March 7, 2011
By Cedra Crenshaw
Cedra.Crenshaw@yahoo.com
PBIS, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports System, has stolen precious academic instructional time from Valley View School District, "VVSD", students since its inception several years ago. In spite of state mandated curriculum content, the academic achievement gap, and the district curriculum content policy, last Friday, Woodview Elementary K-5 students were removed from class and taken to a dance party, depriving them of instructional time. My 6 year old daughter was one of those students.
PBIS is a system of behavior modifications originally developed to control the often dangerous behaviors of the developmentally disabled. In recent years, PBIS has developed into a behavior modification tool used in school districts on a school-wide basis with students who are not developmentally disabled. Not all school districts implement PBIS.
As part of the PBIS framework, VVSD sanctions rewarding students in place of instructing students - during instructional time. The dance party was a PBIS reward for being "office discipline referral" free. My child's building principal told me that he is always looking for ways to reward students. How much instructional time has been stolen for PBIS reward activities since its inception?
Are VVSD students truly receiving the reported time devoted to teaching core subjects each day? Can VVSD justify the $11,369/student operating cost when instructional time is stolen from students, while the average private school tuition is $6,000 or less? Is entertaining students during instructional time preparing them to compete with their national and global counterparts?
This wasn't the first dance party during school. There was a previous dance party in December. The event flyer said the dance party was brought back because "We have enjoyed our DJ party so much in December that we are bringing the DJ back!" How many more DJ dance parties will be scheduled during instructional time?
Students who did not earn the dance party privilege had to sit on the side of the gym while she and the other students danced. So, even students with discipline referrals were deprived of instruction. What were the teachers doing during the 30 minute dance party? Some of the teachers danced with the students while others were not present at all.
Because PBIS applies universal preventions to all students, there is no way to opt out and have your child receive appropriate instruction. A few weeks ago, I opted my daughter out of an unnecessary assembly so she could receive her reading instruction. But when the rest of my daughter's 1st grade class was taken to the assembly to get certificates for free slices of pizza, my daughter was put into a 2nd grade classroom. She had to read with the 2nd graders and then she had to read independently. She received no instruction.
Even though pizza certificates could easily be sent home with the students "without interrupting instructional time" my daughter's building principal said he plans to have these assemblies 2 more times this year.
It is reasonable to expect students to be primarily engaged in learning activities during the school day. But the exact opposite all too frequently happens in a district like VVSD that has implemented PBIS. Three years ago through casual conversation I discovered my then 8 year-old son was watching entertainment films - 13 that he could recall - during school. No notices were ever sent home to inform parents or ask permission.
Last year when my son was in 5th grade I opted him out of watching the film Air Bud which was a reward for students who had taken the 2009 spring ISAT test. This deserves repeating: I had to request my son receive academic instruction instead of watching an entertainment film - in school. My son was "instructed" by a computer while the other students watched the film.
Common sense dictates that instruction should occur during instructional time. Students can be rewarded with dance parties and entertainment films after school. Certificates for free slices of pizza can be sent home without interrupting instructional time. When entertainment is given priority over academic instruction during instructional time, is it any wonder why so many parents opt for private, charter, virtual, and homeschool education?
Principal Mitchem addressed the district and community last week, stressing his commitment to increase resources at the K-3 level. Unfortunately, more resources will not matter unless priorities change from entertaining kids to instructing kids - during instructional time.
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