Fifteen Lenoir County Schools were recognized last week by the state’s Department of Public Instruction at a Durham ceremony for how well the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Initiative was implemented — a major contribution to Lenoir County’s school violence rate decrease over the last two years.
The schools showed PBIS is being applied with a “high level of fidelity,” according to a press release.
June Atkinson, North Carolina’s superintendent of public instruction, distributed certificates and banners to a large LCS crowd who turned up to the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center for the awards service.
“We are very proud of these schools for changing the climate in the schools,” said Lenoir County PBIS Coordinator Jill Croom. “I think it’s just proving (and) exemplifying that we are not just doing PBIS just to be doing it. It’s being recognized at a state level. It’s being done with fidelity, and (the schools) are implementing PBIS the right way.”
DPI recognized 390 North Carolina schools this year, giving one of three honors rankings for the level of implementation: Green, Model and Exemplar, the highest of the trio. Three Lenoir County schools — Northwest and Banks Elementary and Woodington Middle School — were recognized as Exemplar schools for outstanding behavioral improvement, which was determined from student referral data coupled with another any other data element outside of the application components.
Schools submitted application to DPI in June that included proof of PBIS administrative support and completion of PBIS training modules, among other elements. Schools were scored on the evaluation of the program’s overall implementation.
LCS has been involved with the state-wide initiative since the 2007-08 school year. Since then, the county’s three high schools have begun implementing PBIS, which started with only elementary and middle schools.
BREAKOUT BOX:
Schools in Lenoir County recognized by Department of Public Instruction:
n Banks Elementary*
n Contentnea-Savannah
n Frink Middle
n Kinston High
n La Grange Elementary
n Moss Hill Elementary
n North Lenoir High
n Northeast Elementary
n Northwest Elementary*
n Pink Hill Elementary
n Rochelle Middle
n Sampson School
n Southeast Elementary
n Southwood Elementary
n Woodington Middle*
* indicates schools that received ‘Exemplar’ rating for outstanding behavioral improvement.For more information about the North Carolina Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Initiative, visit ncpublicschools.org/positivebehavior
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.