Incorporating positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in your middle school or classroom is a powerful way to support students through middle school.
The pre-teen years come with a number of unique challenges. Social relationships are more nuanced and complex. New emotions and hormones start developing. Students face higher academic expectations and more complicated daily class schedules than what they experienced in elementary school.
PBIS offers a valuable foundation for middle school students that allows them to navigate new school settings and challenges. It gives them the support they need to demonstrate positive behaviors and develop meaningful tools for success.
Instead of punishing bad behavior without offering guidance or growth opportunities, PBIS focuses on teaching students positive behaviors. Students learn important social-emotional and self-regulation skills that help them in and outside school. Through PBIS, students perform better academically and behaviorally, creating a more positive school culture for everyone.
In this article, we will review the benefits of PBIS in your middle school and the reasons why you should use it.
What is the role of PBIS in middle school?
PBIS offers a set of evidence-based practices that help educators accomplish great things. It allows schools to create schoolwide behavioral goals, outline expectations with students and faculty, and then provide ongoing teaching and support to help students meet those behavioral goals. Rather than simply punishing negative behaviors, the PBIS system focuses on preventative supports, teaching important skills like self-regulation, and reinforcing positive behaviors.
The multi-tiered system of support allows schools to provide targeted interventions based on a student’s individual needs. PBIS is broken into three tiers of support:
Tier 1: Universal supports
This tier encompasses schoolwide strategies that are designed to promote positive behavioral outcomes for all students, regardless of need. Examples of universal supports include schoolwide expectations, PBIS rewards for middle school students, and implementing a social-emotional learning (SEL) framework.
Tier 2: Targeted supports
Targeted supports are a series of strategies implemented for students who still demonstrate negative behaviors even after receiving universal supports. Examples of targeted supports include small group interventions and increased access to academic support.
Tier 3: Intensive supports
When a student needs additional support, they move into Tier 3 — intensive supports. These strategies usually involve ongoing individual support and can involve counselors or additional support professionals. Examples of intensive supports include counseling services, individualized behavior plans, and specialized assessments.
Schools implementing support tiers should approach them as dynamic rather than permanent — students in Tier 2 or 3 aren’t meant to stay there indefinitely. PBIS uses data and regular evaluation to apply targeted, effective support to students. Wherever a student is throughout the year, the role of PBIS is to meet that need with targeted, appropriate support.
Reasons to use PBIS in your classroom or middle school
Schoolwide PBIS creates a more positive, inclusive, and collaborative environment for teachers and students. Schools across the country have implemented PBIS for years as research continues to show that PBIS enables more positive student behavior and better academic outcomes.
According to the Center on PBIS, reasons to use PBIS in middle school include:
- Higher academic performance among students
- Fewer disciplinary referrals for negative behaviors
- Lower rates of bullying
- Reduced suspensions
- Less teacher burnout
- Improved teacher outcomes
- Lower rates of reported drug or alcohol abuse
From improved academic outcomes to enhanced social-emotional skills, PBIS provides crucial tools needed for students to flourish in their middle school years and beyond.
Benefits of PBIS in your middle school
In addition to the reasons listed above, there are numerous other benefits to using PBIS in your middle school and classrooms.
Middle school students under PBIS are more engaged
Students are more likely to participate in the PBIS classroom because they are treated as active partners in learning — not passive recipients of lessons. They help create behavioral expectations and learn for themselves what is needed for a respectful, healthy learning environment.
PBIS also helps middle school students develop better relationships with their teachers and peers. This creates a stronger sense of community in the classroom and school. As students work better together and with their teachers, they participate more fully in their education.
PBIS gives teachers more time to teach
Using PBIS in your middle school can also improve instruction time for students. PBIS proactively manages behaviors, helping to prevent disruptive or negative behaviors before they occur.
Fewer students also spend time outside of the classroom for disciplinary actions. Exclusionary forms of discipline are replaced with interventions that keep the student in the classroom whenever possible. Instead of punitive discipline, students receive instructional corrections that explain the error and promote more positive behaviors moving forward.
When students behave better and spend more time in the classroom, educators can focus more on teaching. In turn, students receive higher-quality instruction time with fewer distractions.
Students are empowered to invest in their education
The role of PBIS in middle school invites students to participate more fully in their learning environment. Students and teachers collaborate on the creation of classroom and schoolwide expectations.
Rather than passively receive predetermined rules, students actively participate in creating a system of goals, expectations, and even consequences. As a result, they are empowered to invest in the expectations, behaviors, and educational environment that they helped establish.
Investing in PBIS for your middle school means inviting your students to invest in their education with you.
Disciplinary measures and positive supports become more equitable
Establishing shared, uniform expectations through a schoolwide PBIS framework ensures that certain groups of students are not being unfairly targeted for disciplinary actions. The tiered system of support also means that resources can be targeted to match the needs of each individual student. Schools can more consciously allocate limited resources to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed with their peers.
Middle school teachers using PBIS report less burnout
Implementing PBIS in your middle school is a great way to support teachers in their roles as educators. Teachers using PBIS report less burnout and stronger relationships with their students. They can spend less time on discipline and more time on instruction. Tools and supports from the PBIS framework also help teachers more efficiently identify student needs and match learning techniques for improved outcomes.
PBIS fosters a more positive middle school environment
When combined, the numerous benefits of using PBIS in your middle school create a better learning environment for everyone involved. Teachers, staff, and students work together toward a common set of behavioral goals. Messaging and expectations are uniform and students receive cohesive and clear guidance without confusion. Teachers feel more supported as they’re given an effective framework that helps them in the classroom, in the school, and beyond.
How to help your school succeed
The benefits of implementing PBIS in your middle school are clear — so how do you get started? If you’re ready to take the next step, check out our free guide to implementing PBIS in your school.
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Classroom Management - PBIS