Nathan Steenport frames PBIS as teachable system
- Nathan Steenport argued this week that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports should be taught like academics, with explicit lessons, monitoring, and tiered intervention plans. - In a new post, Steenport said schools should identify two or three essential behaviors, build a behavior flow chart, and assign leadership. - His framing tracks federal PBIS guidance that treats behavior as a schoolwide, tiered system, not ad hoc discipline. (pbis.org)
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, is a school framework built on a simple idea: behavior is taught, not merely punished. Nathan Steenport made that case again this week in a post and companion article for school leaders. (steenportleadershipcoaching.com) (pbis.org) Steenport wrote that schools should treat behavior the way they treat reading and math: define the standard, teach it at Tier 1, and add Tier 2 or Tier 3 support when students struggle. He described PBIS as “foundational,” not an add-on. (steenportleadershipcoaching.com) His article lays out three starting moves for campuses: define expected behavior, build a PBIS team, and create a behavior flow chart. He said schools should pick two to three essential behaviors for the year and teach them explicitly. (steenportleadershipcoaching.com) That framing matches the national PBIS center’s description of the model as a tiered system of practices, data, and supports used across a school. The center says Tier 1 is universal, with more targeted and intensive supports added in higher tiers. (pbis.org) (exceptionalchildren.org) In practice, Steenport’s point is that behavior systems break down when expectations stay vague or consequences vary by adult. His post argues for schoolwide rules, common definitions for spaces like hallways and cafeterias, and a chart that separates teacher-managed behavior from office-managed behavior. (steenportleadershipcoaching.com) The federal PBIS center’s 2023 implementation blueprint uses the same architecture: a multi-tiered framework with systems, data, practices, and outcomes built into school operations. That blueprint was issued through the Center on PBIS with support from the U.S. Department of Education. (pbis.org) Steenport also puts responsibility on leadership structure, writing that an assistant principal should lead the PBIS team with representation from across campus. The aim is consistency, so students do not get different answers from different adults. (steenportleadershipcoaching.com) The argument is not new inside PBIS, but Steenport’s post packages it in operational terms that principals can use immediately: teach the behavior, map the response, and reserve intensive intervention for the students who need it most. (steenportleadershipcoaching.com) (pbis.org)
