Definitions of Support Levels and Examples for Each Level

Examples of effective proactive behavioral strategies: There are a number of research-based approaches to providing proactive systems of behavioral support, including Positive Behavior Support (PBS), violence prevention programs, social skills instruction and school-based mental health services.

Examples of effective strategies include:

• Violence prevention: The most frequent components of a violence prevention program include a prevention curriculum; services from school psychologists, counselors or social workers; family and community involvement; and implementation of effective school-wide discipline practices.

• Social skills training and positive behavioral supports: Interventions that help students with emotional/behavioral disorders and social skills deficits have the potential to significantly improve school-wide behavior and safety.

• Early intervention strategies: Interventions that target low levels of inappropriate behavior before they escalate into violence can significantly reduce the need for harsh consequences later.

• In-school suspension: Focusing on continuing the curriculum while therapeutically debriefing to identify and eliminate the root cause of an acting out episode offers a constructive alternative to exclusion.

• Mentors: Adults from the school or community work with at-risk students to improve self-concept and motivation to engage in appropriate behavior.

• Teacher support teams: Teams of school personnel meet on a regular basis to evaluate both class climate and student needs, and provide support and strategies to engage difficult students as a prevention effort.


Resources

Bear, G., Quinn, M. & Burkholder, S. (2001). Interim alternative educational settings for children with disabilities. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Safe and Responsive Schools Project http://www.indiana.edu/~safeschl/

Sugai, G. & Horner, R. (2001, June). School climate and discipline: Going to scale (The National Summit on the Shared Implementation of IDEA, OSEP, Washington, D.C., June 2001). Available at: http://www.ideainfo.org/