Utilizing Positive Behavior Supports in High School Settings to Improve School Completion Rates for Students with High Incidence Conditions

Abstract

The integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions through positive behavior supports (PBS) can provide benefit for students, staff, and families (Bohanon et al., 2006 Bohanon, H., Fenning, P., Carney, K., Minnis, M., Anderson-Harris, S., Moroz, K., Kasper, B., Hicks, K., Culos, C. and Sailor, W. 2006. School-wide application of urban high school positive behavior support: A case study.. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports., 8: 131–145. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Turnbull et al., 2002 Turnbull, A., Edmonson, H., Griggs, P., Wickham, D., Sailor, W.Beech, S. 2002. A blueprint for schoolwide positive behavior support: Full implementation of three components.. Exceptional Children, 68(3): 337–402. [Google Scholar]). However, there is limited application of PBS to high schools settings (Sugai, Flannery, & Bohanon, 2004). However, preliminary data is promising (Bohanon et al., 2006 Bohanon, H., Fenning, P., Carney, K., Minnis, M., Anderson-Harris, S., Moroz, K., Kasper, B., Hicks, K., Culos, C. and Sailor, W. 2006. School-wide application of urban high school positive behavior support: A case study.. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports., 8: 131–145. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and this article describes the benefits of providing PBS in high school settings for all students, including those with high-incidence disabilities. The authors focus on school-wide supports associated with creating an environment that improves the general school expectations and positive interactions between students and teachers. Specifically, this article will focus on how implementation of PBS may be related to improvement in student behavior, school climate, and subsequently improved rates of school completion. A successful completion of school enhances the likelihood that students will have improved post-secondary outcomes.