It is important for schools to develop effective strategies to respond to challenging student behaviors. The AOE and its partners provide training and technical assistance to increase a school's capacity for implementing layered behavioral supports that benefit entire school communities.
Vermont Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (VTPBIS)
Vermont Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (VTPBIS) is a state-wide effort designed to help school teams form a proactive, school-wide, systems approach to improving social and academic competence for all students. Many schools in Vermont are engaged in using a formal system of positive behavioral supports in their schools. Students in these schools often enjoy greater levels of support and inclusion than those in comparative schools who do not use a system of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
To help schools develop more effective strategies and interventions, the BEST Team facilitates a variety of workshops, in-service training, university coursework, webinars, and an annual Summer Institute. Additional information is available on the AOE’s The BEST Project webpage.
Early Multi-Tiered System of Support
Vermont’s Early Multi-Tiered System of Support, or Early MTSS, is an innovation neutral, data-based decision framework that wraps around the Pyramid Model framework.
Early MTSS promotes proactive, preventive universal, targeted and individualized equitable and inclusive high-quality evidence-based practices to promote social-emotional learning along with academic learning, and skill development for children birth through age 8, and across all early childhood learning environments.
Vermont's Early MTSS framework proactively supports competency building in both adults, those working in the early childhood system and families as well as in children. It integrates trauma informed and mental health practices, for maximum support, all which reduces the likelihood challenging behaviors to occur in children.
Early MTSS aligns with federal and state guidance, Vermont Early Learning Standards, Vermont's Guiding Principles, and VTmtss and Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practices.
Early PBIS
The Early Education team recommends these tools, resources, and strategies to support the implementation of a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional and behavior support within schools:
- Resource Library - National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations,
- Vermont’s Early Multi-Tiered System of Supports Preliminary Pyramid Assessment (PPA) tool and
- AOE Early Education Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports resources.
Using a Trauma-informed Approach
The Vermont Agency of Human Services Department of Mental Health provides several resources about trauma-informed approaches across these webpages:
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The Trauma Prevention and Resilience Development webpage defines trauma and its effects with links to additional resources.
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Child Trauma Resources with content and resources for families and educators.
Dr. Ross Greene’s work, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS), provides resources for educators and schools. The CPS model focuses on solving the problems at the root cause of the behavior, not merely on modifying the behavior, and CPS advocates for explicit teaching of lagging skills.
A school community that exhibits a sustainable, positive school climate in which all members of the school community feel safe, supported, and challenged in non-threatening and social learning environments, is more likely to foster student development and strong family relationships. Safe and supportive Vermont schools teach students skills and strategies for lagging skills rather than respond to unwanted behaviors with disciplinary action.