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Student Leadership in SW-PBS: Maintaining the New Momentum within Secondary Schools

Megan Pell, M.Ed. – Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Delaware

[What goals do we have within our project?][Discuss KF and KFE]

Speaking with Outside Educators • High School Forums• Middle School Forums• DE-PBS Annual Celebration Panel

Speaking with Outside Educators • High School Forums• Middle School Forums• DE-PBS Annual Celebration Panel

First, these activities reinforce our project’s vision for PBS schools, which is outlined in our Delaware DE-PBS Key Features (DKF, 2009). Our vision builds upon existing foundational requirements for school-wide PBS programming as outlined by the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET, Sugai, Lewis-Palmer, Todd & Horner, 2001) but extends these requirements to include more aspects of school climate and socio-emotional learning. The DE-PBS Project believes that the social and emotional development of students is reinforced when schools can “recognize the critical importance of self-discipline…and implement evidence-based programs in…[(among other socio-emotional topics)] social and moral responsibility” (DKF, 2009, p.1).

Second, research in the field of student leadership (see Lizzio, Dempster Neumann, 2010; Mager et al., 2012)) seems to indicate that school programming which encourages student leadership and voice in the school context can increase students’ appreciation of and participation in civic responsibilities of students within their schools. The National High School Center (NHSC) outlines how schools can demonstrate what they consider to be the eight most important elements for improvements in high schools (NHSC, 2008). According to NHSC, Student and Family Involvement is one of these eight elements and under this particular element, the NHSC encourages schools to focus on Student Engagement. According to their model, student schools should structure “opportunities for student leadership in the classroom, school, and community” (NHSC, 2008). In their study of 32 research studies, Mager et al. (2012), found evidence to indicate that student participation in decision-making in schools can result in positive changes to four domains in American schools. These domains include: Personal Effects on Students (p. 45), Personal Effects on Teachers (p. 45), Effects on Interactions (p. 46), and Effects on the School Organization (p. 46). At this time, our project has not quantified the effects of the activities outlined on this poster. Our main objective, instead, has been to provide technical assistance and resources for our secondary schools who have decided to engaged in these student-centered activities.

It is our hope to work with our schools in the future to collect this type of data as more schools endeavor to engage in more of these activities.

Our poster is intended to help schools better understand ground-level activities in place to structure and maintain student leadership and engagement in our secondary schools through school-wide Delaware Positive Behavior Support (DE-PBS) programming. These activities are formal and informal in nature; however, they all represent a concerted effort of DE-PBS schools to promote “a positive and safe school

climate that promotes not only positive behavior, but also [the] academic, social, and emotional development” of students (DE-PBS Key Features, 2009, p.1). The following poster is a brief overview of school programming found in DE-PBS schools that were created to encourage student leadership and participation in secondary schools, and thus help our state’s efforts to facilitate the social and emotional

development of secondary students in those schools.

A Rationale for Looking at Student Leadership and Participation in PBS Secondary Schools

Activities at the Secondary Level to Encourage Student Leadership within SW-PBS Programming in Delaware

Speaking With Peer Student Groups•Regular, Structured Activities

• Peer Mentor Groups [KCAP, FISHES]

• SGA Visits [Newark High]

Speaking With Peer Student Groups•Regular, Structured Activities

• Peer Mentor Groups [KCAP, FISHES]

• SGA Visits [Newark High]

Reinforcing SW Expectations •Modeling Expectations•Fashion Show •SW Videos

Reinforcing SW Expectations •Modeling Expectations•Fashion Show •SW Videos

Speaking with Outside Educators • High School Forums• Middle School Forums• DE-PBS Annual

Celebration Panel

Speaking with Outside Educators • High School Forums• Middle School Forums• DE-PBS Annual

Celebration Panel

Providing Feedback Regarding SW PBS Data• Commenting on Office Discipline

Referral (ODR) Data Trends

Providing Feedback Regarding SW PBS Data• Commenting on Office Discipline

Referral (ODR) Data Trends

Encouraging Peer Buy-In• Creating Video Advertising

Campaigns • Tracking Student Participation in

Events• Facilitating Staff Fidelity

Encouraging Peer Buy-In• Creating Video Advertising

Campaigns • Tracking Student Participation in

Events• Facilitating Staff Fidelity

Completing the Delaware School Climate Survey (DSCS, Bear & Yang, 2011) – Student Survey

Completing the Delaware School Climate Survey (DSCS, Bear & Yang, 2011) – Student Survey

Answering Delaware Key Features Evaluation (DE-KFE) QuestionsAnswering Delaware Key Features Evaluation (DE-KFE) Questions

Attending and Sharing at DE-PBS Secondary ForumsAttending and Sharing at DE-PBS Secondary Forums

The DE-PBS Project values student voice in the SW programming of all schools, especially at the secondary level. We provide a range of technical assistance activities to our schools to encourage their efforts to both hear and respond to student voice including:

1. Secondary Forums – These are half-day networking sessions for secondary teachers and students at DE-PBS schools to discuss their successes and challenges in regard to SW programming and overall school climate. These forums follow a semi-structured agenda and we build in times for schools to present presentations for one another, including student-led presentations. This is a very popular activity which has led to more in-depth discussions between specific schools after the forum. Schools especially enjoy sharing sample materials with each other at these forums and we enjoy facilitating the exchange of these materials as well as other content-specific resources such as a list of reinforcement inventories for secondary students.

2. Strategic Guest Speakers – Our project has brought guest speakers to Delaware who provide valuable insights regarding students’ perspectives of positive (and negative) school environments. Most recently, we brought Kelsey Carroll, the star of the film Who Cares About Kelsey, and her counselor, Kathy Francoeur, to Delaware to emphasize the impact of the RENEW (Tier 3) program on at-risk secondary youth. Previously, our project hosted Dr. Laura Riffel, Dr. Rose Iovannone, and Dr. JoAnne Malloy, at professional development events within Delaware. These researchers were able to speak to interventions and success stories related to secondary school interventions and students in crisis.

3. Data Analysis Tools and Support – Our project continues to emphasize the importance of data and data analysis in our schools. At the secondary level, we have found that administrators in our PBS Schools have greatly appreciated the data they have received via our offices and our trained coaches. In one year, a secondary school may receive data and data analysis training related to the DE-KFE and the DSCS, in addition to the Maryland PBS Project’s Cost-Benefit Analysis (M-CBA) tool. For the DE-KFE, we provide a detailed qualitative report of their school’s performance across four main areas of SW programming, including how students participate in decision-making at the SW and classroom levels. We provide a detailed quantitative report and interpretation guide for schools who complete the DSCS.

Technical Assistance from DE-PBS to Encourage Student Leadership

We hope this poster provides you with some valuable information regarding the wide rage of activities and methods that our secondary schools in Delaware have used to promote student leadership and voice!

Concluding Thoughts

Students’ voices can be characterized in various ways in relationship to decision-making within schools (Fielding and McGregor, 2005; Holdsworth, 2004; McGregor, 2007). For our discussion today, however, we have categorized the activities our DE-PBS schools have used to encouraged student voice and leadership in decision-making as– formally structured activities and informally structured activities (Lizzio et al., 2010). Formal structures of student leadership include the more traditional student-to-adult discussions or policy-related interactions at school in which students follow a traditional hierarchy of communication with schools leaders (Fielding, 2006). In this poster, our student-led PBS groups seem to operate under this formal student leadership structure.

“Formal” Activities: Traditional Student PBS Groups

Shaping SW Acknowledgement Systems•Determining Acknowledgement Events and Reinforcers•Black History Month•Quarterly Celebrations

Shaping SW Acknowledgement Systems•Determining Acknowledgement Events and Reinforcers•Black History Month•Quarterly Celebrations

Although many activities outlined on this poster fall mostly under the formal category of student leadership activities; informal opportunities for such student involvement in the school context are also important (Jones, 2003; McGregor, 2007), so we excited to share how our DE secondary schools are expanding these types of opportunities for their students. Indeed, Lizzio et al. (2010) challenges school leaders to consider :“How might the citizenship and leadership contributions of [student cohorts] as a whole, and not just formal student leaders, be facilitated?” (p.98). This question is one we are asking our own schools to consider via our Key Feature Evaluation, the Delaware School Climate Survey, and our most recent annual DE-PBS celebration.

Expanded “Informal” Opportunities for SW Student Participation in DE-PBS Activities

Participating in Focus Groups Based on DSCS DataParticipating in Focus Groups Based on DSCS DataPlease contact us at anytime for more information about the activities

and/or tools outlined on this poster. Our website is http://www.delawarepbs.org/

Like most long-standing PBS projects nationwide, the DE-PBS Project has worked to develop the capabilities of school communities to effectively implement Tier 1, 2, and 3 programming for all students with the highest level of fidelity possible. This work continues to evolve as we update our professional development activities and expand our technical assistance capabilities. Our work is supported through a cadre of district coaches and state-level coaches, our collaborative partners in the Delaware Department of Education, and the guidance of researchers at the University of Delaware.

Supporting Student Leadership

The DE-PBS Project is a collaboration between the Center for Disabilities Studies

at the University of Delaware and the Delaware Department of Education.

Northeast Positive Behavior Support Leadership Forum – May 2013

Our Purpose Today: