Webutuck focuses on positive behavioral intervention

WEBUTUCK — A new school year brings about new lessons and new routines. Such is the case for the North East (Webutuck) Central School District.

Since last school year, the school’s superintendent, faculty and staff announced a number of initiatives that would kick off during the 2016-17 academic year, including the positive behavior intervention support (PBIS) initiative.

Through PBIS, staff and faculty will strive to “teach our kids about behavior expectations by explicitly teaching them what we expect of them and modeling that behavior,” said Eugene Brooks Intermediate School (EBIS) Principal Erik Lynch.

The initiative’s goal, according to Lynch, is to “reduce the amount of time students spend in detention or suspension and increase time in  the classroom” through a proactive approach.

“It’s all about creating a growth mind set in our students — our job as educwators is to help them push through any barriers to help them grow,” said Lynch. “So if a student messes up, we no longer say ‘you have five days of detention’ — we address the problem at that time.”

PBIS launched at the middle school on the very first day of classes this year. On that day, EBIS held a welcome back assembly for students in grades three through eight.

At the assembly, Lynch introduced his students to the meaning of PBIS and explained why the school district was subscribing to the principle. The students took a vow to “promise” their support of the initiative.

“Our hope is to have each student eventually internalize these words, and think about them when they are making decisions both at school and at home,” said Lynch. “Our end game is to help each student reach their full potential in life.”

On that first day, the first three periods of classes at the middle school were canceled. Instead, students participated in different workshops to learn about school readiness, respectfulness, responsibility and safety in different parts of the building as well as on the buses.

One of many reasons for the initiative is to help address bullying and negative behavior at all school building levels.

“It is common in any school district that deals with students and children of all ages that there is going to be some form of bullying,” Superintendent Ray Castellani said. “So, in listening to parents, students, teachers, faculty and staff talk about a consistent program to address bullying or expected behaviors, we decided to formulate this initiative, and I think that we’re very happy right now that we’re moving in that direction.”

With only two weeks of the school year completed, improvements are already visible in the middle school, Lynch commented.

“It’s early, but we’ve already seen some positive signs. Specifically, I’ve heard about a significant improvement in manners in classrooms,” Lynch said. “Several teachers have told me that our students are striving to meet the expectations that have been explicitly taught. 

“Also, we’ve observed students showing more respect for our cafeteria and custodial staffs by cleaning up after ourselves better in the cafeteria,” the principal added. “We believe these small changes will help us make this goal possible.”