How To Improve School Wide Behavior

Since Covid many schools have seen an increase in student behaviors. Before considering behavior interventions for students there are several steps school teams can take to improve core behavior. In a lot of ways, it all comes down to consistency.

Define Expectations

First, administrators and staff must be on board and willing to support any and all efforts to improve student behavior. Without the buy in of leadership and staff these efforts will most likely fail. Next… define everything!

Start with a matrix of behavior expectations for various settings around your school. These should be framed around 3-5 general expectations (Be safe, be respectful, be responsible are very common). For each setting include positively worded language for what those expectations look like. See the example below from PBIS Rewards.

This matrix of behavior expectations should be agreed upon by staff. It will be important to have buy in from staff so that these expectations can be consistently upheld.

It is also important to define for staff classroom managed behaviors vs. office managed behaviors. Again, this will help with consistency.

Teach the Expectations and Practice

It is important to create lessons to explicitly teach the school wide behavior expectations. Some schools have a “behavior fair” so that everyone goes around and learns the expectations in each setting and they are taught the same way. Some schools create videos that are shared through announcements to teach the expectations. Some schools create lesson plans and expect teachers to follow these plans for teaching the expectations. Whatever method you choose, it’s important that all students learn the expectations in the same manner. Then, it’s time to practice. Just like with academics we have to allow students time to practice the routines, procedures and expectations we set up for behavior. From attention getters to walking quietly in the hallway practice these routines with students until they can be done by everyone. While this may seem time consuming, it will save time throughout the year. But, don’t just teach behavior expectations in the first few days of school, review them throughout the year.

Create a System to Acknowledge Positive Behavior

A key to creating a positive school and classroom environment is acknowledging desired behaviors. The ratio of positive interactions to corrections should be 5:1. Positive acknowledgement needs to be relevant and meaningful to students. Train teachers to build positive acknowledgement and praise into their classroom interactions with students to identify when students are on task and following directions.

Most importantly this needs to be built as a system. Throughout the school how can you acknowledge good student behavior? While there is a time for consequences, focus on building a system for acknowledging positive behavior. Sometimes this is with tickets or giving out tangible rewards. Some schools use technology like Class Dojo give out points. Whatever you use, create a consistent system across the school to acknowledge the positive.

As you work to improve school wide behavior remember that defining expectations, teaching expectations and acknowledging positive behavior are key. While it may be the most difficult aspect, adult consistency is critical. Once you have these expectations in place continue to refine your systems to see improvement.

Need help improving your school’s behavior? Contact us to see how we can help coach your team through creating processes and procedures. Or, check out the downloadable resources we have related to behavior.

The resources linked in the headings of this post are:

Define and Teach Expectations from NCDPI

This Technique Transformed My Classroom Management by Daryl Williams Jr.

Positive Acknowledgement Systems for Students and Staff by NCDPI