GA Department of Education Lauds 22 DeKalb County Schools

Twenty-two DeKalb County School District (DCSD) schools implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) have been recognized by State Superintendent Richard Woods for their dedication to improving their school’s climate.

“We appreciate this recognition by the Georgia Department of Education in support of the determined efforts by the students, teachers, and staff at these schools to improve learning environments that have led to opportunities to enhance academic achievement,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Vasanne S. Tinsley. “The schools and centers implementing PBIS are able to focus efforts on instruction instead of discipline issues. PBIS reduces disciplinary incidents, increases a school’s sense of safety, and supports improved academic outcomes. And that is the case at these 22 schools.”

Based on each school’s implementation of PBIS with high fidelity, the schools listed below have been recognized at the “Operational” level (alphabetical order):

In August 2015, DCSD began implementing PBIS, an evidence-based, data-driven decision-making framework for establishing the social culture and behavioral supports needed for a school to be an effective learning environment for all students and staff. The basis of PBIS is that continual teaching and acknowledgment or feedback of positive student behavior will reduce unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety, and learning.

“The Georgia Department of Education shares your pride in your schools that are implementing PBIS with fidelity, and I commend your leadership for providing support to this effort,” State Superintendent Woods said in a letter to Dr. Tinsley. “I know that the success of a school and of its students is dependent on the unified efforts of teachers, administrators, and others who touch the lives of students.”

PBIS schools apply a multi-tiered approach to prevention, using disciplinary data and principles of behavior analysis to develop school-wide, targeted, and individualized interventions and supports to improve the school climate for all students.

To be recognized as Operational, a school must decrease or remain stable in four outcome data measures. Those data measures are the number of State Reportable Office Discipline Referrals, In-school Suspension days served, and Out of School Suspension days served. Schools that implement PBIS with fidelity have been shown to have improved student outcomes, reduced exclusionary discipline, and enhanced teacher outcomes.