Burlington Cty, NJ: New positive behavior program to get at "root of students' misbehavior"

Aug 20, 2018, Willingboro, NJ, Burlington County Times: Burlington County schools adopting positive behavior initiative http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20180820/burlington-county-schools-adopting-positive-behavior-initiative Burlington Township is the latest Burlington County school district to implement a character education program through the New Jersey Positive Behavior Support in Schools training team…. The township is now the sixth county school districts to begin using the New Jersey Positive Behavior Support in Schools training team at one or more schools to reinforce students’ positive behavior and prevent the negative, according to professor Sharon Lohrmann, PBSIS director at Rutgers University’s Boggs Center for Developmental Disabilities. The national program, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, is designed to help general students and those in special education, Lohrmann said. The goal of the program is to reduce bullying, discipline issues and special education referrals while helping students with disabilities or behavioral challenges in general education settings, according to the Boggs Center. It uses a three-tiered system to create a positive school environment by setting school-wide expectations and reinforcing good behavior, while addressing problems at the root of students’ misbehavior. Lohrmann said three-tiered approach aims to create a positive climate throughout the entire school, while meeting the behavioral, emotional and support needs of students who are acting out and need behavioral interventions. The state Department of Education Offices of Special Education Programs partnered with the Boggs Center to promote NJ PBSIS, and Lohrmann and her colleagues train school staff in the system’s methods….