Where’s My Action Plan?

Susan BrawleyHeart of Missouri-RPDC

Mary RichterMissouri SW-PBS State Coordinator

Where’s My Action Plan?

• In last year’s Summer Institute folder?

• In a stack on the desk? • In the SWPBS team notebook?• Unknown?• In your hand ?

Purpose

• Examine the process of action planning.• Investigate how systems, data and

practices are incorporated into the action plan.

• Identify guidelines for developing an action plan.

• Reflect on 07-08 SWPBS Implementation and where to focus for 08-09.

Action Planning

• Process of action planning puts the strategic plan (School Improvement Plan) into place.– Goal, Steps, Resources, Outcome

• Without action planning, the strategic plan remains simply “castles in the air”.

SWPBS Action Plan

A roadmap to where you (school/team) are going.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where--" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

--From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

SWPBS “BIG IDEAS”

7

1. Systems (How things are done)• Team based problem solving • Data-based decision making• Long term sustainability

• 2. Data (How decisions are made)• On going data collection & use• ODR’s (# per day per month, location, behavior,

student)• Suspension/expulsion, attendance, tardies

3. Practices (How staff interact with students) • Direct teaching of behavioral expectations • On-going reinforcement of expected behaviors

Newcomer 2007

8 Newcomer 2007

Where do you start?

Systems, Practices or Data?

Data, data, data“It is a capital

mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of

theories to suit facts.”

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

10 Newcomer 2007

SYST

EMS

PRACTICES

Information

SupportingStaff

Performance

SupportingDecisionMaking

SupportingStudent Performance

School-Wide Behavior and

ReadingSupport

OUTCOMES

Social Competence,Academic Achievement, and Safety

Guidelines for Developing SWPBS Action Plan

1. Develop the plan as a team2. Start by defining the expected outcomes

and summarizing last year’s progress3. Summarize current status, strengths and

areas of improvement4. Develop goals and activities for two

main areas: a) management and b) design and implementation

www.pbssurveys.org

Guidelines for Developing SWPBS Action Plan

5. Use the PBS Annual Planning Guide and the Missouri SWPBS action plan template as tools to define and document long (1-2 year) and short (3, 6, & 9 month) term objectives.

a) Specify implementation activities that are discrete and achievable.b) Set long term objectives and timelines for activities that require more time and resources and are more challenging to achieve.c) Set short term objectives and timelines for initial activities that have a high likelihood of being successfully achieved in a short period of time.

www.pbssurveys.org

Guidelines for Developing SWPBS Action Plan

6. Determine necessary data for measuring the expected outcomes.

Data sources for action planning can include results from:

• Self-Assessment Survey• Office discipline referral patterns• School Safety Survey• Team Implementation Checklist• Schoolwide Evaluation Tool• Attendance and tardy records• Academic progress records• Previous documentation of efforts• Other critical information specific to the school

www.pbssurveys.org

Guidelines for Developing SWPBS Action Plan

7. Be specific about who will be responsible for each activity.

8. Specify when follow-up meetings/activities will occur to assess the status or progress.

www.pbssurveys.org

SYST

EMS

PRACTICES

Information

SupportingStaff

Performance

SupportingDecisionMaking

SupportingStudent Performance

School-Wide Behavior and

ReadingSupport

OUTCOMES

Social Competence,Academic Achievement, and Safety

Review of Annual Planning Guide

1. Determine/Review School Improvement Goal

2. Complete Self-Assessment Survey

3. Conduct other assessments as needed

4. Define Team to manage School Improvement Goal

5. Use assessment information to revise School Improvement Goal as needed

6. Develop Annual Action Plan including maintaining/ strengthening/ developing and implementation of programs

Action Plan Items to ConsiderPath One: Universal Interventions

(Coordinated by School-wide PBS Team)

7. Define school-wide rules

8. Develop expectation matrix for non/ classroom settings

9. Define routines for non/ classroom settings

10. Develop teaching schedule (implementation plan) for non/ classroom settings

11. Define consequence (acknowledgement/ corrective) system

12. Teach expectations and routines in non/ classroom settings

Action Plan Items to ConsiderPath Two: Classroom Interventions

(Coordinated by School-wide PBS Team)

7. Define classroom behavioral expectations

8. Define classroom routines.

9. Teach classroom routines and behavioral expectations

10. Establish a 4:1 positive to negative feedback pattern.

11. Establish a physical layout that fits classroom activities.

12. Ensure maximal level of academic engagement.

13. Monitor and promote high level of academic success (e.g., >70%)

14. Establish consistent responses to problem behavior.

15. Deliver instruction in varying modes.

16. Establish efficient system for requesting support for individual students.

Action Plan Items to Consider Create Separate Systems for Students with

Chronic Patterns of Problem Behavior

• Targeted Interventions– Social Skills– Behavior Education Planning

• Intensive, individual interventions– Function-based support

Action Plan Items to Consider Path Three: Targeted Interventions(Coordinated by Individual Student Support Team)

7. Define system/ rules for student selection

8. Conduct assessment for targeted interventions that are already available

9. Embed function-based concepts to revise targeted interventions

10. Conduct brief functional behavior assessment with student and others in support circle

11. Revise, strengthen, and implement Targeted Interventions

12. Conduct monthly updates on targeted intervention implementation & student progress

Action Plan Items to Consider Path Four: Individual Intensive Interventions

(Coordinated by Individual Student Support Team)

7. Define request for assistance system

8. Define system of student selection.

9. For each individual student:

a) Conduct full FBA

b) Develop system for observing, interviewing, & developing a function-based support plan.

10. Specify individual Action Team members

11. For each school, provide staff development for function based support planning skills

12. Monthly individual student progress updates

Routine Procedures for Each Path

13.Develop & use decision-making model & process

14.Schedule staff development activities

15.Develop & manage budget

16.Schedule and conduct regular reporting cycle to staff & families

The “Big Idea” of School-Wide Systems

Goal is to establish host environments that support adoption, sustained use, & expansion of evidence-based practices

(Zins & Ponti, 1990)

Keep the Action Plan Off the Shelf!

“The question is whether the strategic plan [action plan] will be pursued or end up on a shelf collecting dust, beside other well-intentioned initiatives.”

– “Strategic Plan Attacks School Inadequacies”, Hartford Courant, July 13, 1994

Changing the Action Plan

• The action plan is a guide, a living document.• It is okay to change the plan.• Make sure the team understands:

– What is causing changes to be made– Why the changes should be made– The changes to make (goals, steps, resources).

• Team must be in agreement.• Update the action plan to reflect the changes.

– Put revision date

• Keep a copy of old action plan for records.

Staff Communication

• How do you communicate with the staff?

• How do you listen to their input?

• How does the Action Plan reflect their input?

Monitoring and Evaluating the Action Plan

• Just as important as identifying the goals and action steps.

• Ensures that the school/team is following the established direction.

• How often?– At least quarterly– If rapid change occurring inside/outside school then

may want to monitor/evaluate monthly.

Monitoring and Evaluating Plan Implementation: Key Questions

• Are goals and steps being achieved? – If yes, then acknowledge, celebrate and

communicate progress. – If no, consider these questions:

• Will the goals be achieved according to the timelines specified? If not, why?

• Should deadlines for completion be changed?• Do personnel have adequate resources (money,

equipment, training, etc.) to achieve the goals?• Are the goals and steps still realistic?

Monitoring and Evaluating Plan Implementation: Additional Tools

• Missouri SWPBS Action Plan Example• Missouri SWPBS Action Plan Checklist

Results of Monitoring and Evaluation of Action Plan

• What can be learned from monitoring and evaluation to:– improve future planning activities?– improve future monitoring and evaluation

efforts?

Celebration

• When a goal or step is completed, acknowledge that success.

• Can get too eager to focus on moving to the next step without pausing.

• Taking time to acknowledge a job well done provides closure, fulfillment and prevents the next planning cycle from being a grind.

Ask . . .

• Where do we go from here? • How will we get there?

Three-Minute Team Update• Name, Enrollment, Location

• Office Discipline Referral Patterns:

SWIS graph (OR per day per month)… or any other student data you are using for decision making.

• Status for Teaching and Rewarding School-wide Expectations

• Roadblocks (if any)

• Current Team Assessment:

Implementation of school-wide PBS:

Low High

1 2 3 4 5

Impact of school-wide PBS on student behavior

Low High

1 2 3 4 5

• Initiative Focus for 08-09 (which of the four paths?)