by Dr. Tim Grivois and Tiffany Emerson PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Support. PBIS is a schoolwide system for increasing the good we see in our students, reducing unexpected behaviors and helping everyone live our values out loud. Specifically, schools implementing PBIS build systems that make school values explicit, teachable, and universally understood.Continue reading “Stop treading water.”
Author Archives: Timothy Grivois-Shah
Normalizing Joy
These strategies are free except for the cost of a pack of sticky notes. Even better, making them a routine normalizes joy and coaches the team to look for the best in each other. Teaching is hard work, and taking time to celebrate each other is an important way for the entire teaching community to model and practice self-care.
Positive reinforcement system: the vehicle for powerful words.
By Dr. Tim Grivois, Executive Director Schools implementing Positive Behavior Interventions and Support have a positive reinforcement system. Whether the system involves tickets, marbles in a jar, or digital certificates, each school’s positive reinforcement system is a vehicle for powerful words that support students in building healthy habits. Effective positive reinforcement systems have three keyContinue reading “Positive reinforcement system: the vehicle for powerful words.“
No more self-less self-care.
On 18 November 2022, 3:00-4:30 pm (Arizona Time), I’ll lead a session of one of our most popular online workshops: Self-care for Caring Professionals. As always, we’ll explore self-care strategies through the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. However, what’s new in this workshop is how we’ll confront what I’m calling “Self-less self-care.”
Three reasons why individualized behavior support plans fail.
Individualized Behavior Support Plans fail when they are too big, too shallow, or written by a behavior expert. The best way to address these issues is to do the opposite.
Free Webinar: Individual Behavior Support Plan Template
While most behavior support plans include strategies for preventing unexpected behavior, few seriously consider the root causes of challenging behaviors outside of immediate triggers. Instead, TGS’ Individual Behavior Support Plan Template places student wellness first and makes every opportunity available to meet students’ needs.
Reflective CICO
PBIS must better align CICO systems, data, and practices, and Reflective CICO is the best way to do this. Instead of tracking student behavior (which we do anyway with office referrals), we need to track that critical elements of CICO conversations occur as scheduled and as trained. Reflective CICO is the answer.
Use your words.
The key to recognizing student behavior isn’t the tangible or intangible ‘things.’ After all, even an intangible bribe is still a bribe. What matters most are our words. Before spending any time designing how many tickets earn extra recess or whether or not to have a pizza party, think about your school values and write out a few examples of what you’d like to be able to say to students when they live a value out loud. Having the words in our heads ahead of time makes them come out easier and more authentically when the moment is right.
Working smarter.
Successful initiatives begin with a shared understanding of what the team is doing, who the work is for, and what’s supposed to happen when we get it right. Sometimes, leaders assume that everyone understands what’s going on. The best, however, take no chances. Recently, Fatih Karatas, Chief Executive Officer at Sonoran Schools, sat down with me and his leadership team to list all initiatives and then identify the audience, responsibility, and outcome for each.
Free webinar: Getting Started with Check-in / Check-out (CICO) with Dr. Tim Grivois
Our first webinar, Getting started with Check-in / Check-out (CICO), will be on 28 September. This session is for schools that have already implemented school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Support. Often, students need a little extra love to be their best in school. CICO is an excellent framework for providing these students with positive adult attention and connection. With CICO, your school can front-load the love and support for students who need it most.