Establishing and sustaining research‐based practices at Centennial School: A descriptive case study of systemic change

Abstract

There has recently been increased attention given to the widely perceived gap between research and practice in school psychology and education. The purpose of this article is to describe how Centennial School of Lehigh University, an alternative day school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, was able to successfully implement and sustain research-based practices. The use of such practices, in conjunction with organizational and systemic change, led to the significant reduction and eventually the virtual elimination of the use of and need for physical restraint and seclusionary time-out in the school, as well as a substantial increase in students' prosocial behavior. Procedures for reducing the gap between research and practice at Centennial School are discussed, including the methods used by school personnel to facilitate systems change, successfully implement research-based practices, and create a supportive organizational structure for sustaining effective practices. Possible roles for school psychologists in systems change efforts, potential barriers to the implementation of research-based practices, and recommendations as to how these barriers may be overcome also are provided.

Implementing school‐wide behavior change: Lessons from the field

“…However, meaningful change is possible only if systems are restructured in a manner that enables change to occur (Deal & Peterson, 1999), and any change, if improperly managed, will not sustain into the future. Change that does not lead to behavioral transformation for both school personnel and students cannot be considered successful (Miller et al, 2005).…”

“…The details of Centennial's implementation of a SWPBS model is chronicled in detail elsewhere (see Fogt & Piripavel, 2002;George, 2000;Miller, George, & Fogt, 2005). Briefly, in 1998, Centennial School adopted a school-wide model similar to the model successfully implemented at the Fern Ridge Middle School in Veneta, Oregon (Taylor-Greene & Kartub, 2000), marking an early attempt to ascertain the benefits such a system might have for an alternative school serving some of the most behaviorally challenging children and youth in the public school system.…”

“…Now in Year 9 of implementation, the practices associated with the school-wide innovation are fully integrated into the school culture and have led to substantial decreases in student antisocial behavior and significant increases in prosocial behavior. Centennial School is currently one of the few alternative schools in the country where sustainable systems are in place to support students at all three PBS levels (i.e., universal, selected/targeted, tertiary) (for a more comprehensive discussion of the effects of SWPBS and other research-based practices on the students and staff of Centennial School, see Miller et al, 2005).…”

Authentically happy school psychologists: Applications of positive psychology for enhancing professional satisfaction and fulfillment

“…Although satisfaction or happiness in adults is not the primary reason for implementing PBS, change in staff behavior is the major mechanism by which PBS operates (Miller, George, & Fogt, 2005). Thus, it may be probable that changes in staff behavior toward building a positive school environment for students would also produce satisfaction (i.e., happiness) in adults in the school (George, White, & Schlaffer, 2007;Miller et al, 2005). For example, we would suggest that an overall decrease in the time needed to manage classroom discipline problems would create positive emotions in virtually any classroom teacher!…”

Providing Behavioral Feedback to Students in an Alternative High School Setting

“…George, George, Kern, and Fogt (2013) demonstrated the importance of extending PBIS into alternative school settings. Existing literature on PBIS outcomes in alternative high school settings has focused on finding ways to decrease serious behavior incidents (Simonsen, Britton, & Young, 2010;Simonsen & Sugai, 2013) and reduce the use of physical restraints for students with emotional and behavioral challenges (Miller, George, & Fogt, 2005). Tier 1 PBIS in alternative school settings, however, has been shown to correlate highly with fewer office discipline referrals and high levels of social validity from school professionals (Farkas et al, 2012).…”