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PBIS Journey to Genius
Are you in the process of developing your PBIS Framework? Are you wondering where to start? You are in the right place. Join Dianne Ferrell and Diane Ruff as they share the ups and downs of creating and implementing a top-notch PBIS framework that has empowered their school to achieve Ohio recognition as a PBIS Gold School for 4 years. They will also share current issues in behavior management and how PBIS can help with those ongoing struggles. We would love to hear from you! Email us
@ pbisjourneytogenius@gmail.com
PBIS Journey to Genius
Episode 23 Reflections on PBIS: Celebrating Growth and Progress
Ever wondered how two educators with no podcasting experience managed to craft 22 episodes packed with insights on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)? Join Dianne Ferrell and Diane Ruff as they recount their journey on PBIS Journey to Genius, highlighting memorable conversations and moments. Listen to Michelle Nervo share her expertise on blending diverse school philosophies, and hear from kindergarten teacher and PBIS coach Mrs. Roach, who focuses on nurturing student leadership over material rewards. Celebrate the evolution of PBIS with us and discover how our approach has adapted over time thanks to valuable listener and expert connections.
Discover the transformative power of goal setting within PBIS with a district-wide school counselor who implements these strategies across multiple schools. Embrace the philosophy of "go slow to go fast" and learn how gradual, thoughtful implementation leads to sustainable success. We'll break down misconceptions about PBIS being just a reward system and highlight its deeper role in appreciating and recognizing student efforts. From second to fifth-grade classrooms, witness how leadership or goal-setting binders are fostering a sense of ownership and leadership among students, creating an environment where they are motivated to set and track their goals.
As we wrap up this incredible season, our heartfelt gratitude goes out to every teacher, listener, and expert who has supported us. We are thrilled to return in the fall with more advanced topics, including tier two strategies, and we encourage you to stay connected with us via email. Reflect with us on the meaningful interactions and progress made throughout the school year, and join us in celebrating the student growth and achievements that have made this journey so rewarding. Thank you for being an integral part of PBIS Journey to Genius, and we look forward to exploring even more impactful educational strategies together soon!
Welcome to PBIS. Journey to Genius. Are you in the process of implementing PBIS? Are you wondering where to start? You are in the right place. We are here to support you. Stay tuned.
Speaker 2:Welcome back. We are so excited to get together one more time. My name is Diane Farrell and I'm here with Diane Ruff, and all this year we have been putting together a podcast called PBIS Journey to Genius. Diane and I have worked together for many years and we've worked very hard on PBIS in our school, and we decided to put a podcast together. So this season we have 22 episodes. Oh my gosh, diane, can you believe it?
Speaker 1:no, I can't. 22 episodes. That is amazing because you know we decided to do this, uh, last September and we knew nothing about podcasting at all.
Speaker 2:So so it has been. It has been a journey not only in our PBIS. It's been a lot of fun in podcasting and it is a of fun, and we do this through a medium called Buzzsprout and that has been a very friendly medium for us. So if you're out there thinking about doing that, you know we could put a little plug in for Buzzsprout, because it has done a really nice job and it's so friendly.
Speaker 1:And you know we've also figured out that we could Zoom and record the audio so clear. Back in the beginning in September, I kept wondering how are we going to be able to interview people in person? Because we wanted to get out and about, and so we realized that we could do that through Zoom.
Speaker 2:Yes, and Diane is our technical coordinator and she has done a great job.
Speaker 2:So we have had a lot of people from all over Cincinnati, Columbus, you know Canton area and they that's, that's far away from from us, If I know, if you're listening out there, but you know that's four hours away and they were able to just zoom in on their lunch break and do a podcast. So that was really awesome and opened it up to have a lot more guests. So today we're talking about some highlights, so we thought we were talking last week.
Speaker 2:We're going to wrap it up for the summer since everybody's off, on break and everything, and we thought you know what we'd like to do just one last session, just Diane and I, and talk about our highlights, like what just really stood out for us. So that's what we're doing today. So our podcast is all about that, and then you can go back to the and look at the different episodes if they interest you.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes. So when our very first episode really or guest was Michelle Nervo, and that was really neat to have her here and we got to reminisce about what was going on. You know how we brought PBIS into our building and I think it's good for all schools. You know whether you're starting or maybe you have brought PBIS into your building. It's good to look back sometimes and just look at your journey, celebrate you know what really worked and look at things that needed to be tweaked, and that's kind of what we did in the first two episodes.
Speaker 2:We did, and Michelle Nerva was our principal and two buildings were coming together, so we talked a lot about that. So if you're out there in the consolidation world and buildings are coming together with different philosophies and different thoughts about how behavior systems should be run, that's what we were going through and we had to have some big aha moments to put that all together, but those episodes are really good. So if you are on that journey too and you might be bringing some buildings together, even buildings that have PBIS in them, but different types of procedures, well, and you know your staff- changes.
Speaker 2:So we've been at this about.
Speaker 1:Oh, I think we said maybe like 12 years or something 12 or 13 years PBIS, and so what in our building alone this year? You know, we've had to kind of rethink a few things, plus PBIS itself has changed. And so you know, looking at what can we tweak, and coming together again and making some changes and trying to get on the same page. So you always have to kind of come back to that.
Speaker 2:So there's some really good tips in those first couple episodes with Mrs Nervo.
Speaker 1:She's out there, she did a really good job she did. We love talking to her.
Speaker 2:So then I was looking at Diane and I was looking at one of our teachers. She's a favorite of mine, she's a kindergarten teacher and because I always said, if you want to fire me, make me teach kindergarten, because it's a tough job, it's really a tough job.
Speaker 1:All of our kindergarten teachers are just amazing, oh my gosh, they're so good.
Speaker 2:So Mrs Roach was not only a great kindergarten teacher, but she's also one of our PBIS coaches, so we had her on for an episode and she just was amazing. Do you remember what she was talking about?
Speaker 1:Well, I know she likes to really, you know, go beyond the idea of trinkets and have her students be leaders and, you know, reward them in that way. And we do talk a lot about the reward system and being more of an acknowledgement system rather than a reward with materialistic kinds of things. But so she spent some time talking about that and how her little people can be leaders and rise to the occasion.
Speaker 2:I know and she did a great job with that. So if and we actually had emails coming in about that and and we hooked Aaron up with other people which was fun because it was people who were listening and wanting some help and then Erin was more than happy to email them back and talk about what she did to help them, which that's what this is all about is not just listening, but also getting some information. So we wanted to bring that episode up because we know there were some listeners out there and sometimes kindergarten is a tough thing because you know you are molding those little behaviors and they're not used to really being in school and following procedures and things like that.
Speaker 2:You are starting from scratch.
Speaker 1:I just love to watch the transition or maybe not, that's not the right word how they just evolve over the maybe the first nine weeks, because they do come in and they're kind of all over the place, they're not real good at walking in a line, I know, or sitting in their seat, but by Christmas, oh my goodness, they are little students.
Speaker 2:I know because we said some of them don't go to preschool. You know, some of them don't have any idea what it's like to have a procedure to do anything and then all of a sudden, they're bombarded with this and and how to do anything. And then, all of a sudden, they're bombarded with this and how to do it. But our kindergarten staff is awesome at this all of them but Erin was able to come in and talk to us. So if you're a kindergarten teacher out there, that's a really great episode with Erin Roach.
Speaker 1:And so PBIS, again, is not just for elementary. We need to say that over and over, we do. And so we go from kindergarten clear to high school, and high school is amazing. We need to say that over and over, we do. And so we go from kindergarten clear to high school, and high school is amazing. We talked with Renee Parr from Maslin High School I think it's Washington Maslin, washington High School in Ohio. They're pretty popular because they have a great football team. We also heard from Phil Heflin. He was an assistant principal at a vocational high school down in the Cincinnati area. But these two high schools are doing amazing things in PBIS Because again, it really comes back to positive behaviors, interventions when students need it, whether they're in 12th grade or kindergarten, and then supporting them, and really both of those principles talked a lot about relationships and how they support their almost adult students with relationship pieces. So those are really great.
Speaker 2:If you're a high school out there or you're a high school teacher that would like to do this and can't always get your administration on board. Those are two great episodes to see how that works, and have them listen.
Speaker 1:Now.
Speaker 2:Mr Heflin is actually a personal friend of mine and whenever I had him come on he did talk a lot about that. He was a naysayer he was. He was a naysayer and thought it was only for elementary.
Speaker 1:We've heard that before.
Speaker 2:Whenever we were talking years and years and years ago, when Diane and I were just getting started on PBIS, and we would get together I would say about this and he would call it pibbis, and he would say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But Phil is a great guy and you know what he was listening. And then he took that back to his high school and did a lot with the relationship building piece and then he retired and went on to a vocational school, which I really liked that idea, because that's a whole different environment.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:A vocational school and that you have a lot. You know high school altogether. You have a lot of absenteeism. You know trouble with truancy, things like that and then making those kids want to come to school. You know building that relationships and the things that he did.
Speaker 1:And he had some great incentives, and so did Renee, great incentives to get kids to come to school. I think, renee, they had the cards, the bell cards, bell long.
Speaker 2:Yes, I think it was little bell store cards and it says you bell long here yes, I think it was.
Speaker 1:It was little bell store cards and it says you belong here. So either you know who doesn't want that, to go get a, a pop after school or a soda, I should say she also had the starbucks um yes yes and gas, you know, if you're driving, you might want that ten dollars for starbucks was a good um partnering and I think that was based on attendance, if I'm right bellon, yes, because you bell long yeah, um it good, you need to listen to that one.
Speaker 2:Really, because she had a whole bunch of ideas with incorporating businesses and stuff and I thought that was really cool. Now she's in a city, you know, massillon, which has businesses around but you wouldn't be. You'd be surprised how they might really want to join on with that. And she said Starbucks was really up on that and wanted to help with gift cards and recognition. Well, and I think that Erica Bauer from down in the New Philly area was using.
Speaker 1:yes, yes, that's right, they were using the businesses in Starbucks, the businesses in the New Philly area.
Speaker 2:That's right, they were using the businesses in Starbucks In the New Philly area. That's right. Renee also talked about those 90 kids being chosen every month. Remember that. What did they do outside their doors, do you remember?
Speaker 1:Well, I think that they just had to show leadership qualities and probably, if I remember correctly, their three big rules those students had you know, I'm not sure what they were, but like be safe, responsible, respectful all of them kind of go on yeah on that and then the teacher would nominate a student in the classroom every month and then put their picture outside the classroom and the kids would look for that. These are high school students that would look for their picture to be hanging up. Yeah, because if you don't want that.
Speaker 2:she said you're wrong. You're wrong Because they liked that and their picture was up. But also, you know, having that many you know instead of just one, and then lots of kids don't get it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, one from every classroom, which I really liked, yeah.
Speaker 2:I thought that was really awesome and her ideas about that.
Speaker 1:And yes, I did misspoke, erica Bauer was the one from Green that did the Starbucks and the businesses.
Speaker 2:Yes, so her episode is awesome because she was a district wide. Remember that.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And we thought that was amazing.
Speaker 1:Yes, that district is a district like gold PBIS, which really means that there are several buildings. They have a high school, probably their middle school elementaries, but they're all. They've been awarded PBIS, which really means that there are several buildings, they have a high school, probably their middle school elementaries, but they're all um, they've been awarded PBIS, I think every school had to have an award or something, um, but she is the central person in that.
Speaker 2:she's also the school counselor, but she is like the one that you know, negotiates through all the buildings and works with them and their administrators, and so so she is an awesome resource. And that episode is really good because she took a lot of time to share things with that and what green was going, and her advice was go slow to go fast.
Speaker 1:Yes, which I?
Speaker 2:thought was very interesting because and we heard that actually from lots of teachers- you know, when they were starting something they were like well, just do a little bit, just start. You know, you feel like you have to go gangbusters. Well, her, being a district wide, said go slow to go fast, that's good I thought that was really good.
Speaker 1:And so then you know, really we didn't really know what our theme would be. Throughout this whole thing it just kind of evolved as we were going. We talked all about tier one, but what kept coming up was building relationships over and over and acknowledging students for the great things that they're doing. These two things seem to be the theme.
Speaker 2:That was a common thread all the way. Yes, Yep.
Speaker 1:So PBIS, I think it's kind of gotten a bad rap because some people think that's just a reward system and you're just rewarding kids. But it's so much deeper than that. It's really acknowledging what kids are doing and showing that appreciation in a lot of different ways, Like we see that you're working hard, we see that you were, you know you're working hard at your academics, we see that you are following all of the rules, that you're helping other friends, and so one of the ways in our building is to kind of foster more of that is the leadership binders, and really it's just a goal setting binder. We called it a leadership binder because we were doing the leader in me. Moving forward in our building is we'll probably just call it a goal setting or goal binders. We still want our children to do that because we found out this year that they took great pride in all of the goal setting that they did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those episodes are really cool If you get a chance and you want to know about leadership binders or goal setting binders or you know those type of things. It's a second grade episode and then it's a fifth grade episode and that really shows you the gamut you know. So, like if fifth graders can do it. Of course they're independent, they can, you know, know what they're tracking and everything. But even those little seven and eight year olds, you know really can put their input into their binders and do a good job. And the teachers were really good about talking about how important that was and how you know. I liked it when Autumn Thomas, the fifth grade teacher, said if you think you don't have time to do it, you really don't have time not to do it, because once you do it, you really don't have time not to do it Because once you do it, you use it so much.
Speaker 2:And then the kids, you know, love to see their progress and see their, their achievements. And what was it Mrs Jones, I think, said something like kids don't even know they grow?
Speaker 1:Yes, they don't even know it, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then they'd see those behavior charts and those you know reading levels, and then they'd see the growth at the end of the year and they were like, wow, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, making them aware, and that is just something that really needs to be fostered throughout all of education. You know sports we were just talking before we came on the air here about track and you know they're constantly. You know, in any sport, whether it's golf or track, you're keeping track all of the time your progress, your personal best, your and your goal setting. You know in any, really in any sport, you look at where you are and where you want to be in your goal setting. Well, we need to do that in the education world, in middle school and high school as well. Students should be you know, recording it somewhere and taking the time to say, okay, this is where I am, this is where I want to be, and try and not just a report card.
Speaker 2:No, you know, like report cards are just so, um, ambiguous, like it's an a, okay, what's an a, you know. But to actually see, you know I was reading here and then I'm reading here and you know I was doing my math here and now you know. But to actually see, you know I was reading here and then I'm reading here and you know I was doing my math here and now you know that that showing that growth, that that is way more important and meaningful to kids than an A or a B, right.
Speaker 1:Yes, and taking the time to celebrate that, because you know a student at the middle school or high school level. Maybe they are getting D's in a certain subject area, but if they were able to see the skills and where they were at the beginning of the year to where they are at the end, they could celebrate their growth because chances are they've grown a lot and that grade might not reflect that Because, like you said, grades can be so ambiguous.
Speaker 2:It is. And if you listen to those episodes, especially in the second grade, they have like lunches with parents and stuff and grandparents and then they pull out those leadership binders and they had her student and she got the leadership binder and then and she was like, oh, he cause every day he just says, oh, okay, you know, like what'd you do today, okay, but then you really got to see it all and you got to see that whole year unfold. So you know, those are types of things. So. So I was away one episode and Diane put together a little um hodgepodge of testimonials from kids about their leadership binders. It's adorable, you have to listen, kindergarten to fifth grade and the kindergartners talking about theirs and then the fifth graders, of course, being so you know, just told all about it, you know, and they knew everything. But even the little kindergartners knew why.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, they did.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And the video is adorable too. I think maybe we posted I'm not sure if I posted that video out or not on our Facebook page or the Minerva Elementary YouTube channel. But I was able to learn how to pull the audio. Yes, just the audio, yeah, and so, yes, yay for that, and bring it into GarageBand. That's what we use and was able to share that with everyone, and it was very insightful to hear what the kids said.
Speaker 2:It really was, and it wasn't rehearsed.
Speaker 1:I just went to the teachers and said who do you think could talk about their binder? And you teachers out there, you know the students in your classroom who love to talk and share.
Speaker 2:And they did a great job because these were adorable.
Speaker 1:It's like, oh yeah, so-and-so, ask this one.
Speaker 2:They'll tell you anything you want to know kind of thing. So that was a lot of fun going around and finding those few students to do that. So if you're interested out there about a leadership binder or starting that out in your school, really check into that episode. It's 17 and 19 are the two episodes and then the testimonials from the kiddos.
Speaker 1:And what we have seen this year is that more so this year than I think any other year is that students do care more about their learning personally. So there's that intrinsic motivation happening that. That was a goal of mine last year in August I shared with the teachers how can we get our students to care, how can they motivate themselves? And so I saw a lot of that this year and we were able to get our test scores back for fourth and fifth grade and we had several students this year actually score perfects on different parts of the Ohio State test and, to my knowledge, that's never happened before and I think I want to believe that it's because our students care about their learning. You know, and they've been tracking their learning all year and they know that they can do things. So we'll continue to see, but we were very excited about it.
Speaker 2:And you should be Perfect. I mean, that's awesome On different parts. Yeah, on the writing.
Speaker 1:Writing's always been hard for us On the writing on math and then some English.
Speaker 2:So tracking, seeing your progress. That's big business and it's important. So those were some of our highlights that we talked about. Of course, there's 22 episodes, so there's lots more, but we tried to make this podcast be 20 minutes. So you know we can't go on forever, so, but we really did appreciate you guys, Um, if you were tuning into us. We had so many downloads and what we feel is so much success.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, we weren't sure if anyone would listen to us. I know.
Speaker 2:And we would get people. Buzzsprout does a nice job of giving you weekly updates on what podcast you know how many people are downloading you, so that was really fun to see when there were downloads and from where, because Buzzsprout always tells you. Also there's other countries that were downloading us. I don't know why, but I love that. So they gave us updates about if a download came from even another country. So that was awesome and fun to see.
Speaker 2:And then another thing that happened out of it is um, uh, malone University in Canton, ohio, um, was looking for a podcast to base a course on and a new medium, and so they were looking through Google and apparently we came up on top and so they just Goog new PBIS podcast and they contacted us and since I am retired now, I chose to do that and so I am teaching a class at Malone based all on our podcast. So it's very friendly format and if you're interested in getting a credit hour, it would be for professional development. So this would be for teachers going back to getting their certifications renewed, that you can check out Malone's class schedule and the website to see if we're gonna offer again in the fall. But it's just basically, you listen to the podcast. There's medium that you use and then you do comments and things back to me about your thoughts, insights about the podcast. So it's been fun doing it and fun listening, another opportunity.
Speaker 1:I just I think that's amazing.
Speaker 2:So just you know kind of unraveled itself there and it's been a lot of fun. So if you would like to do that, and then you need to look on Malone schedule for PBIS and then my name, which is Diane Farrell, and that would tell you if it was going to be offered in the fall.
Speaker 1:So and my name, which is Diane Farrell, and that would tell you if it was going to be offered in the fall. So yes, in Malone University in Canton, Ohio. So really anybody can do that. Yes, Anywhere in the world because it's a podcast.
Speaker 2:You never have to go to the university, it's all online, yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:Well, all right, this wraps it up. We're just again so thankful that you have joined us this school year. We hope to be back in the fall. We'd like to dive into some tier two kinds of things, and so look for us. In August or the 1st of September, reach out to us at PBIS. Journey to genius. Yes, PBIS journey to genius at gmailcom.
Speaker 2:All right, diane, it's been a lot of fun. I have enjoyed so much coming back and talking with all the teachers and all the people. Oh my gosh, we've had a we've. We've really had a good time, yes, so we'd like to thank everyone.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much All right, we'll see you soon. Bye.
