Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support
The Rhode Island PBIS Initiative is lead by the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College.  RIPEP is working in patnership with the Rhode Island PBIS Initiative.

A major advance in school-wide discipline is the emphasis on school-wide systems of support that include proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. Instead of using a patchwork of individual behavioral management plans, a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and nonclassroom settings (such as hallways, restrooms). Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.

For more information on PBIS and how schools and early care settings can become involved in ongoing training and technical assistance opportunities, contact Lavonne Nkomo, PBIS Coordinator at: 401-456-2763 or lnkomo@ric.edu.