Edinbrook Elementary School, Oak View Elementary School and the Osseo Area Learning Center (OALC) have been recognized as 2021 Sustaining Exemplar Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Schools! District 279 was also recognized as a sustaining exemplar of the work of all district schools.
PBIS is a framework used in Osseo Area Schools to approach behavioral intervention. Instead of reactionary discipline, PBIS encourages educators to teach behavioral expectations the same way they teach academic subjects: by enforcing positive behaviors with evidence-based practices.
At Edinbrook, students show their “PAWS” by practicing safety, acting responsibly, working toward success, and showing respect. The common language has created consistent expectations for students throughout their time in the school, and staff say it has helped to strengthen the Scottie community. “You’re going to come into a building with staff that are trying to be proactive with behavior instead of reactive,” says PBIS Team Data Analyst Benjamin Waldhauser. “We can prevent something negative from happening by recognizing the good that the kids are doing.”
Over more than six years of PBIS implementation at Oak View, Principal William Kuendig has seen similar changes in his Huskies. “We have seen a higher sense of belonging to our school community as a result of speaking a common language around being safe, respectful, responsible, and helping one another to belong,” he says. Oak View regularly enforces positive student behavior on their daily news program, OVTV, through innovative assemblies streamed on YouTube Live, and during “on track ticket” challenges throughout the year. Staff also include PBIS principles in building leadership team work.
The Osseo Area Learning Center has implemented PBIS for over three years, and Student Services Team Lead Christopher Buerman says its focus on data has helped staff to know which students need the most support. “We have a multi-tiered system in place that is both structured enough to be easy for staff to use and flexible enough to be able to adjust to the needs of all of our scholars,” he says. “It allows us to identify students that need support quicker and allow teachers to effectively share successful strategies in real time.”
Edinbrook, Oak View, the OALC and District 279 will be honored in a virtual ceremony on June 17. Congratulations!