Ci3T

JAGS Expectations

 

Jardine Elementary Implementation Manual

It is the goal of Jardine Elementary to provide an instructional approach to behavior, while at the same time providing a tiered approach to support academic, behavior and social expectations. In an effort to meet this goal, Jardine Elementary has adopted a comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered (Ci3T) model of prevention (Lane, Oakes, & Menzies, 2010). This Ci3T model is designed to address our students' academic, behavioral, and social needs using a continuum of supports, including a proactive approach for addressing students' needs in all three areas. We have established systematic screening practices and a continuum of supports, ranging from universal, broad-based strategies to targeted and individualized interventions. The three-tiered model provides for; primary prevention (Tier 1 supports for all), secondary prevention (Tier 2 supports for some), and tertiary interventions and supports (Tier 3 supports for a few). The goal is to create a safe, positive learning environment including the accurate detection of students who need additional support beyond primary prevention efforts and then providing these students with additional secondary and tertiary supports that are also evidenced-based.

This manual is a tool to help describe and explain the Ci3T model of prevention that our school team designed based upon: (a) our school's specific needs and goals, and (b) feedback given to our team by our faculty and staff members.

Mission Statement

At Jardine Elementary, we believe all scholars can innovate and learn.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the comprehensive three-tiered plan at Jardine Elementary is: For all of the Jardine Elementary community to work together to design and implement a variety of programs that include primary (Tier 1), secondary (Tier 2), and tertiary (Tier 3) levels of prevention to support the specific academic, behavioral, and social needs of all students.

Overview of the Comprehensive, Integrated,
Three-Tiered (Ci3T) Model of Prevention

Jardine Elementary has developed a Ci3T plan for all students attending grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade. This plan addresses three key components: academics, behavior, and social skills. This plan has both a proactive and reactive behavioral component. Jardine Elementary's plan was developed in response to information derived from school-wide surveys and academic assessments to determine teachers' expectations and areas of need at Jardine Elementary.

Three-Tiered Model of Prevention
Ci3T Model of Prevention (Lane, Kalberg, & Menzies, 2009)

Three-Tiered Models of Prevention

There are three-tiered models of prevention used in schools today including response-to-intervention (RTI; Gresham, 2002; Sugai, Horner, & Gresham, 2002), positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS; Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Sugai & Horner, 2002), as well as other tiered systems. While these models aim to identify and serve students proactively with increasingly intensive levels of support, the models differ in their area of focus (RTI mainly on academic skills and PBIS mainly on behavior). Some educators advocate for the use of a comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered (Ci3T) model of prevention that combines the areas of academic, behavioral, and social skills to meet students' multiple needs given that problems in these three areas are likely to manifest concurrently (Lane & Wehby, 2002; Lane, Kalberg, & Menzies, 2009; Lane, Oakes, Menzies, & Harris, 2013; Walker et al., 2004). A comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered model can address each area through screening procedures to identify students who have multiple needs.

Implementing any new system to improve student outcomes requires an initial investment of time and energy. However, multi-tiered models capitalize on effective instructional and classroom management practices that teachers already use (Lane, Menzies, Ennis, & Bezdek, 2013). One strength of Ci3T models is that they involve a contribution from all faculty and staff to establish common expectations and procedures in academic, behavioral, and social domains. Then, these changes occur at a systems level. When a school's staff members work collaboratively to identify and implement agreed upon strategies and practices, they create an opportunity to establish a positive school culture. Moreover, in a Ci3T model, school-site faculty and staff all have a voice: they individually and collectively contribute to decisions about behavioral expectations taught to all students to support positive behavior and facilitate participation in instruction. In addition - and equally important - faculty and staff determine a shared system for recognizing and reinforcing students' efforts to reach those expectations. This is a major departure from previous models in which each teacher sets his or her own rules and has sole individual responsibilities for their own students. It is also a shift away from reactive approaches that involved focusing mainly on students' misbehavior toward an instructional approach to behavior that involves actively looking for and recognizing students' positive student behaviors using behavior specific praise. Finally, expecting the entire school staff (e.g., office and custodial personnel, instructional aides, bus drivers) to support school-wide behavioral expectations as well as the school-wide social skills empowers them to participate proactively and positively, while teaching students the full skill sets needed to engage fully in instructional activities (Lane, Menzies, Ennis, & Bezdek, 2013)

Tier 1: Primary prevention. In a Ci3T model, the first tier (also referred to as primary prevention or the core program) is designed as preventative and includes academic, social, and behavioral components for all students. The academic component consists of the school or district chosen validated academic curriculum based on state standards and requires that all teachers deliver effective instruction.

To address students' social needs, school site personnel may choose to implement a social skills curriculum (Elliott & Gresham, 2007a) or character education program (e.g., Positive Action; 2008). The focus of the social curriculum is determined by the school's unique needs (e.g., the need to decrease bullying behavior). An evidence-based program should be selected, one with sufficient evidence to suggest that the desired changes will be observed at a given school site provided that the program is implemented with fidelity.

Finally, the behavioral component is a positive behavior intervention and support framework in which school site personnel establish 3-5 schoolwide expectations for student conduct (e.g., Be respectful, Be responsible, and Be prepared to give the best effort). The critical component here is that school staff explicitly teach all students the expectations which are operationally defined for each key setting in the building (e.g., classroom, hallways, cafeteria). Next, students have multiple practice opportunities where teachers model the expectations and then coach students on how to demonstrate them. Students demonstrating expectations are reinforced with behavior-specific praise. Some schools develop elaborate PBIS reinforcement plans that include school assemblies and tangible rewards, others implement on a smaller scale making decisions based on beliefs and resources. In either case, the important factor is that all students are directly taught and provided reinforcement for demonstrating the schoolwide expectations. The overall goal is to provide students with a behavioral repertoire that allows time for teaching and learning. Thus, teachers gain additional time to teach the academic and social skill or character development programs constituting the primary plan. Investing time in this instructional approach to behavior by explicitly teaching schoolwide expectations for behavior upfront, teachers will devote less time to addressing problem behaviors and may experience less stress (as will students) in the learning environment.

Implementing these three areas of foci schoolwide, all students are supported behaviorally, socially, and academically. Eighty percent of students are expected to respond satisfactorily and not require further intervention (Sugai & Horner, 2006). However, to determine which students need more intensive support, systematic screenings are conducted. The screenings will identify students for Tier 2 (secondary) or Tier 3 (tertiary) interventions.

Tier 2: Secondary prevention. Secondary supports are typically offered to small groups of students experiencing similar needs. For example, there might be groups to improve oral reading fluency using repeated readings (Chard, Ketterlin-Geller, Baker, Doabler, & Apichatabutra, 2009), peer-peer interactions using social skills groups (Kalberg, Lane, & Lambert, 2012; Lane, Menzies, Barton-Arwood, Doukas, & Munton, 2005; Miller, Lane, & Wehby, 2005) and anger management groups to improve conflict resolution skills (Kalberg, Lane, & Lambert, 2012). Decisions regarding which students and the types of supports needed are made using systematic screening data in conjunction with other data (e.g., office discipline referrals, absenteeism, and academic progress). Approximately 15% of students are apt to require this level of prevention. Students who do not respond to Tier 2 supports or those exposed to multiple risk factors are likely to require more intensive interventions and supports referred to as Tier 3 or tertiary prevention.

Tier 3: Tertiary prevention. Tertiary supports are the most intensive supports and are most often individualized. Examples include individualized reading programs (e.g., Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention, Pearson Education, 2010), functional assessment-based interventions (Kern & Manz, 2004; Umbreit, Ferro, Liaupsin, & Lane, 2007), and intensive family supports (e.g., First Step to Success, Walker, Stiller et al., 1997). Tier 3 is typically reserved for students who experience multiple risk factors or for whom previous intervention efforts have been insufficient. Students may be immediately identified for tertiary intervention or may proceed through the tiers of increasing levels of intervention offered while responsiveness is closely monitored.

Tier 2 and 3 interventions are designed to meet the students' specific characteristics and learning needs whether they are behavioral, social, academic, or combined. In these more intensive levels, students are monitored to determine whether they are responding to the intervention. School site personnel use this information to make instructional decisions regarding the continued need for the intervention, a change in the intervention or support, or a discontinuation of additional supports because the remediation has been successful.

This model uses a data-driven approach to both prevention and intervention, thereby meeting the increasing demand of data-based decision making. It also aims to respond to learning and behavior problems by capitalizing on currently available resources. Yet, an essential component of this model that is often overlooked is the accurate and early detection of students who require Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports. Screening tools are used to meet this charge by systematically measuring academic and socio-behavioral performance.

Systematic Screening within Three-Tiered Models

Screener procedures are essential for effective schoolwide prevention systems. They are the tools for early and accurate detection of students in need across the preK-12 continuum. Age-appropriate screening tools should be used at each level of schooling (elementary, middle, and high school) to address the unique demands at each level. Differences in students' developmental growth mean that they experience different risk factors related to their age. One of the most critical milestones students attain early in their school careers is learning to read. Those who are not proficient readers by fourth grade are likely to struggle academically throughout their school years (Fletcher, Foorman, Boudousquie, Barnes, Schatschneider, & Francis, 2002; Juel, 1988). Middle school students are entering adolescence which can be a time of emotional turmoil which can make it difficult to focus on academic learning. In high school, many demands, interests, and challenges compete with students' ability to complete their required programs. Graduating high school is a gatekeeper of future success and students with behavioral, emotional, and academic challenges are at greatest risk of dropping out (Wagner & Davis, 2006). Screening tools at each level of schooling can help systematically identify those who require more support to ensure school success.

In sum, systematic screening procedures are necessary at all school levels, particularly as the behavioral, social, and academic demands change. It is imperative that a systematic approach be used in order to avoid missing students who would benefit from additional supports within the context of integrated three-tiered models of prevention.

Adapted from Lane, K. L., Oakes, W. P., & Menzies, H. M. (2010). Systematic screenings to prevent the development of learning and behavior problems: Considerations for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 21, 160-172.

Lane, K. L., Oakes, W. P., Menzies, H. M., & Harris, P. J. (2013). Developing comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered models to prevent and manage learning and behavior. In T. Cole, H. Daniels, & J. Visser (Eds.). The Routledge international companion to emotional and behavioral difficulties problems (pp. 177- 183). New York, NY: Routledge.

Lane, K. L., Menzies, H. M., Ennis, R. P., & Bezdek, J. (2013). Schoolwide systems to promote positive behaviors and facilitate instruction. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 7, 6-31.

Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports:

Please see the full articles for a more detailed description.

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