With so many uncertainties in childcare centers all across America (especially in a world of COVID-19), it is crucial to have Positive Behavioral Systems and Supports (PBIS) in place to ensure success in learning environments for all children. Typically speaking, the center that I work in has four classrooms, with each teacher directly in charge of their own students. In a normal school year, teachers also are given the opportunity to interact and work with students from other age groups, giving all children a chance to form relationships with each adult. However, in a COVID-19 world, these interactions are non-existent, as teachers are only allowed to interact within their classroom “bubble.” This makes the already challenging routine of transitioning to new rooms and routines each year so much more difficult on both the students and teachers. To ease this transition, the center would benefit from having a universal set of rules and expectations for students and staff to follow- our own form of PBIS.
In order for PBIS to be successful within the Early Education center, rules and expectations must be decided on by all teachers, showing a school-wide commitment. These rules and expectations must be created with attention to both the needs of the students and the needs of the learning environment. There must also be a form of data collection to suggest that the system is successful or to show developers where changes can be made. Finally, to help the other staff at the center understand each expectation or rule, there must be documentation detailing what the expectation might look like or how they can help the children to be successful.
This project focused on creating a positive, universal set of rules and expectations within my preschool setting, in which children could grow social-emotionally while positively learning from and upholding these expectations. After a set of expectations were established, a handbook thoroughly defining and providing examples of each expectation was required in order to properly train all staff members on how to teach the new set of rules. This handbook will be used each year during staff training and serve as a steppingstone into the development of a larger PBIS system within the childcare center itself
