Positive Behavioral Supports

Dr. Brenda Scheuermann has worked with school districts and Education Service Centers to help schools develop and implement schoolwide positive behavioral supports. PBS is a new, research-based direction in schoolwide discipline that emphasizes proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors, and increasing consistency in defining, problem-solving, and responding to unacceptable behaviors. Scheuerman’s research with middle schools and elementary schools is consistent with state and national studies that show that implementing schoolwide PBS produces significant improvements in student discipline, as measured by reductions in office discipline referrals, measures of schools climate, attendance, and academic indicators. Scheuermann states, “One low-performing middle school that I worked with gained 15 instructional days lost in prior years to discipline referrals; the same year, their TAKS scores increased by over 10 points.” PBS is spreading across the state and country, in public schools and other facilities (e.g., juvenile justice facilities) with consistently positive results. A substantial research base indicates that PBS is an efficient, effective approach to making schools more effective for all students.