Student Committee Helps Guide HHS PBIS Team

A committee of student leaders is helping to guide the work of Huntington High School’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports team.

“Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health,” according to the Center on PBIS. “When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.”

“The students recently participated in an in-school field trip where they learned about the PBIS matrix and expectations, shared their voices, and collaborated with staff to create a positive reward system that is meaningful to all students,” said Kevene Lowrie, chairperson of science, K-12.

Each student was nominated based on displaying the following qualities: leadership ability, willingness to help and encourage others, commitment to improving school climate, integrity, empathy, collaboration, commitment to personal growth, resilience and humility.

“PBIS is not a curriculum you purchase or something you learn during a one-day professional development training,” states the Center on PBIS. “It is an ongoing commitment to supporting students, educators, and families through systems change. When you implement PBIS well, students experience improved behavioral, social, emotional, and academic outcomes; schools and programs reduce their use of exclusionary discipline practices and improve their overall climate.”