PreK Counts PBIS Implementation

Research Findings

Throughout my research, I studied and examined four areas across my data. These areas were
pre-selected and identified prior to the creation and investigation of my data sources. The four
priori themes studied over the course of this semester were the following:

1. PreK Counts Teacher & PreK Counts Supervisor Implementation of PBIS

2. Nature of Collaboration among PreK Counts Teachers
3. Current Successes of PBIS over the last 3 years of implementation
4. Areas of Improvement over last 3 years of PBIS implementation/Remaining Challenges
within the PBIS program

In order to examine each a priori theme, data was gathered from the four PreK Counts teachers,
who have been teaching in the PreK Counts program across the entire 3-year implementation of
PBIS at the Early Learning Academy. Teachers were sent a survey through Qualtrics, and the
PreK Counts Supervisor was interviewed via Zoom. All participants assisted in my
understanding of PBIS implementation in the PreK Counts program and collaboration among
teachers and the Supervisor in regards to PBIS.

Theme 1: PreK Counts Teacher & PreK Counts Supervisor Implementation of PBIS

When examining data from PreK Counts Teacher surveys and interview responses from the PreK
Counts Supervisor, I was not too surprised with any of the results of the first a priori theme.
Since I have been on the PBIS Core Team for 2 years, the teachers’ survey responses were
almost expected. All four teachers completed the survey for my research project. The PreK
Counts team is expected to following certain criteria when implementing PBIS in their
classrooms, and as the representative on the PBIS Core Team, I check-in with the teachers to see
if they are implementing PBIS, and if they need any assistance while doing so. Almost all of the
survey responses were expected. As a PreK Counts teacher myself, I was able to agree with
many of the teacher participant responses.

Chart 1: I teach behavioral expectations to my students in the classroom: Chart 2: I communicate with parents regarding their child's behavior:

25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree
50% 50%

Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

75% Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree
 Chart 3: I do not have time to teach program-wide behavioral expectations: Chart 4: Behavior plans do not work well in the PreK Counts program:

25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree
50%
Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree
75% 25% Strongly Agree

Teacher participant responses depicted in the

graphs above, suggest that all of the PreK Counts teachers are finding time in their daily
schedules to teach PBIS expectations to students in their classrooms (Chart 1 and Chart 3). Data
also suggests that teachers are communicating with students’ parents about their behaviors in
school (Chart 2). While teacher participants utilize behavior plans for some students in their
classrooms, half of the participants think these plans are effective (Chart 4).

Chart 5: I acknowledge students for meeting the agreed upon classroom Chart 6: Rewarding students is the same as briding them:
behavior expectations:
Chart 7: Parents in the community do not seem to care about how their Chart 8: Teachers should not have to teach students how to behave at
children behave at school: school:

25% 25%
Strongly Disagree Disagree
Strongly Disagree Disagree
Strongly Disagree Disagree 50% 50% Strongly Disagree Disagree
50% 50%
Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

75% Strongly Agree 75%
Strongly Agree

Participant responses illustrated via the graphs above, suggest that teachers acknowledge their
students for meeting PBIS classroom expectations (Chart 5), while participants believe that
rewarding students in similar to bribery (Chart 6). Data also suggests participants have much
input in whether or not families are attentive to their children’s behavior in school (Chart 7).
Additionally, teacher participants strongly believe they should assist in teaching children how to
behave appropriately at school (Chart 8).

Chart 9: I am unfamilar with positive behavior and supports intervention: Chart 10: I receive regular information about behavior concerns within the PreK
Counts program at ELA:

25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree Disagree

50% 50%
Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

75% Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree
While the graphs above suggest that teacher participants are familiar with the PBIS behavior
model (Chart 9), they do not receive much information regarding student behaviors in the PreK
Counts program (Chart 10).

The teachers also answered open ended questions to assist my research question, “What are the
experiences of teachers using PBIS?” All four responses from the PreK Counts teachers were
expected and mainly described PBIS protocols the entire program must follow in each
classroom. Being part of the PBIS Core Team, it was reaffirming to read the teachers’ responses
to know that our PreK Counts team is following PBIS expectations and following the guidelines
the Core Team sets for each classroom. In their open responses, teachers explained ways in
which they implement PBIS. The following are the teachers’ responses:

o “In my classroom, we use a pom-pom system to recognize good choices. When I notice a
student making a good choice (i.e. sitting quietly on the carpet, helping another student,
cleaning up independently, etc.), they receive a pom-pom to place in their personal cup or
“bucket.” After a student fills their bucket, they pick a prize from our class treasure chest.
In addition, a pom-pom is added to our class bucket. Once our class bucket is filled, the
entire class gets a reward. The rewards include extra recess time, a movie day, or a
pajama party.”
o “I have a visual chart with pictures of each expectation. At the beginning of the year, I
teach each expectation with the visuals. Each student has a cup or “bucket” for pom-
poms. The students earn pom-poms when they are displaying appropriate behaviors.
When students fill their buckets, they earn rewards in the classroom.”
o “We use the PBIS language and have posters hung in the classroom. The expectations are
taught in the beginning of the year. We use the bucket filling to reinforce the positive
behaviors.”
o “I implement PBIS by reviewing the expected behaviors and modeling for the students
what those behaviors would look like. If students are following the expected behaviors,
then they get a pom-pom to put in their bucket. At the end of the week, whoever has a
full bucket will receive a prize.”

From my experience with PBIS, our PreK Counts always follows the PBIS guidelines and
attempts to implement the model daily. At times, it may not work on struggling students, but all
of us use the “bucket filling” system to focus on all positive behaviors seen throughout the
school day. When struggling students see others earning pom-poms for their buckets, they
usually want to change their behavior to earn one too. If this system does not work on certain
students, I know most of the PreK Counts teachers help to model the expected positive behaviors
or help students work towards short-term goals, rather than trying to fill their bucket over the
course of the school week. Sometimes this is too difficult for the struggling students so we must
differentiate what works best for individual students.

The professional article, “A Framework for Building Safe and Effective School Environments:
Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports,” explains more positive and proactive options
that have emerged for responding to student problem behaviors. The PreK Counts program
delivers high quality instruction to students, but it’s also important to provide a safe, supportive,
and consistent climate. The article explains how the adults in schools can serve as supportive
instructors and mentors for students, while engaging in academic activities and building positive
relationships with their students. As PreK Counts teachers implement PBIS in their classrooms,
they attempt to focus only on positive student behaviors to help diminish negative behaviors.
Focusing on positive behaviors is the main purpose of PBIS. In the article, Horner and Macaya
(2018) explain, “Historically, schools have relied too often on either punishment of problem
behavior, or removal of students who engage in problem behavior. These strategies have proven
over time to be both ineffective and expensive” (p.664). The goal of the PreK Counts PBIS
program is to praise all positive student behaviors, so students want to exhibit more positive
behaviors versus negative behaviors.

In the Zoom interview, the PreK Counts Supervisor responded to how she personally implements
PBIS throughout the PKC program at the Early Learning Academy. Her responses included:

o “Using the appropriate PBIS language when seeing children in classroom, hallways, and
playground”
o “Attempting to assist teachers during the first 6 weeks of school to introduce PBIS right
away and helping them to consistently implement PBIS so children don’t struggle as
much, the first 6 weeks of school is the toughest for teachers and students”
o “Trying to implement fun things into the program so teachers have the option to use as
whole-group instruction, she enjoys planning fun activities to help implement PBIS in the
classroom so there is always something for teachers and students to use together”
o “Taking the time to reflect after every time a teacher comes to her requesting additional
help with PBIS or with student behaviors, “we have this broad perspective of PBIS, but it
needs to be more consistently implemented, if it’s not then those students are going to
really struggle”

It was reassuring to hear the Supervisor explain that she uses PBIS language no matter where she
is in the school building. Just as teachers are expected to use this appropriate language, it’s
supportive knowing that the leader of the program is doing the same. Hearing this language
across all staff will only make PBIS implementation more effective for students and make them
aware that everyone has the same expectations. When speaking about the first six weeks of the
school year, I agreed with her response. As a PreK Counts teacher, I know from experience that
the first six weeks of school are the toughest for students and teachers. It the most tedious time
trying to teach 20 students the ways and expectations of the classroom. I think it would be very
beneficial if all teachers introduced PBIS within this time frame to help make the transition into
the new school year smoother and easier for the young students. When the Supervisor explained
how the program has a “broad perspective of PBIS, but it needs to be more consistent,” I could
not have agreed more. As a staff member, this was very assuring to hear because I know for a
fact that PBIS implementation needs to be more consistent in the program. It’s nice to hear the
Supervisor being in agreeance to your feelings in regards to PBIS. This proves that there is still
work that needs to be done to make implementation more successful in the PreK Counts
program.

Theme 2: Nature of Collaboration among PreK Counts Teachers

In the second a priori theme, “Nature of Collaboration among PreK Counts Teachers,” the
teacher survey responses were slightly scattered among the five categories that teachers were
presented to choose from. The categories included the following: Strongly Disagree, Disagree,
Neutral, Agree, and Strongly Agree.
Chart 3: Teachers share common values and goals for the PreK Chart 4: I collaborate with my peers daily:
Counts
Chart 1: PreK Counts Goals students:
for students were decided upon the entire Chart 2: Decisions in the program are based on teachers' input:
staff's input:

25%
25% 25% 25%

Strongly Diagree Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree
Disagree Strongly Disagree Disagree
Chart 7: My peers and 25%
I help create lesson plans for PBIS: Neutral Chart 8: My peers and I dicuss ideas for the PBIS program in our
Agree school:
Strongly Agree Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree Neutral Agree
50%
25%
75% 75% 25% 25%Strongly Agree
25% Strongly Agree
25% 25% Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Disagree
Strongly Disagree Disagree
50%
Chart 5: I collaborate with my peersNeutral
weekly: Agree
Chart 6: My peers and I share lesson plans:
Neutral Agree

25% 25% Strongly Agree 25% 25% 25% 25% Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree
75% Strongly Agree

50%

Participant responses illustrated via the graphs above, suggest that teachers have little input in
PBIS program goals (Chart 1) and in decision-making related to PBIS (Chart 2). Data also
suggest that teachers share common values and goals for students (Chart 3). While participants
do not collaborate daily or weekly with their colleagues (Chart 4, and Chart 5), they do share
lesson plans related to PBIS (Chart 6).

Participant responses illustrated via the graphs above, suggest that teachers do not spend too
much time helping to create lesson plans related to PBIS (Chart 7). In Chart 8, participants are
sometimes share ideas for the PBIS program, while other teachers do not.
 Chart 9: I wish to contribute more to the PBIS program: Chart 10: My peers and I work together to make PBIS lesson plans
more effective for our students:

25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree

Disagree Disagree
Neutral Neutral
Agree Agree
Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

100% 50%

Chart 11: My peers and I share positives and negatives of PBIS lesson Chart 12: My peers and I collaborate:
plans after teaching them in our classroom:

25% 25%
25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

50% Neutral Agree

Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

25% Strongly Agree

50%

Participant responses illustrated via the graphs above, suggest that PreK teachers do not have
much of an opinion in contributing more to the PBIS program (Chart 9), and teachers are not
working together to make more effective lesson plans related to PBIS for their students (Chart
10). While most participants are collaborating, and sharing feedback after teaching PBIS lessons
to their students (Chart 11), they are also engaging in collaboration with their colleagues (Chart
12).
Chart 15: The PBIS team includes PreK Counts teachers when decid-
ing on goals or expectations:

Chart 13: The PreK Counts environment allows multiple opportu- Chart 14: The PBIS team encourages teachers to collaborate:
nities of collaboration:
25%

Strongly Disagree 25% 25%

25% Disagree
Neutral
Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree
Agree
Disagree Disagree
50% Neutral
Strongly Agree Neutral
Agree Agree
50% Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

25%
25%

50%
 Chart 16: The PBIS team includes teachers' input when creating
lesson plans for students:
Participant responses illustrated via the graphs above,
suggest there are not enough opportunities provided to
teachers so they are able to collaborate (Chart 13).
Data also suggests that the PBIS needs to make a few 25%

necessary improvements to make collaboration among Strongly Disagree

teachers more successful (Chart 14, Chart 15, and Disagree
Neutral
Chart 16). Teachers are not being encourage enough Agree
50%
to collaborate together, they are not being included Strongly Agree
very often in decision-making or assisting in creating
PBIS lesson plans.
25%

Chart 17: The PBIS Team is receptive to teacher feedback and suggestions Chart 18: I do not feel left out when the PBIS Team makes decisions
to help make implementation more effective: for our students:

25% 25% 25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree

Disagree Disagree
Neutral Neutral
Agree Agree
Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

25% 25%

50%

Shown in the illustrations above, most teacher participants feel as if they are not being heard
when it comes to making suggestions or providing feedback for the PBIS model (Chart 17).
While, Chart 17 indicates the PBS Team not being receptive to teachers, each participant in the
study expresses different feelings regarding whether or not they feel left out when the PBIS
Team makes decisions for their students (Chart 18).

Chart 19: I collaborate with families regarding their child's behav- Chart 20: Schedules are arranged to allow for teacher participation
ior: in PBIS meetings:

25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree

Disagree Disagree
Neutral Neutral
Agree Agree
Strongly Agree 50% Strongly Agree

75% 25%
Chart 19 indicates almost all teacher participants collaborate with their students’ families
regarding their child’s behavior in school. Chart 20 proves that most teachers are not able to
attend PBIS meetings as a result of schedules not being altered to allow their participation.

Chart 21: Teachers are invited to PBIS team meetings: Chart 22: I think there should be more opportunities for teachers
to attend PBIS meetings:

25%

Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree

Disagree Disagree
Neutral Neutral
50% 50% Agree Agree
Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

75%

Chart 23: Collaborating makes the PreK Counts program more ef - Chart 24: I participate in meetings related to decision-making and
fective: implementing strategic plans:

25% 25% 25%

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral Strongly Disagree Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree

Neutral Agree

75% 25% 25% Strongly Agree

Teacher participant Chart 25: There is planned time and space for staff to collaborate
responses shown
in the graphs above, for the purpose of decision-making related to school policies and illustrate that
teachers are not being practices: invited to
planned PBIS Core Team meetings
(Chart 21), and teachers would
25%
like more opportunities Strongly Disagree to be able to
Disagree
attend these PBIS Neutral meetings in order
to assist with PBIS Agree
Strongly Agree
related decisions
(Chart 22). While teachers believe
that collaboration is helping to make
the PreK Counts program effective
for staff and students 75%
(Chart 23),
teachers are rarely participating in
PBIS meetings, hindering teacher feedback and ideas when it comes to making decision-making
and implementing strategic plans for PBIS (Chart 24). While teacher participants are not
participating in PBIS meetings or assisting to make decisions related to PBIS, teachers strongly
believe there is no time or space being planned to encourage collaboration (Chart 25).

The teachers answered open ended questions to help my understanding of the collaboration
among teachers in regards to PBIS. Teachers were asked to respond to the following statements:
“List ways the PreK Counts staff can collaborate more effectively in regards to PBIS,” and “List
ways the PreK Counts staff can collaborate with other programs in ELA.” Only 3 out of the 4
PreK Counts teachers responded to the question related to collaborating with other programs. I
think this was a simple mistake that was made by this teacher participant, or there was a possible
glitch in Qualtrics since the participant responded to rest of the questions.

In the first section of open-ended responses, all teacher participants listed ways they can
collaborate more effectively regarding PBIS. Their responses included:

o “Being included in meetings and involved in decision-making in ways to implement

PBIS best in the classroom and in the school”
o “To effectively collaborate we would need to have time in our schedule where we can all
step out of the classroom and meet.”
o “Our staff needs a dedicated time and space to discuss PBIS. Most of our collaboration
occurs on our own time.”
o “We could be given time to collaborate. Right now, we do not even get to eat lunch
together. Since Covid we lost our lunch room and we have no real time in our day to sit
down together to share ideas. We do send each other activities occasionally when we
come across some.”

In the last open-ended question for this theme, teachers were asked to list ways they can
collaborate more effectively with other programs in the Early Learning Academy. 75% of the
teacher participants responded:
o “have biweekly check-in meetings with other staff members in ELA on Teams or Zoom
to plan and collaborate ideas”
o “joint lessons, both classes join together for an activity, or have dedicated time to discuss
PBIS with member of other programs”
o “We can set up a time to meet on professional development days, or build in a half day in
our calendars like Norristown School District does so you can find time to collaborate
with other teachers in the building”

In his article, Nelson (2021), explains how professional development days can be more
successful and meaningful for teachers. Findings in the article show how teachers respond much
differently to styles of traditional lecture-style recitation versus active-learning simulation. As
PD days are crucial for PreK Counts staff, they need to be altered to meet more of the teachers’
needs to make this collaborative time more meaningful for staff. Teacher efficacy was a main
topic in this research article. Nelson (2021) explains, “Teachers are no doubt a critical
component for student growth and development but it remains unclear as to what determines
effective teaching” (p. 190). The author goes on to describe how lectures during PD days are
ineffective and “an inherently popular and efficient style of instruction used to relay organized
bodies of knowledge” (Nelson, 2021 p.190). Most of the PD days in PreK Counts tend to be
lectures and not very effective for teachers. Administration can use active-simulation during
scheduled PD days to enhance teacher collaboration. In order to strengthen teacher collaborative
experiences, professional development must be altered to become more effective. Nelson (2021),
explains that teacher education programs have made headway “with creating stronger clinical
practice, strengthening coursework around critical areas…and connective coursework directly to
practice in more extensive practice settings” (p. 191).

As I reviewed the teachers’ open-ended responses, I agreed with every statement they listed.
Before and during my time in the PBIS Core Team, I have always thought that more teachers
should be involved in the meetings and decision-making for the school. Teachers work firsthand
with the students, offering experience with the children that some of the members on the Core
Team do not. I think teachers would be able to offer great ideas that could help improve
collaboration and PBIS in the building. In my experience, however, there were multiple time I
would be invited to a PBIS Core meeting and could not attend because there were no subs to
cover my classroom. I have missed multiple meetings, causing me to miss information that my
staff needed regarding PBIS. We must work together as a team to create more opportunities to
collaborate and discuss PBIS.

According to data collection of teacher participant responses, the PreK Counts teachers desire
more opportunities of collaboration. In an article about professional learning communities
(PLCs) and teacher effectiveness, Graham (2007) discusses three layers of factors between the
relationship of PLC activities and teacher improvement. The three layers he explains are
facilitating collaboration, mediating conversations, and developing community. These layers
would be very beneficial for the PreK Counts program to improve collaboration among staff. As
Graham (2017) explains, “The success of the professional learning community structure as an
agent of teacher improvement seemed to be interwoven with leadership strategies and
organizational structures in a way that was both ubiquitously evident and difficult to disentangle”
(p.1). If the PreK Counts program would like to create a PLC, it would be the Supervisor’s
responsibility to help structure these communities for her staff. Once a PLC was established in
the program, “the next factor in the relationship between PLC activities and teacher improvement
is the nature of professional learning community team meetings and the way in which the details
of those meetings served to mediate, either positively or negatively, the substance of PLC
conversations” (Graham, 2017 p.1). Active learning would make these mediating conversations
more effective among staff. In the article’s case study, a participant shared what active learning
looked like for her team. “We would have weekly meetings where we would plan out our lessons
for the week, we would also speak and reflect with peers. We talked about our best practices and
we all used each other’s activities and ideas to try it out. We also reflected afterwards how we
felt about activities and units, and how well students had done-that guided our instruction.” A
professional learning community would enhance PreK Counts collaboration among all staff.

In the Zoom interview, the PreK Counts Supervisor was asked to comment of the nature of
collaboration among all PKC staff, teachers, and supervisors when implementing PBIS. The
Supervisor’s response was:
 o “It has change a little bit since you (the researcher) haven’t been here. Your absence has
affected the teachers and I hardly see anyone anymore. Our program needs someone who
is peppy and has a love for what they are doing, that’s where you came in (the
researcher). We are missing that part of collaboration at ELA. Maybe it’s because of
Covid and what the teachers are dealing with, but the happiness and sharing of ideas has
been tough. I am not sure if it’s because one person is missing, or all the stressors the
teachers are dealing with, such as the really difficult behaviors they are seeing. There is
support for teachers, but I think they forget that help is there and they are forgetting about
the next-door teachers who are there for each other. It’s been tough because everyone is
dealing with personal things as well.”

Her response to the question was very upsetting and startling. As I am on maternity leave for
this entire school year, I knew some things in the program would change as a result of the
pandemic and staffing issues, but I was not expecting my Supervisor’s answer to the question.
After hearing how she felt about the collaboration in her program, it made me realize how much
of an impact I had on my team and how I affected the teachers at work. I pondered her response
for a very long time after the interview, trying to decide whether or not I should return to work
next year, or if there is something I could do to assist my colleagues in improving the nature of
collaboration among the PreK Counts staff. The Supervisor actually offered me a new position
in a leadership role and is now something I must consider before returning to work. This offer
was definitely shocking, but boasted it my morale in becoming more of a leader in the PreK
Counts program. When I started working as a PreK Counts teacher 3 years ago, the Supervisor
observed me for the first time in my classroom. After the observation, she explained that I must
work on becoming more of a leader in the school and how she saw potential in me to lead our
team, and now she is offering me a leadership role.

During the Zoom interview, the PreK Counts Supervisor was also asked if she believes there is a
need to improve/enhance opportunities for collaboration among PBIS staff, faculty, and herself.
She responded:
o “Yes, definitely. When we were virtual we had so much collaboration going on. It
seemed to be a much easier atmosphere to do that. Being back in person, it limits the PD
days. Most PD days are just the entire school, and not just the PKC program. In the
future, I am trying to adjust our school calendar so PKC and all of our staff can get
together to collaborate more as a team. Our days are just so jammed packed that it’s very
hard. Teachers used to get 30 minutes of lunch together so they could at least collaborate
at that time, but it’s hard to do now because of all of the behaviors we are seeing in the
classrooms. As supervisor, I make sure PD days are built into the calendar. Our last PD
day we did something like a goose chase together, sort of like a scavenger hunt for a team
building activity. I even added a prize at the end to make the game more fun. This
activity made our PD day more exciting for staff. Another factor that is impacting
opportunities for collaboration is the growth of our program. We now have 17
classrooms, with everyone at different sites, so meetings new staff is very difficult since
everyone is at different sites. We went from 14 to 17 classrooms, which is great, but
sometimes staff will go months without meeting or seeing new staff employees.”
In the interview, the Supervisor was asked how she feels about teacher collaboration
regarding PBIS in PKC. She explained:
o “Collaboration at PKC isn’t as good as it used to be, but it’s still there. Teachers have
posters and still use PBIS, and try coming up with ideas, but there needs to be
improvement between PKC and other programs in the building. Teaching with our
programs and collaborating with them hasn’t happened yet this school year. The last time
it happened was the first year we began implementing PBIS and then that was it. We
attempted a unity walk this year, though. The older students came down from ES to the
younger classrooms. The older kids enjoyed holding hands with the little ones. I think
this needs to happen a little more often. As a result of the success of the walk, we are
planning an activity for earth day now. We are planning to collaborate with the upstairs
classrooms for earth day and planting pots to put around the school building. We should
do this much more often because there are certain students in the PKC program that
benefit from this. One of your (the researcher’s) students, could use an older buddy as a
reward for his appropriate behavior. In typical schools who use PBIS, they tend to use
the older students as the “leaders: for the younger students when they implement PBIS. I
think we should really try to use this idea.”
The PKC Supervisor was asked what her role is in collaborating with teachers in a PBIS
program. Her response:
o “I am trying to be more open to ideas from teachers. I am trying to take time to meet
with them to hear their concerns and find out what teachers are using right now in their
classrooms. I try to make this time so we can determine what we can add or take away to
help students in classrooms, and give teachers additional ideas. I always provide supplies
that teachers need to make PBIS implementation easier and effective for their students.
For example, I got everyone a prize box for their rooms this year instead of teachers
having to buy one themselves. Anything that I can do as a supervisor to help get rid of
stress for the teachers is my job.”
She was asked, in what ways can staff be more involved in discussion of the PBIS program,
and she responded:
o “Sharing more ideas amounts each other, willing to present ideas to the supervisor so we
can have a conversation about their ideas. I’d like my staff to be more open with other
programs and be willing to hear what other programs do for PBIS and their ideas.”
The Supervisor was asked if she would like her staff to contribute more ideas/opinions more
often to the PBIS model in the school. She explained:
o “Absolutely! Once you (the researcher) left, no one stepped into my shoes for the PBIS
team. I understood PBIS more, I was able to see failures and successes. Without that
teacher buy in, it’s difficult for teachers to share or find ideas to see what works and what
doesn’t work for PBIS. It tends to only be supervisors’ ideas and hoping that teachers
will follow through with it. Teacher buy-in isn’t there anymore.”
In the interview, she was also asked if she thinks the PBIS Core Team includes enough staff
when making decisions for the school. She explained:
o “It includes enough staff, but I don’t think it’s the correct staff. There is no PKC teacher
on the team anymore, so we don’t have a representative to be heard anymore. No one
from our classrooms is on the team. There is no one who is living through PBIS, or
anyone who sees what’s successful or what’s not, so there’s no one who can report back.”
To conclude the interview questions regarding collaboration, the PKC Supervisor was asked
if she thinks there is enough planned time and space for staff to collaborate for the purpose of
decision-making related to school policies and practices. Her response:
 o “No, there is not enough time. It’s not built into our calendars. We have 30 minutes
before and after the school day, but so much is going on with the teachers’ schedules that
it’s hard to share ideas with other because there is not enough time. There needs to be
more PD days built into the school calendars so staff can share their ideas. When we have
our PKC PD days, I make sure teachers share ideas about lesson plans and share
successes or failures they may see, but our time is very limited. We can’t really have a
half day either, so I have to really try to build time into our schedules.”

Concluding the interview, I reflected on my Supervisor’s responses in the interview regarding

collaboration. As she discussed, much more collaboration was occurring during virtual teaching
throughout the pandemic versus in-person teaching. In my experience, working virtually made
things much easier for all of the teachers in the PreK Counts program. Each teacher was
provided a personal laptop with applications pre-installed for our virtual learning platform. The
entire team had everything required to make virtual teaching possible and we met via zoom daily
for a few hours at a time. For obvious reasons, the pandemic created many negative impacts on
education, but simultaneously, it provided our program multiple opportunities to collaborate. It
gave us the chance to see other teachers we do not usually see since we are separated among
various school sites in the PreK Counts program. The Supervisor explained that she would like
to alter school calendars to create more collaborative opportunities, but it is very difficult to do
when she has to worry about multiple sites, as well as school districts that follow different
schedules during the school year. Additionally, as the PreK Counts program expands,
opportunities to collaborate may become even harder to create.

The PreK Counts Supervisor discussed collaboration within her program. I was surprised to hear
that collaboration between PreK Counts and other programs is not as good as it used to be before
I began my maternity leave. I understand that Covid affected everyone at the Early Learning
Academy, but it was shocking to learn that not one teacher on the team covered my position on
the PBIS team. One of the goals the PBIS Core Team set in the first year of PBIS
implementation was to provide opportunities for all programs at ELA to co-teach and practice
PBIS lessons throughout the school year. This did not occur once this school year as a result of
the pandemic. Hopefully, before the school year ends, the programs can co-teach at least one
PBIS lesson plan with students. Also, as my Supervisor explained, a few students really
benefitted from working with the older students during a whole-school activity. I think the older
students should be allowed to assist the younger student more often, especially if it makes a
difference in a child’s behavior. This is something that I would like to present to the team, which
can be discussed furthermore in a future PBIS Core Team meeting.

When we discussed how the PreK Counts staff can be more involved in the PBIS program, she
shared that she is hoping her staff will present more opinions and ideas. As the PreK Counts
representative, this is something I can agree on. Similar to my Supervisor, I would love if more
teachers took time to present the ideas they have regarding to PBIS. Yes, I try my best to think
of creative and fun ways to educate our staff about PBIS, but hearing from the teachers could be
very beneficial. Each classroom exhibits various student behaviors, which sometimes other
teachers are not aware of. If teachers are experiencing the same struggling behaviors daily, we
could collaborate as a team to think of ways that could be more supportive and effective for
those struggling students. The PreK Counts team would also benefit from learning from other
teachers in the different programs at the Early Learning Academy.

In conclusion of my reflections from our Zoom Interview, there definitely needs to be many
more opportunities presented to teachers so they are able to collaborate. A plan must also be put
in place so teachers are given a designated area in the school building for collaboration. Since
there are four programs in ELA, a schedule could be created so each program could have their
own space and time to collaborate effectively. As a result of the interview with the PreK Count
Supervisor, a few changes must be made in order to offer more opportunities to PreK Counts
teachers so they can engage in collaborative practices.

Theme 3: Current Successes of PBIS over the last 3 years of implementation

The third theme of priori themes that I studied and examined was the “Current Success of PBIS
Over the Last 3 Years of Implementation.” In this section of the teacher surveys, I noticed a lot
more “neutral” responses to the questions and statements regarding current successes of PBIS
over the last 3 years of implementation. As a PBIS Core Team member, I was eager to review
this portion of the data to determine if the Core Team is effectively doing their job, of if there are
areas that need to be worked on to assist in improving PBIS successes. I think a few teacher
participants chose “neutral” more frequently in this area of the survey because they were aware I
am a representative on the PBIS Core Team and they were maybe worried about how I would
feel if they disagreed with more of the questions and statements I asked them. In the graphics
below, it can be seen that “neutral” was a more frequent response in this section compared to the
others in the survey.

Chart 1: The PKC program has clearly defined expectations for Chart 2: Student compliance to rules and expectations are re-
appropriate student behavior: inforced consistently:

25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree Disagree

50% 50% 50%

Neutral Agree Neutral Agree

25%
Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

Chart 3: Students in the PKC program show respect for each other: Chart 4: Students in my classroom feel safe and comfortable at
school:

25%
25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

75%

50%
Participant responses illustrated via the graphs above, suggest that few teachers think the PreK
Counts program clearly defines expectations for students (Chart 1). Data also suggests that
teacher participants have strong opinions regarding consistent reinforcement with students (Chart
2). While teachers have little input in the way students act towards one another (Chart 3), they do
think students are comfortable and have a sense of safety in their classrooms (Chart 4).

Chart 5: I share a common philosophy for behavior and discipline Chart 6: I agree with this effort and plan to actively support it:
with my colleagues:

25%
Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Neutral Agree

Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

75% Strongly Agree

100%

Chart 7: I support the program-wide behavior expectations; Be Safe, Be Chart 8: The mission statement for our program-wide PBIS is
Respectful, and Be Responsible: appropriate for our students:

25% 25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Neutral Agree Neutral Agree

75%
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree

50%
Shown in Chart 5 above, teacher participants offer
positive input in the same philosophy for student behavior and discipline. While teachers have
no input in whether or not they agree with the PBIS model and are planning on actively
supporting the behavior model (Chart 6), all participants agree with the PBIS behavior
expectations (Chart 7). Data also suggests that few participants think the program’s mission
statement is student appropriate (Chart 8).

Chart 9: The PBIS model has been effective for our program: Chart 10: Our school-wide reinforcement system allows for sufficient incentives (short term
and long term) to recognize appropriate student behavior:

Chart 11: The initiatives of the PBIS team have had a positive impact on
student behavior:
25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

50% Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree
Neutral Agree

50% 50% Neutral Agree

Neutral Agree
75% Strongly Agree 25%
Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree
Illustrated in the graphics above, teachers have little input in the effectiveness of the PBIS model
for the PreK Counts program (Chart 9). While most teacher participants believe the PreK Counts
program offers short and long-term incentives for student behavior (Chart 10), few participants
agree with the overall impact of PBIS implementation (Chart 11).

To assist my knowledge of the progress of the PBIS program, the PreK Counts teachers were
asked to list any successes of the PBIS model in PreK Counts. The teachers stated the following:
o “Most children enjoy getting pom-poms for their behavior and want to correct their
behavior so they get a pom-pom.”
o “It has provided good language to use when teaching our students the school rules and
expectations. It has also provided the bucket-filling system in our school for recognizing
good behaviors.”
o “The PBIS program does help for overall classroom management. Teaching the
expectations and then rewarding the positive behaviors does motivate most of the
students to follow the rules.”
o “The students enjoy receiving pom-poms for their good choices. The terms “Be Safe, Be
Respectful, and Be Responsible” as easy to remember for both the students and the
teachers. The visuals used to go along with each rule are age-appropriate.”

After reviewing the open-ended responses, it was enlightening to discover that a success of the
PBIS model is helping the overall structure of classroom management for teachers. This is one
of the many reasons why PBIS was introduced to the PreK Counts program. From my own
experience, I am well aware that most of the students enjoy earning pom-poms throughout the
school day for their positive behavior and love working towards filling their buckets. They know
once their buckets are filled, they receive some type of reward to celebrate their hard work for
positive behavior. Age-appropriate visuals are also very helpful to teach and model the
expectations to such young learners.

When the PreK Counts Supervisor was asked what she thought the successes of the PBIS
program are in the PreK Counts program, she clarified the following:
o “Whole group rules in all of the PreK Counts classrooms, such as Be Respectful, Be Safe,
Be Responsible”
o “The PreK Counts teachers have been very successful with following through with
classroom rules and expectations”
o “Teachers are consistently using the PBIS language with the kids and remind the students
of the classroom expectations before going to “punishment””
o “The PBIS language is being used throughout the program and teachers are always refers
to the school and classroom rules of Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible”
All of the successes described by the Supervisor were ones that I agreed with. Since I must be
noticeable of what occurs in the classrooms and acknowledging what is going well, I am was
already aware that whole-group rules are working out, the teachers are always referring to the
classroom rules and PBIS expectations, and consistently using the language. From my own
experience, the language is a key component in making PBIS implementation effective. If the
PKC staff keep consistent with these PBIS components, it will only create more successes of
PBIS and make it more effective for students.

Theme 4: Areas of Improvement over last 3 years of PBIS implementation/Remaining

Challenges within the PBIS program

The last a prior theme I surveyed teachers and spoke to the PreK Counts Supervisor about was
“Areas of Improvement Over the Last 3 Years of PBIS Implementation/Remaining Challenges
within the PBIS Program.” This theme was the most shocking theme as the researcher. In
comparison to the three a priori themes studied above, teacher participant responses seemed to be
expressed in the most negative matter within this theme. Strong teacher participant responses
prove that the PBIS model in PreK Counts can most definitely be improved.

Chart 1: The hierarchy of consequences for inappropriate behavior is used Chart 2: I am satisfied with the process that is in place to discuss behavior
consistently: concerns in the PKC program:

25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

50% 50%
Neutral Agree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

25% 25%

Teacher responses illustrated in the graphics above indicate that participants have mixed feelings
Chart 3: Program-Wide Behavior Supports is likely to be yet another fad that Chart 4: Students in the PKC program need to be held more responsible
comes through and goes in the school: for their own behavior:

25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree Disagree

50% 50% 50%

Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree
25%
Strongly Agree

about the consistency of the PBIS model’s consequences in the PreK Counts program (Chart 1).
Data shows that PreK Counts teachers have much input regarding the program’s plan to discuss
student behavior (Chart 2). While teacher participants also have inconsistent positions on PreK
Counts PBIS program (Chart 3), a few teachers believe students should be held more responsible
for their behaviors (Chart 4).

Chart 5: The PBIS program can be implementated more effectively in the Chart 6: School rules are consistently applied to everyone:
PKC program:

25% 25%
25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

75%

50%

Shown in Chart 5 above, most teacher participants agree there could be improvement in the PreK
Counts PBIS model. Data also shows that most participants believe the program’s rules are not
being consistently applied to all of the students (Chart 6).

Chart 7: Our school has been clear about emergency procedures during a Chart 8: Our Supervisor is a vital part and supports the PBIS
behavior crisis: process in the PKC program:

25% 25% 25%

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree Disagree

Neutral Agree
Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree
75% Strongly Agree

50%

PreK Counts teacher responses illustrated in the graphics above suggest participants have strong
input about the emergency plan during a behavior crisis (Chart 7). Data also shows that teacher
participants have much input regarding the Supervisor’s role in the PreK Counts PBIS model
(Chart 8).

Teacher participants answered open ended questions for this a prior theme, to help me
understand their feelings regarding PBIS and ways the three-tiered behavior model can be
implemented more effectively. Teachers were asked to list any areas for improvement of PBIS
implementation in the PreK Counts program. Their responses included:
 “Consistency, follow-through with consequences, more parent participation”
 “PBIS at ELA needs to address the behaviors that do not respond to the classroom
expectations/consequences/reward system. We have no plan of action for the behaviors
 that are so severe and disruptive, even after the positive reinforcement plan has been
taught and implemented. There is no protocol or support for the top Tier students who
wreak havoc on a classroom environment and need more intervention.”
 “Improvement could be made for the top tier difficult behavior students and what to for
those students and their safety, in addition to the safety of others”
 “Receiving a pom-pom is not satisfying for every student, and some of them could care
less about a prize at the end of the week, so they continue their behavior. I feel like some
students need short term goals instead of waiting the full week to see if they filled their
bucket.”

In order to decrease top-tier behaviors in the PBIS pyramid, there are many supports that can be
offered to students in tier II. One secondary-tier PBIS intervention that could hinder students
from climbing to the third tier is the Check-in/Check-out (CICO) method. This intervention “is
designed to provide for more targeted intervention than is available through universal tier
support and can be applied with numerous students at one time” (Swoszowski et al. 2013 p. 64).
CICO could be an intervention worth applying in the PreK Counts program to assist in
addressing student behaviors before they become too challenging for teachers to handle. As
Swoszowski et al. explains, “CICO provides daily, schedule, positive feedback between the
student and an adult mentor linked to student classroom/setting behavioral performance and
behavioral goals” (p. 64). This could be a potential technique utilized in the PreK Counts
program to target tier II student behaviors.

In my experience with PBIS in the PreK Counts program, I can completely agree with the
teacher participant responses. Our program needs many more parents and families to participate
in the behavior model. Due to many language barriers between teachers and families, parents and
guardians are not well aware of PBIS or truly understand the behavior program. I think the PBIS
Core team and staff, who implement PBIS, could do a much better job introducing PBIS to
families and guiding them throughout the year as the model is implemented in the school. Parent
participation would support consistency throughout the PreK Counts program. Families and
teachers could collaborate in using the same language that students hear at school, in addition to
in their homes to make implementation more meaningful and effective.

One aspect of PBIS that could be greatly improved is helping the top tier students with their
challenging behaviors. As the PreK Counts teachers explained in their open-ended responses,
there needs to be more consistency and follow-through with consequences to address student
behaviors that do not respond to PBIS expectations. As a PreK Counts teacher, I can say from
my own experience that there is no plan of action when it comes to dealing with top tier
behaviors. Most of the time, teachers are responsible for dealing with these challenging
behaviors, at there are many times when teachers need extra assistance and it is not always there.
We are told to ask our Supervisor for help, but if she is not present, there is no back-up plan of
action. This sometimes makes it very difficult for teachers, as well as students, because they are
not being helped accordingly, and they disrupt class time. I think the PBIS Core team could
collaborate with PreK Counts staff and other programs in the building to develop a plan of action
for those challenging top tier behaviors. The bucket system and pom-poms, are not always
satisfying for students who constantly struggle with their behaviors and meetings PBIS
expectations.
In the Zoom interview, the PreK Counts Supervisor was asked to explain any areas for
improvement in the PBIS program within her school. She responded:
 “Consistency is a huge area for us. We have been lacking in this area ever since Covid hit
and we need to get back on track for our students and the program. Another area for
improvement would be having a back-up place in place for those more aggressive
behaviors we are seeing. Students who are coming into the program or back to PreK
Counts are showing more aggressive behaviors from being home for so long from Covid.
Those expected behaviors that we teach in the classroom and in the program, some
students don’t know those yet, and those general rules that we expect most children to
know, they don’t know either. I would definitely say the most improvement of the PBIS
program in the PKC program is having something in place for those students who show
more aggressive behaviors and top tier behaviors.”
The Supervisor also shared her ideas that could improve the implementation of PBIS at the Early
Learning Academy. In the interview, she explained:
 “I think if we could get additional help that would be nice. With staffing, it’s extremely
difficult to have extra help and having extra hands in our program would definitely help
us. I constantly remind teachers that they shouldn’t be doing it alone and nothing will go
against them if they need my help or ask for it. It’s a big step for teachers to admit that
need help and I understand it’s very hard to do alone sometimes. Right now, it’s a very
hard world we are dealing with and the “Covid kids” are tough in the classroom. They
don’t understand anything and need so much assistance. The 3 year olds are the “Covid
kids” so they are already so young and they have no idea how to act in a school setting. I
need my teachers to feel comfortable enough coming to me to ask for assistance so I can
help them the best I can.”
When asked how the PreK Counts program can include more family participation in the PBIS
implementation model, the PreK Counts Supervisor responded:
 “I think just putting it out there saying this is what we are doing in our school and
classrooms. We do not do well with explaining to parents that we do PBIS or explain
how they will most likely see PBIS when their kids move onto kindergarten. We need to
educate our families more about PBIS so they know what it is and that they are going to
see it much more, especially once their child moves into elementary grades. We need to
get over the fear of in-person meetings with families, and just wear masks around each
other if that’s what we need to do. People are still getting over the fear of Covid and a lot
of people have changed as a result of the pandemic. Some of our administrators are still
not working in the office 5 days a week. The whole Covid thing changed how we can
work.”
To conclude the Zoom interview, the Supervisor was asked to describe what she sees for the
future of PBIS in the PreK Counts program at the Early Learning Academy. Her response was:
 “I think it will face a little bit of challenges, but there are some positives that we got out
of it. We need to slowly introduce PBIS into our center time with students because this is
the time we see the most difficult behaviors. PBIS should be happening in center time so
we can be more successful and so we see less behaviors. My hopes are to look at all of
the positives we have had with PBIS and keep going through with it, but I am not sure if
we will continue PBIS as a whole building, but I really do think it would be very
 beneficial if ALL programs in our building do PBIS together so we were all on the same
page.”

As I reflected on my interview with my Supervisor, it was very interesting to see what both her
and the teacher participants were in agreeance that the PreK Counts program needs to be much
more consistent with PBIS. I’m aware that consistency can be very difficult right now as a result
of the pandemic, but I think it’s crucial for all staff to try their best to keep consistent with PBIS
expectations and utilizing the behavior model. Prior to Covid and my maternity leave, the
program significantly struggled with finding substitutes and additional assistance. This has been
an ongoing issue and the pandemic has caused the search for help nearly impossible. If PreK
Counts teachers had extra assistance, then I think they would be more consistent with PBIS and
would not become burned out from dealing with challenging student behaviors. As the
Supervisor explained, the “Covid kids,” as they are referred to, are much more difficult since
they have either never experienced school, or they have not been in a school setting very long.

Another topic I agreed with my Supervisor on, was how people are still fearful of Covid and still
working from home. Many administrators are still working from home because they are fearful
of the virus, or because they have no desire to return to the workplace because their job can
easily be done from their homes. In addition to staff’s fears, families are also afraid to send their
children back to school, or they do not wish to attend in-school events or meetings. This makes
it very difficult to collaborate and create relationships with families. From my experience, it was
already very difficult trying to explain the PBIS to families prior to the pandemic, so I can only
imagine how difficult it is now. As my Supervisor explained, our program needs to improve our
communication skills with parents and guardians regarding PBIS to make them more aware of
the behavior model. I think this is something we could really focus on in the upcoming school
year once students have spent some time in the classroom and return to school as they normally
would. This is in hopes the pandemic does not return to affect their schooling again.

Considering the Supervisor’s response to the last question of the interview, I was a little shocked
to hear her thoughts about the future of PBIS at the Early Learning Academy. I understand there
will be a few challenges our program will face, but in my opinion, I think PreK Counts should
stick to the PBIS behavior model and continue implementation. This will only improve the
program, as well as student behaviors and staff buy-in. We have come too far with the
implementation of PBIS, it would be upsetting if the program dwindled as a result of the
pandemic. There are a few challenges we must overcome as a program to improve PBIS
implementation, but I believe if we work together as a team, and if I am able to be a strong
advocate for PBIS, this behavior model would be able to flourish in PreK Counts.

Additionally, the PreK Counts Supervisor’s response regarding the future of PBIS in the Early
Learning Academy, was motivating as a team member on the PBIS Core team and a researcher
of the three-tiered model. As the Supervisor hopes, I too think if all of the programs in the Early
Learning Academy introduced and implemented PBIS collectively, then implementation would
be very effective and much more successful. If every staff member working in the building,
regardless of the program they are employed for, implemented PBIS, all students would become
aware that every adult has the same expectations and uses the same language. Collaborating with
all of the four programs in the school building would be a great goal to work towards as a
researcher and team member on the PBIS Core team. I could present this idea to the team and
initiate for a change in our school to make PBIS stronger, more effective, and successful as a
school, not only as the PreK Counts program.

PreK Counts Teacher’s Ideas/Opinions regarding PBIS Implementation

To offer more information and knowledge to my research, I asked the PreK Counts teacher
participants to share any ideas or opinions they may have regarding PBIS implementation in the
PreK Counts program. I kept this theme separate from the a priori themes that I decided upon
prior to beginning my research. This section was an additional area in the teacher surveys to
assist in furthering my research on PBIS and selecting professional literature to support my data.
All four teacher participants shared the following thoughts and ideas:
 “I like the idea of PBIS, but I feel like I need new techniques to make it more exciting
throughout the year.”
 “I think if implemented consistently and correctly by the whole school and all staff
members, it could be successful. I also feel as though it is useful for the students who
regularly model positive behaviors, but it is not successful for the top tier challenging
behavior students when all strategies and techniques have failed. What do we do with the
top tier behavior students when using PBIS?”
 “I enjoy implementing PBIS in my classroom, however, I feel that the consequences for
the undesirable behaviors are unclear and inconsistent. This part of our PBIS program
needs work.”
 “I think it is very important to spend time at the beginning of the year teaching each
expectation. This make your life as a teacher easier as the year goes on. It is very
frustrating though when students who are not responding at all to PBIS and there is no
help. There has to be a protocol put in place to deal with the huge behaviors that are not
safe, responsible, or respectful.”

Teacher participant ideas and opinions about PreK Counts PBIS justified the need for
improvement when considering the top tier students who often display challenging behaviors.
These student behaviors have always been an issue for our program, and it seems to continue
each school year. A plan must be developed to assist teachers with these challenging students to
decrease class time disruption and further consider the safety of students and their peers. It
seems as the PreK teachers like the idea of PBIS, but they are hopeful in improving the
implementation to make it more successful and effective for their students. As a researcher of
PBIS throughout this spring semester, I have found much professional literature and resources to
present to my Supervisor, as well as the PBIS Core team, to alter the way PBIS is implemented
to make it more consistent and positive among the PreK Counts program and the entire school
building. I believe I have well over enough information, knowledge, and resources required to
assist in the improvement of PBIS implementation. This is a challenge I am willing to accept,
and motivated to take on as a PreK Counts teacher and representative on the PBIS Core team.,