the Report

Purpose

Pulaski County Elementary School (PCES) is a Title 1 School located in

Hawkinsville, Georgia. It was opened in 1990 and houses 649

Kindergarten through fifth grade students. The school’s mission is to

provide quality educational experiences for all students that are

meaningful, challenging, and engaging in a safe and supportive

environment. The school aims to accomplish their mission by providing

a relevant, integrated curriculum presented by a dedicated, team-

oriented staff in a nurturing environment. A rise in discipline referrals

lead the discipline committee to review Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Support, a school wide behavior intervention

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framework that was developed by the United States Department of

Education to provide schools with assistance in disciplinary practices.

The school administration and staff agreed to adopt Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Support (PBIS) last year based on its success at

other schools nationwide. They felt PBIS would be a good fit for the

students’ behavioral needs while staying consistent with the school’s

positive environment. The staff was trained in the Fall of 2010 and the

program was implemented in the Winter of 2011. The evaluation

results will help determine if Positive Behavioral Interventions and

Support (PBIS) is an effective behavior management program for

Pulaski Elementary School, what (if any) changes need to be made in

the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

(PBIS) in order to continue to see a decrease in problem behavior and

discipline referrals at Pulaski County Elementary School (PCES), and if

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) should be funded

in the future.

Audiences of the Evaluation Report

There is a contractual requirement for an evaluation of the

implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)

. In the fall of 2011, the State Department of Education will make a

site visit to evaluate the success of the implementation. This

evaluation will formally assess the program’s effect on student

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behavior, program costs, and stakeholder perceptions of the program.

The presentation of this study will provide necessary information to

determine whether or not Positive Behavioral Interventions and

Support (PBIS) has improved student behavior at Pulaski County

Elementary School. The primary audience for this report is Pulaski

County Elementary School administrators, Pulaski County Board of

Education, and the Georgia Department of Education. Other audiences

include parents and school faculty members. Schools that are

considering Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) may

find it useful to review this report to help determine if it would be an

effective program for their school.

Limitations to the Evaluation

There were a few limitations to the evaluation. First, it was difficult to

access the student behavior records from administration due to

confidentiality. It was also difficult to get staff members to participate

in surveys or questionnaires about Positive Behavioral Interventions

and Support (PBIS). Some were concerned about the confidentiality of

their opinions about the program and others were just too busy to

complete it.

Overview of the Report Contents

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This report includes a detailed description of the objectives followed by

an overview of the evaluation plan and procedures. After a summary

and interpretation of the results it gives a conclusion and

recommendations.

Focus of the Evaluation

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Description of the Evaluation Objective

Evaluating the effectiveness of Pulaski Elementary School’s behavior

program is essential to the success of the program. The objective of

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) is to create a

structure in which students learn to become positive and productive

citizens. This is accomplished through a behavior matrix that lists the

behavioral expectations in horizontal rows. The matrix includes

column labels above the behavioral expectations listing all areas in the

school where this behavior can be taught, modeled, practiced, and

observed. As students are observed exhibiting positive behavior, they

earn rewards.

Evaluation Questions

The evaluation questions for this report were designed to examine the

effectiveness of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) as

a school wide behavior program at Pulaski County Elementary School.

Is there significant improvement in student behavior after using

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)? What is the cost

of implementing this program in an elementary school? What are

stakeholders’ reactions to this program?

Information needed to Complete the Evaluation

Multiple sources of information were used to answer the evaluation

questions however the main component was analyzing the office

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referral forms to compare the number of behavior issues before the

implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)

to the amount afterwards. After those were reviewed the staff

members were given surveys, questionnaires, and interviewed to

determine their opinion of the effect of the program on student

behavior. The behavior records at a similar school not using Positive

Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) were analyzed and

compared to those at Pulaski County Elementary School. The cost to

implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) and

the budget was also reviewed.

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 Brief Overview of Evaluation Plan and Procedures

In order to evaluate the Positive Behavior Intervention Support

program at Pulaski Elementary School, data collection of student office

referrals, program costs, stakeholder reactions, and critical

implementation activities of the program was collected through the

School Wide Information System (SWIS) data reports, teacher surveys,

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) coordinator, and

administration records. Since this program is newly implemented, it

has not been subjected to a formal evaluation. Qualitative data

relating to the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)

Matrix was collected through informal assessments of teachers,

students, parents, and administrative staff. Quantitative data was

collected through School Wide Information System (SWIS) reports,

stakeholder surveys, and Pulaski County Elementary School (PCES)

budget reports.

Pulaski County Elementary School’s office referral data before and

after program implementation was assessed in order to document an

increase or decrease in undesirable student behavior of 649

participants (Appendix A). Positive Behavioral Interventions and

Support (PBIS) Coordinator was informally interviewed to obtain

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Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) expenses

(Appendix B). Surveys were distributed randomly to:

• Thirty-six students in grades Kindergarten through

Fifth Grade (Appendix C)

• Thirty-six parents from grades Kindergarten through

Fifth (Appendix D)

• All certified teaching staff from grades Kindergarten

through Fifth Grade (Appendix E)

• Three PCES School Administrators (Appendix F)

In all 111 individuals associated with Pulaski County Elementary

School’s (PCES) Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)

Program were assessed through this program evaluation.

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 Presentation of Evaluation Results

Survey results were gathered and analyzed to answer the following

questions; “What are stakeholders reactions to this program; have the

critical activities of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support been

implemented as planned?” School Wide Information System reports

were also collected to compare student office referrals prior to

implementation (October 1, 2010 through January 14, 2011) as well as

after implementation (January 15, 2011 through March 31, 2011). A

budget sheet was also obtained from the program coordinator to

obtain a total cost, thus far, of implementation at Pulaski County

Elementary School.

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 Conclusions and Recommendations

Since Pulaski County Elementary School is still in the implementation

stage, it is suggested that another program evaluation be done at the

end of the 2011-2012 school year in order to obtain more accurate

results. With that in mind, based upon evaluation of program data

relating to implementation, cost, office referrals, and stakeholder

perceptions of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

Program at Pulaski County Elementary School, this evaluation study

concludes:

Program Strengths

• Implementation on schedule

• Positive response from stakeholders

• Centered on positive behavior

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 • Decrease in number of office referrals in grades Kindergarten
through Second

Program Weakness

• Not cost effective for Pulaski County Elementary School

• Increase in number of officer referrals in grades third through

fifth

Recommendations

• Continue with program into the 2011-2012 school year

• Seek out grants and/or community donations that would help

defray the cost of the program at Pulaski County Elementary
School

• Continue to work with grades third through fifth grade to bring

down referrals

• Expand support for the program into the community

The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) Program at

Pulaski County Elementary school is headed in the right direction. It is

still very early in the implementation of this program and was

impossible to acquire enough data to make a final decision about the

success of the program. However, after analyzing the data, it appears

that the data is showing positive results; especially in Kindergarten

through Second grade. It is recommended that more time should be

spent on third through fourth grade in determining possible downfalls

and reasons why the office referrals are not decreasing as well as the

others. It is the recommendation of the evaluation that the school

should continue with the program throughout the 2011-2012 school

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year. It is also recommended that a mid-year and an end-of-year

evaluation be done to track the progress from this point on. In

reference to the budget, it is suggested by the evaluation that the

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) team seek out

grants or other monetary contributors to the program so there will be

minimal out of pocket expenses.

References

School-wide Information System (SWIS) Reports from Pulaski County

Elementary School.

Pulaski County Elementary School Budget Report

Stakeholder Surveys

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 Appendix A

Pulaski County Elementary School

School Wide Information System Reports

Referral Results

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 Grade Referrals Referrals Difference in
Level: Prior to After Referrals
Implementat Implementat
ion ion

Kindergarten 34 30 4 Less

First 31 25 6 Less

Second 30 22 8 less

Third 47 46 1 less

Fourth 36 40 4 more

Fifth 45 47 2 more

An examination of data relating to the number of office referrals prior

to implementation and after implementation shows that in grades

Kindergarten through second grade the program seems to be most

effective. In grades third through fifth there are actually more referrals

than before implementation.

Appendix B

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 Pulaski County Elementary School

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

Budget

Item Cost Balance

Office Depot Paper $34.47 $265.53

– Devil Dollars

Coke – Reward $18.24 $247.29

Oriental Trading $241.08 $6.21

Company-Treasure
Box

Stars Café Supplies 43.87 -$37.16

Dollar Tree – $50.00 -$87.16

Treasure Box

Deposit from School’s $0.34

General Account

$87.50

After reviewing the data from the budget provided by the Positive

Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) Coordinator, it appears

that for this particular school this program is not cost effective. Even

though this program is being implemented in accordance with a school

improvement grant within the system, Pulaski County Elementary

School receives no money from it. The only money Pulaski County

Elementary School had to implement the program was a $300 donation

from a local business. All other expenses come out of Pulaski County’s

general account and out of pocket expenses from school staff.

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 Appendices C, D, E, F

Pulaski County Elementary School

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

Survey Data

Participants Number Overall

Responses
Surveyed

Students 36 36

Parents 36 36

Teachers 36 36

Administrator 3 3

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