Holbrook Junior High School was one of five Arizona schools awarded a Gold Award from Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports of Arizona (PBISAz) at the Achievement Awards banquet held April 29. The award is earned by schools that create a positive school culture while reducing the number of principal visits and suspensions. “We have everyone included in on PBIS,” stated Holbrook Junior High Principal Jeri McKinnon, “Our bus drivers, cafeteria workers, substitutes and even our janitors write students their Beep Beepers.” Beep Beepers are positive tickets for rewards used in the school’s Positive Behavior system. PBISAz is the largest project funded by the Arizona Development Disabilities Planning Council, a group which aims to enhance the lives of students and adults with development disabilities, including autism, behavioral disorders and cerebral palsy. PBIS sets up a “3-Tier” pyramid-type system to help schools support each student based on behavioral patterns. Preventing problem behavior before it arises by rewarding positive actions is a large part of the platform. If the first tier activities fail to succeed, students move up the pyramid to receive more individualized plans to prevent problem behaviors. Students with high-risk behavior receive Tier 2 or 3 supports at the onset. The goal is to create a positive school atmosphere which encourages expected behavior, and reduces challenging behavior and exclusionary practices like office referrals, suspensions, restraints and seclusion. “I have seen our Tier 3 kids move on to become better students, athletes and overall better individuals,” said Dr. McKinnon. A look at the past four school years shows that in 2012-13 there were 847 discipline referrals made, but in 2013-14 those were reduced by 30 percent to 594. In 2014-15, those figures continued to decline with 536 referrals and then in the 2015-16 school year there were only 391, less than half of the number of referrals made in 2012-13. McKinnon believes the program will continue to change the school for the better.
