When it comes to the success of your PBIS initiative, it’s important to begin with a strong foundation. Identifying the values you want to build your school’s culture upon is crucial for creating a solid schoolwide PBIS matrix. This matrix will be essential for creating and sustaining a safe and positive learning environment. But how do you create a strong schoolwide matrix?
What is a Schoolwide PBIS Matrix?
A schoolwide matrix is simply a table that defines expectations in various settings throughout your school campus. Along one axis are the expectations, while the other axis includes locations in which these behaviors are expected. The corresponding cells illuminate what these behaviors look like in the various locations.
A schoolwide matrix spells out what positive behaviors look like in the school’s common areas, such as hallways, restrooms, the cafeteria, and so on. It can also cover off-campus conduct such as bus behaviors and virtual learning, as well as in extracurricular settings such as school-sponsored events.
How to Create a Schoolwide Matrix
Establishing a schoolwide matrix begins with identifying three to five core behavioral values for the school. In general, these are broad concepts. Schools typically pinpoint principles such as respect, responsibility, safety, productivity, and effort as their core values.
The matrix is then developed by identifying various school locations and then determining what each of the core values looks like in that setting. The specific expectations are then described in a concise and positive manner. The completed matrix should be shared with the entire school community and posted throughout the school as a visual reminder to students and staff.
Additionally, the matrix provides a common language and allows staff to directly teach positive behavioral expectations. The behaviors defined in the matrix apply to all community members and allow teachers to develop classroom-specific matrices for their own students.
Using Your Behavior Matrix in PBIS
Many schools establish a schoolwide matrix as an initial step in developing a PBIS initiative. Defining positive behaviors gives the school community a solid place to begin from and return to throughout their PBIS journey.
Using your matrix as a foundation for PBIS enables you to:
- Establish points values for behaviors (which helps you stock your school store with attainable incentives!)
- Leave room for adjustment as behaviors become standard
- Use SEL
- Teach expectations, not rules
- Reteach expectations as needed
- Build a strong, positive school environment
- Give struggling students a boost
- Teach financial literacy
A schoolwide PBIS matrix creates a baseline of positive behaviors, allowing the entire school community to actively form a positive school climate. As the foundation for a PBIS initiative, it can be particularly helpful in clarifying the actions and behaviors that are important to the community.
PBIS Rewards enables you to maximize the effectiveness of your schoolwide matrix. Our software makes it easy to recognize positive behaviors as they occur and award points on the spot. These behaviors become habits and these habits become touchpoints in positive school culture. PBIS Rewards takes the effort out of points, tickets, and tokens, tracks everything digitally, and makes it easy to redeem points for incentives.
Want to know more? Contact us! We’d love to set up a demo of PBIS Rewards for you!
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