IMPORTANCE AND OVERVIEW OF CREATING A SW-PBS TEAM
The purpose of the Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team is to provide leadership for the development, implementation, and evaluation of universal procedures in the entire building for all students and staff. To effectively and efficiently complete their work, membership of the Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team should be representative of the school as a whole.
UNPACKING CREATING A SW-PBS TEAM
Staff members who serve on the SW-PBS Leadership Team will have the opportunity to play a key role in shaping the school climate. Assigned to provide leadership, this team is not to assume sole responsibility for developing a school action plan. Instead, they will thoughtfully involve the entire staff in rethinking their beliefs about student behavior, reviewing existing procedures, and developing more effective practices and policies. When everyone has a hand in developing schoolwide discipline procedures, ownership is increased, consensus is more readily obtained, and the likelihood staff will consistently implement procedures is increased.
As you undertake your social behavioral school improvement effort you may uncover potential challenges that could impact your progress.
Examples of this could be:
- a current lack of cohesiveness among staff,
- lack of experience in knowing how to work together,
- weak communication between different grade levels or departments, and
- disconnects between administrators and staff.
As challenges arise, it is even more important to have strong leadership that involves the entire staff in the process.
Team Responsibilities
The SW-PBS Leadership Team is a standing committee responsible for developing and maintaining effective discipline procedures that reflect the unique needs of the school and its community.
This includes:
- reviewing procedures with staff (especially new staff) at the start of the year to ensure consistency,
- coordinating dissemination of information to parents and students,
- organizing schoolwide discipline-related instructional activities,
- bringing staff concerns to the team, and
- reviewing ongoing data to determine successes and continuing needs for in-service or modification of procedures.
Team Composition
Schoolwide discipline planning should not be viewed as either a top-down or a bottom-up process. Rather, it is a collaborative venture with administration and staff working together. Therefore, it is essential the team include a building administrator and full representation of the building staff.
Maintaining a well-disciplined school is one of the primary roles of the building administrator. Therefore, the nature of the work of this committee, along with the need to ensure that practices are in line with board policy and legal stipulations, requires that an administrator be directly involved. Participation of the principal or assistant principal on this team is crucial.
Recommended membership for the Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team, includes:
- Administrator
- Teacher Representatives (each grade, team, department)
- Special Educator
- Counselor
- Paraprofessional
- Student
- Family Representative
Staff Engagement
Schools often expect all staff to participate on one of the school’s leadership teams, such as a building leadership team, social team, etc. When a Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team is needed, it will become one of the teams that provides leadership for the entire school. Often administrators allow staff to choose a building-wide team while also “hand-picking” participants to ensure members of the team are highly qualified to do the work. Often building leadership will want to ensure the Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team has a mix of highly regarded veteran members and young professionals who will learn about SW-PBS.
Other considerations for Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team membership are non-certified staff (e.g., cafeteria workers, office personnel), family members, and students. Schools pursue family members and students by seeking volunteers and again, ensuring the representatives are not just the most active parents and the best and the brightest students. Schools are encouraged to ensure family and student representatives reflect the cultural makeup of the school.
Once the Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team members are chosen, what methods will be used to communicate the names of the Tier 1 SW-PBS Leadership Team with all stakeholders?
Student Engagement
How will student voices be represented on your team? Seeking student representatives on your team can take place through teacher nominations or students completing and submitting applications. If the size of the SW-PBS Leadership Team is a concern, student ownership voice and representation can be achieved through a “Respect Club” or “School Culture Club” where members’ ideas and voices are shared by one or two representatives to the SW-PBS Leadership Team. Regardless of the method used, the important point is to regularly and actively elicit student feedback and to seriously consider their ideas and viewpoints.
Families and Community Engagement
It is ideal to have family and community members on your SW-PBS Leadership Team. If team size is a concern, consider using a family and community subcommittee. It is important to seek the voices of all the families represented in your school, especially underserved families and all dimensions of diversity.