13th Annual Maine PBIS Conference

Join us to celebrate, learn, and network with PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) leaders and implementers from across Maine and beyond to enhance the quality of life of students by promoting evidence-based and effective positive behavior supports to realize socially valid and equitable outcomes for people, families, schools, agencies, and communities.

Thursday, November 9, 2023
Augusta Civic Center
9:00 AM until 3:45 PM

Registration Cost:

  • General (individual)- $195
  • Group (groups of 3 or more attendees)- $165
  • Student (full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in 6 credits per semester for at minimum 2 semesters per year)- $85
  • Lead Presenter (those accepted to present; only lead presenters are at no charge; co-presenters will be charged the individual rate)- $0

Keynote Speaker:

Lindsay Fallon, Ph.D., BCBA-D is an Associate Professor and Director of the School Psychology Ph.D. Program in the College of Education and Human Development at University of Massachusetts Boston. She is a former New York City special education teacher and special education faculty member. She is a licensed psychologist and a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and has presented her work nearly 150 times at international, national and regional conferences. Her work focuses on multi-tiered systems of support, behavioral interventions, implementation science, as well as culturally responsive practice. She works extensively with school districts to design and implement positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in and around Boston.

Register here.

Questions regarding the conference or proposal submissions may be directed to: Courtney Angelosante  (courtney.angelosante@maine.edu) and Sarah Wilkinson (sarah.wilkinson@maine.edu)

Maine PBIS Advanced Tiers Cohort Training Opportunity

The Maine PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) team is excited to announce applications are open for our first Advanced Tiers Cohort Training starting in fall 2023!

If your school has been implementing Tier 1 with fidelity and are ready for next steps, this opportunity is for you.

  • This two-year training sequence will lead school teams through developing the systems and practices to support positive outcomes for students with more intensive (Tier 2 and Tier 3) behavioral needs.
  • Each year will include four in-person team training days, four virtual coach meetings, and ongoing external coaching support. For more information, including application requirements and a link to our Listen & Learn presentation.

Download the flyer here

Please contact us at pbis@maine.edu if you have any questions!

The Maine Department of Education partners with the University of Maine System to provide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) training and coaching for schools and school administrative units (SAUs) throughout the state. PBIS is a multi-tiered approach to supporting the social, emotional and behavioral development of students in K-12 settings. The purpose of PBIS is to improve the social, emotional and academic outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities and students from underrepresented groups. Learn more about PBIS here.

Maine DOE, UMS Expand Whole-Student Supports for Maine Schools

More K–12 students and educators in Maine are set to benefit from stronger social, emotional and behavioral supports thanks to Maine PBIS, a collaboration between the University of Maine System and the Maine Department Education (DOE), which is adding 21 new schools to its professional development cohort.

The schools, which will participate in the initiative over the next three years, are located in communities throughout the state, including Berwick, Boothbay Harbor, Brooksville, Bucksport, Damariscotta, Edgecomb, Litchfield, Madawaska, North Berwick, Sabattus, South Portland and Westbrook.

“Teams of educators from these schools will learn and practice together for the next three years, joining more than 30 schools that are currently part of our professional development model and more than 75 schools statewide that have already implemented sustainable supports for Maine students,” says Courtney Angelosante, Maine PBIS coordinator at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, is a nationally recognized framework providing a multi-tiered continuum of supports in K-12 schools, promoting positive social and behavioral outcomes for all students. It is based on a community health promotion model. In schools that have implemented PBIS, it is expected that 95% of students will have most of their social, emotional and behavioral needs met before schools have to implement the third, or most targeted tier of interventions.

Maine DOE, in collaboration with UMS, supports schools and districts to implement PBIS through a cohort model that matches Maine-endorsed PBIS trainers and coaches with district and school-level teams. Maine PBIS’s professional development efforts have received national and international attention as a particularly effective example for rural schools and communities.

“Being able to work with our PBIS coaches multiple times a year made our school’s efforts towards Tier 1 implementation much smoother,” says Sierra Bloom, a first-grade teacher at Surry Elementary School, which has already taken part in the UMS-Maine DOE initiative. “Our coaches were always there to support our work directly and led us to a solid foundation for our work in PBIS.”

Bloom adds that being able to work with other schools in the cohort model was beneficial.

“We were able to collaborate and share ideas for success, while also gaining support towards common struggles,” she says.

This summer, Maine PBIS will host a five-day training institute for educators who are part of its professional development cohort. The training, which is limited to 50 participants and will take place at Husson University from July 10–14, will be designed to help teachers identify why a behavior is happening through a variety of assessment tools and procedures, leading to the development of a positive behavior support plan individualized to a student’s strengths and needs. More information about the Maine PBIS Advanced Tiers Summer Institute is online.

“The supportive and inclusive practices of PBIS have elicited overwhelmingly positive responses by administrators, educators, students and families. Our office looks forward to supporting and sustaining schools and districts in this work,” says Tracy Whitlock, Special Projects Coordinator in the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education at the Maine Department of Education.

The Maine DOE provides funding for the Maine PBIS initiative through a federal State Personnel Development Grant. The funding is helping scale up capacity for PBIS in the state through a UMS Microcredential for PBIS Coaching and Training. The second cohort of educators seeking the micro-credential endorsement will begin in fall 2023. Applications, which are available online, are due June 15.

Application Open for Maine PBIS Training of Trainers and Coaches Microcredential Program

Are you interested in supporting multiple schools, districts or regions in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation through training and coaching? Then, consider applying to our 2nd round of the Training of Trainers and Coaches Microcredential Program!

Completing this program will provide you with the skills and competencies needed to effectively support district/school teams as they develop positive, proactive, equitable learning environments for their whole community.

Learn more here! Applications close June 15, 2023!

Reach out to Karen Robbie (karen.robbie@maine.edu) or Courtney Angelosante (courtney.angelosante@maine.edu) with any questions you may have.

 

 

Supporting All Students: How the PBIS Framework is Inclusive for All

During this presentation hosted by the Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education (OSSIE), Heather George, PhD will focus on how to support all students with a PBIS  (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) framework in schools:

  • PBIS has been shown through research to be effective for a wide range of student outcomes
  • The whole school intervention approach used by PBIS has been shown to establish a safe and predictable environment that increases success for all students including those with disabilities.
  • During the webinar, free resources will be shared to help schools build systems that are inclusive, robust, and supportive of all students.

Date/Time: April 26, 2023 – 3:30-4:30 pm

Audience: General & Special Educators, Administrators, Parents, Caregivers and Community Members Interested in Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and inclusive classrooms

Cost: FREE Register for Zoom Link Here

Contact Hours: Each attendee will be awarded a certificate for 1 contact hour

About the Presenter: Heather Peshak George, Ph.D. is a Research Professor in the Department of Child & Family Studies at the University of South Florida. She co-directs the National Technical Assistance Center on PBIS, the state-wide Florida PBIS Project, the federally-funded Florida Connect model demonstration grant, and is Past-President of the international Association for Positive Behavioral Support (APBS). ). Over the past two decades, she has secured over $42 million in external funding, published over 30 peer reviewed articles and chapters, including over 100 practice briefs and evaluation reports, and has delivered over 400 invited presentations on PBISShe has extensive experience in providing training and technical assistance in PBIS at the national and international levels and thanks her two teenagers for the daily reminders on the need to bridge the research-to-practice gap. You can learn more about Dr. George at https://www.usf.edu/cbcs/cfs/faculty-staff/peshak-george-h.aspx and follow her on Twitter at @HeatherPGeorge. Shared resources may be available at www.pbis.org and www.flpbis.org.