PBIS Maryland Recognition Program
Narrative Outline
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School
A. SYSTEMS:
This is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School’s second year of PBIS implementation. The
PBIS team consists of 11 members that are representative of the staff of the school. The team
meets at least once a month and is made up of teachers from every subject area and grade level, a
paraeducator representing support staff, a member of the student support team, a guidance
counselor, an administrator, a coach and a team leader. To create synergy as a team and be more
effective in gaining staff buy in and support of PBIS the team participated in a My Job, Your
Job, Our Job activity to define roles and responsibilities. Having an active administration is an
important part of our team. Some of the administration roles include: driving the vision and
keeping the importance of PBIS in the forefront through ongoing agendas and presentations;
holding students accountable when they reach the office and teaching and reinforcing PBIS
through administrative conferences with referred students; and encouraging grade level team
leaders to review data, provide lesson topics, and follow through with PBIS team requests. Our
coach also provides support by providing guidance according to the vision of PBIS, keeping the
school up-to-date on strategies other counties and schools are using and helping to find outside
resources, such as money, time and training, to support the school.
The team is supported by a budget provided by the county and administration. The budget is
supplemented by donations and fundraising activities coordinated by the PBIS team. Support is
also given to implementation by providing a release period for the team leader to coordinate, lead
and organize PBIS activities. The release time allows for the team leader to keep PBIS at the
forefront of team and leadership discussions, maintain and organize a PBIS binder to increase the
sustainability of PBIS and gather data for PBIS team meetings including referrals, bounce, and
feedback from grade level teams.
The PBIS team at MLK has many strong points. The team actively promotes PBIS, gains staff
buy in and acts as role models for the staff in PBIS implementation. A survey was given to the
staff in November on PBIS implementation. According to the survey 97% of staff are committed
or fully committed to implementing PBIS. The team plans and delivers orientation for new staff
members, pre-service training, and ongoing staff training. Another strength of the PBIS team at
MLK is that they actively recognize students and staff and help staff and students see
connections between what they do and PBIS. They also develop core values lesson plans and
coordinate recognition activities. Finally, the team has been active in the development and
communication of a decision driven information system that consists of behavior, incentive and
achievement data.
B. DATA:
The PBIS team and MLK staff use data several ways for decision making. Each grade level
team is provided disaggregated office referral data by the PBIS team on a monthly basis. The
grade level teams analyze the data for several outcomes.
First, the data is compared to student capture sheets that
document classroom interventions to monitor the
effectiveness of those interventions. The data is also used to
determine a grade-level core values advisory lesson. For
example, in October, the 6th grade team analyzed their
referral data and noticed that the majority of the referrals
were for physical contact. They requested the advisory
lesson for November be on physical contact. The PBIS
team developed a lesson and a challenge for the students to
Example of 6th Grade Data Challenge
reduce their administrative referrals for physical contact. The
lesson was taught and the challenge was posted on a data wall in the 6th grade hallway. The
following month referral data was analyzed once again and the 6th graders were successful in
meeting and exceeding their challenge.
The PBIS team also examined the MCPS School Climate survey completed by staff, student and
parents on MLK’s climate. One example of the way this data was used is that a majority of
students identified bullying and harassment as being a major problem at MLK. In response to
this the PBIS team did several things. During the first week of school we prepared an advisory
lesson on bullying for all teachers to share with students. We sponsored a bullying poster contest
that had close to 50 entries. Finally, we hung “bullying boxes” around
the school for students to report bullying concerns. An announcement
was made and a letter was sent home describing the purpose and how to
use the bullying boxes.
Other ways data is used for decision making is targeting students for
specific interventions and rewarding students for positive behavior.
Referral data and suspension data have been used to identify students for
programs such as ASP (Academic Support Program) and JLI (Junior
Leadership Initiative). These programs help students make better
academic and behavior decisions. Peace Day data is used to determine
Example of Bullying Box
when grade levels are eligible to receive rewards. The achievement of
Peace Days is also monitored to make sure that grade levels are making adequate process. For
example, the 7th grade recently participated in a town meeting about their behavior. An
administrator discussed with the students that at the beginning of the year they had the most
Peace Days out of all the grade levels, but currently had the least amount. Students were talking
afterwards about that information and discussed the need for better behavior choices.
The SWIS database allows for easy identification of trends in referrals and suspensions. We are
able to identify if there are certain times of the day when most referrals are occurring, or certain
locations where many referrals are occurring. Trends in problem behaviors are also promptly
identified. Teachers who may need additional support in classroom management and discipline
can quickly be identified through SWIS. Students who have 3 or more referrals can be identified
as frequent fliers and be communicated with staff so that interventions can be developed.
Many types of information are used to identify status, need for change and effects of
interventions and strategies:
 Referrals
 Suspensions
 Staff Managed Interventions
 School Climate Survey
 IPI
 Attendance
 Achievement (MSA, MAP-R, Assessments)
 Staff Surveys and Feedback
 Student Surveys and Feedback
 PTSA Feedback
 Grade Level Discussions
 Instructional Leadership Team Discussions
Data is shared with staff in several ways. First, there is a data wall located in the main office.
The wall illustrates achievement and behavior data. Trends in the data are posted and analyzed.
In the weekly staff news, these trends are included and the
staff is asked to discuss their insights. In additions, each
grade level wing has a data bulletin board where data is
visible to staff and students. Staff meetings are another
place data is shared. For example, after looking at trends in
data it was determined that October was one of the highest
months for referrals and suspensions at MLK. This was
shared with the staff at the October staff meeting and staff
was asked to be more vigilant in monitoring student
behavior. As a result, there was zero suspension in October
Example Data Wall in Main Office
of this year, whereas last year there were 24 suspensions.
Because this data was shared, staff was able to be proactive
in correcting student behavior before it got to the point where a suspension was necessary.
Finally, at the beginning of every month, the previous month’s referral data is shared with staff.
Grade level teams look at and analyze the disaggregated data.
The PBIS team used the IPI to identify areas that needed improvement. One of these areas was
parent involvement. In order to increase parent involvement the team conducted a parent
workshop to explain PBIS and encourage parent participation. The team created a brochure that
was distributed to parents at the workshop and placed in the guidance office for families entering
the school during the school year. A letter introducing and describing PBIS was sent home with
all students. In the monthly PTSA meetings the principal makes PBIS a regular discussion item
on the agenda. Finally, the school’s website was updated to include information and links on
PBIS that parents could easily access from home.
PBIS has become institutionalized at MLK in a few ways. First, in the staff handbook there is a
section outline the expectations for staff to follow the behavior policy. This policy outlines staff
managed behaviors and office managed behaviors. It also requires all teachers to have their
behavior interventions posted in their classrooms and gives examples of what those interventions
may be. A flowchart outlining steps to take when writing an administrative referral is included
in the handbook. Another way PBIS has become institutionalized is in the weekly discussion of
students using data during kid talk in team meetings. The behavior data collected drives
discussions on individual students and interventions they may need. A third way PBIS has been
institutionalized in MLK is in the everyday vocabulary the staff uses with students. Respect,
responsibility and integrity are at the forefront of every discussion staff members have with
students about their behavior. The core values are a part of MLK’s vision and mission and are
emphasized in the morning announcements every day. Finally, a school climate goal (By June
2008, the community of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School will improve school climate
through a focus on the core values of respect, responsibility, and integrity as measured by the
elimination of the racial predictability of students suspended from school) has been written into
the school improvement plan, further institutionalizing PBIS. The following attachments are
provided as documentation: School Improvement Plan, Behavior Flow Chart, and Excerpt from
the Staff Handbook.
MLK has many pieces of data that reflect our success with PBIS:
Referrals YTD as of January 31st
600
500
521
400
2005-06
365
300
2006-07
2007-08
200
181
100
0
Referrals
MLK has also seen a dramatic decrease in suspensions from this time last year:
Suspensions YTD as of January 31st
90
80
70
60
70
77
2005-06
50
40
2006-07
2007-08
30
20
10
13
0
Suspensions
We have also seen a decrease in our students who are repeat offenders:
Students w ith 3+ Referrals YTD as of January 31st
70
60
62
50
40
2005-06
43
2006-07
30
2007-08
20
21
10
0
Referrals
As shown in the charts below, student attendance has increased:
A t t end ance R at e Y T D as o f D ecemb er 3 1st
0. 98
0. 97
0. 96
0.9602
0. 95
2005-06
0.9507
0. 94
2006-07
2007-08
0. 93
0. 92
0. 91
0. 9
A t t endance Rat e
# of S t ude nt s M i ssi ng 15 % or M or e of S c hool
YTD a s of D e c e m be r 3 1st
50
45
40
44
35
30
25
2005-06
34
2006-07
2007-08
20
22
15
10
5
0
St udent s wi t h 15%+
Achievement has also changed for the positive. In the year prior to becoming a PBIS school,
MLK did not make AYP. In 2006-2007, our first year of PBIS, we did. This year we anticipate
meeting and exceeding our AYP goals. The staff at MLK has shifted our focus to being
proactive in preventing unwanted behavior and praising and rewarding the positive, therefore we
are spending less time reacting to and assigning consequences for negative student behavior.
This has allowed the staff to implement more programs to enhance academic achievement:
 Extended Day Reading
 Extended Day Math
 Soliloquy
 READ 180
 Corrective Reading
 MSA Activities during Advisory Periods
 MSA practice activities across curriculum
 BCR/ECR Practice; Common Tasks
 Breakfast Club
 Homework Help
 Alternative Structured Program (ASP)
C. PRACTICES
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School has implemented many practices to support PBIS.
One of these practices is defining and teaching
MLK’s core values of respect, responsibility and
integrity. The PBIS team developed an expectations
map that defines core value behavior in various
settings around the building and on the school bus.
Throughout the building there are posters hanging
that define the behavior that students should be
demonstrating in that setting. Teachers created
custom posters with input from their students on
how the core values look in the classroom. Once a
month there is a special advisory period specifically
for PBIS. Lessons for the advisory period are based on
Example of Student Created Core Values Poster
the analysis of referral data by grade level teams. Once
an area of need has been identified, the PBIS team develops the lesson and provides teachers
with all of the materials that they will need to teach the lesson. This year the lessons have
focused on physical contact, respect, conflict resolution and an overview of expected behaviors.
Furthermore, discussion, correction and prevention of inappropriate core value behavior takes
place in all teaching and non-teaching settings. Staff frames conversations on discipline and
behavior around respect, responsibility and integrity.
Another practice that MLK has implemented is rewarding the students with incentive tickets for
behavior that consistently or above and beyond demonstrates our core values. Students may
enter these tickets in monthly raffles or spend them at a store that is open every Friday. Another
way staff recognizes students for core value behavior is by selecting Peace Keepers of the
Month. To receive this honor, students must be a role model to their peers in demonstrating core
value behavior. A fourth way students are recognized is through Peace Days. Peace Days is a
way to reward entire grade levels for appropriate behavior. Grade levels earn Peace Days by
going through an entire day without receiving an administrative referral for behaviors that
disrupt the overall peace of the school (abusive language, fighting,
physical aggression, major disruptions, etc…). There are posters
hanging throughout the building informing students of how to earn
peace days. Once each grade level reaches a pre-determined benchmark
they are able to vote on a reward. Allowing them the opportunity to
vote on their rewards gains buy in from the students.
A third practice that the PBIS team has implemented is providing a
support system for behavioral
expectations. This year all teachers
have been required to post a tiered
Example of Peace Day Poster
behavior intervention system in their
classroom so that students are aware of consequences for
not meeting expectations. Having a tiered system posted
also allows for consistency across the staff so that students
hearing the same message in every classroom. Another
support for behavioral expectations is having clearly defined
office managed behaviors and staff managed behaviors.
Example of Posted Tiered Behavior Interventions
This allows for the administration and staff to be on the same
page when it comes to disciplining students for inappropriate behavior. A flowchart was also
created and shared with staff outlining the steps for dealing with each type of behavior. PBIS
has also organized a system for staff to track interventions they are using in the classroom. Each
week teachers are required to fill out a checkpoint that documents the date, student and any
interventions used. These checkpoints are brought to team meetings and consolidated on a
student capture sheet. This allows for teams to easily identify students that made need additional
interventions such as conferences or contracts before the behavior reaches a level where an
administrator needs to get involved.
These practices are supported by ongoing training for the staff by the PBIS team. During the
week before students returned to school training was provided to all staff throughout the week.
Prior to that, training was provided on PBIS over the summer to new staff members to MLK.
During team meetings staff is trained on an as needed basis. For example, on a survey given to
staff this year they identified that the top two staff development needs were finding ways to
maintain focus on the positive and interventions for the yellow/red zone students. In response to
this request, the PBIS team created a consistent behavior-look-for list for staff to refer to. This
was distributed along with a sheet of incentive tickets. In response to the training need for
interventions some of the PBIS team attended a networking session where training on that topic
was offered. The team leader took aspects of the training that fit with MLK’s population and
created a power point to be used with the staff at a staff meeting. Another way practices are
supported is by sharing best practices. The PBIS team periodically makes requests of the staff to
share what is working well for them with PBIS.
The PBIS team chose these practices based on the self assessment survey that staff took last year
and the year before that identified areas of need. We also chose these practices based on other
surveys given over the past two years and discussions with the staff. Benchmarking schools that
have been successful with PBIS and adjusting their best practices to work with MLK’s
population was another consideration in choosing practices. Suspension data and referral data
were analyzed to determine areas of need. The PBIS team also considered student input and got
feedback formally and informally from students. Finally, the community’s opinion and input
was considered in deciding what practices to use.
The PBIS team tracks the effectiveness of implementation in several ways. First, data (such as
referrals and suspensions) is constantly being evaluated. Grade level teams are looking at staff
intervention data and reporting the data back to the PBIS and leadership teams. Peace Days are
monitored and communicated with staff and students on a daily basis. Informal and formal
surveys and discussions are conducted with staff and students throughout the school year.
Feedback is requested after every advisory lesson that has been designed to address specific
student behaviors. The PBIS team remains flexible so that adjustments to implementation can be
made based on feedback.
D. OUTCOMES
In the two years that MLK has been implementing PBIS we have seen many positive outcomes.
First, our referrals are down 50% from last year at this time and 65% from this time two years
ago. Second, our suspensions are down 83% from this time last year and 81% from this time two
years ago. Student attendance has increased by nearly one full percentage point and there are
50% less students missing 15% or more days of school this year compared to last year. In
coincidence with our first year of PBIS we made AYP after not making it the year before.
These data points illustrate changes that MLK has seen since PBIS implementation. Because
students are spending more time in class, more teaching and learning is taking place. Because
there is more time for teaching and learning the climate of MLK has shifted from the negative
and reactive to the positive and proactive both behaviorally and academically. Staff are actively
looking for ways to recognize students for positive choices and helping them to make better
decisions. Students are excited to be recognized and rewarded for doing the right thing. They
anticipate Fridays when the incentive store will be open and can spend their tickets. They enjoy
entering raffles for prizes. The last raffle that took place over 100 students entered. Students are
heard using core value vocabulary with each other and are more likely to correct each others
behavior before a staff member has to get involved. The morale amongst the staff has also
improved. Staff recognizes each other regularly at staff meetings for being exemplars to each
other and the students in demonstrating core value behavior. Best practices in recognizing
positive behavior are consistently shared. The increase in student attendance infers that students
like coming to school and that it is a positive place for them to be.
E. UNIQUE FEATURES/OBSTACLES
A unique feature of PBIS at MLK is that we have been able to eliminate in school suspension
through a two year phase out, the development of an antiseptic bounce system and a student
support team that runs the Academic Support Program. Last school year the Decision Making
Room opened in order to give students who are removed from class a place to reflect on their
behavior. Previously, there was not a place for students to do this and they would sit in the
office. This year, we were able to phase out the DMR by implementing an antiseptic bounce
system. The bounce system consists of three levels: green, yellow and red. The staff was trained
on how to use the bounces to maintain the maximum amount of instruction for students. A
description of the bounce process is attached. As a result of having the bounce system in place,
the only reason that students are removed from the classroom environment is for behaviors that
threaten the safety and security of the building.
In alignment with the bounce process, the Academic Support Program was redesigned so that the
student support team could work more successfully with our students in the red zone. Last year,
students were pulled out of class to participate in this program. This year the student support
team works with the students one-on-one in their classes to ensure success academically and
behaviorally. The bounce process and ASP have not only eliminated in school suspension, but
also have contributed to MLK’s dramatic decrease in administrative referrals.
One obstacle that the PBIS team has had to overcome this year is making sure that the substitutes
in the building are consistent with our behavior, incentive and core value expectations. Not only
have we had our regular substitutes in the building for normal absences, MLK has had an
unusually high number of long term substitutes in the building throughout the year. Some
students have 3-4 long term substitutes teaching them out of 7 periods of the day. In order to
make sure that we were all on the same page the PBIS team did two things. First, the team
leader trained all of the long term substitutes on PBIS and the procedures. Second, the PBIS
team created substitute kits for short term substitutes to use when they are here. The kits include
all the information that the teachers have along with special value incentive tickets. The
secretary makes sure that the substitutes receive and give back the kits each day.
F. OTHER
MLK has been able to support many schools with their implementation of PBIS. The PBIS team
is regularly receiving requests from other schools for PBIS resources and assistance. This past
summer we presented PBIS at Montgomery County’s Safe and Drug Free School Symposium.
We also hosted a district level administrator from Australia who is interested in implementing
PBIS in her school district. At the State Leadership Forum on PBIS MLK presented to middle
schools interested in bringing PBIS to their schools. Our systems and successes have been
discussed by district level administrators and our principal was asked to present the success that
MLK has had in reducing suspensions to the other 37 middle schools in the county. A
community member testified about the success that MLK has had with PBIS before the
Montgomery County Board of Education during a budget hearing. Finally, in our first year of
implementation we received a Banner Award from the state of Maryland, making MLK the only
middle school in MCPS to do so. Our application for the award is featured on the Maryland
PBIS website as an example for other schools.
Attachment #1: School Improvement Plan
Attachment #2: Behavior Flow Chart
Attachment #3: Excerpt from the Staff Handbook
Attachment #4: Bounce Descriptions