Burger School for Students with Autism Derek Nowka

Burger School for Students with Autism Derek Nowka, Ed. S. Danielle Tagai, LMSW

Burger School for Students with Autism n Burger is a center-based school for Wayne County students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. The students range in age from three through twenty six. n We operate in three Garden City school buildings. Our pre-k and k classrooms are located at Lathers School, students six through sixteen attend Burger West, and students seventeen and older attend Burger East. n Eligibility for Burger School is through a referral process which starts with a student’s resident district Special Education department. The student referral process includes a review of less restrictive options that have been considered or have proven not to meet the student’s needs. n Burger School consists of approximately 330 students and 200 staff, including teachers, teaching assistants, 3 administrators and ancillary staff (social workers, behavior specialists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and nurses).

Planning and Training ¨ Planning process took about 2 years prior to kick-off ¨ Implementation was a gradual process n Began with holding staff trainings during planning times n Teachers were given examples of classroom expectations and asked to create expectations specific to their classroom (Classroom expectation posters vary from classroom to classroom) n Expectation posters and matrices were distributed and hung up n Student Kick-off held in January 2011 n Teaching of expectations began n Staff were given ‘Be Bucks’ and PBS Store opened n Assemblies began ¨ Data collection began January 2011

Burger PBIS “at-a-glance”

BURGER POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT MATRIX

Grade Band: Transition Unit 3 Unit Topic: Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco Lesson 6 Instructional Targets Social Studies: Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens, including opportunities for civic participation. Which of your state standards are aligned to these instructional targets? Strand 2 - Alcohol, Tobacco, and other drugs, Standard 6 - Decision Making, 2. 8 Apply decision-making and problem-solving steps to hypothetical problems related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Strand 2 - Alcohol, Tobacco, and other drugs, Standard 3 - Health Behaviors, 2. 5 Demonstrate skills to avoid tobacco exposure and avoid or resist alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

n n Resources and Materials: Rights and responsibilities cards PBS expectations are key to the success of any lesson. PBS expectations can show the importance of intangible ideas that can easily be missed! n PBS Expectations: n Be Safe – We can take appropriate medicine/drugs to help us with illnesses. Be Responsible – Say “no” to peer pressure. Make good choices about what you do. Be Respectful – Be respectful to yourself by not abusing drugs. Avoid pressuring your friends into doing things they are not comfortable doing. n n

‘BE BUCKS’ n Bucks are to be distributed for students meeting the desired expectations (Respectful, Responsible and Safe) n When giving out ‘Be Bucks’ tell the student what they did to earn it. i. e. “Great job, you were being responsible by doing your classwork”, “You were walking safely in the hallway. Keep up the good work. ” n Each staff member is given 6 ‘Be Bucks’ per week for the 2011 -2012 School year. This is a reduction of 3 ‘Be Bucks’ per staff member from the 2010 -2011 school year. n Data reports show an increase in the redemption of ‘Be Bucks’ for the 20112012 school year despite the reduction in the amount of ‘Be Bucks’ allotted for staff.

Burger’s Best – student & staff of the month n Staff members and students are nominated by displaying behaviors consistent with the school-wide expectations. n Students are given a certificate of recognition, and a voucher for 10 Be. Bucks, and a district PBIS coin that is redeemable at local businesses/vendors. n Staff are given a certificate of recognition, and given the choice of: ¨ ¨ ¨ Gift certificates Candy/Snacks Burger PBIS T-shirts

Restrictive Procedure Reports (RPR) n Restrictive Procedure Reports (RPR) are completed in compliance with Wayne RESA guidelines. n The following interventions require RPR’s to be completed: Physical Restraint: Physical restraint involves direct physical contact that prevents or significantly restricts an individual’s movements by holding the person’s limbs, head, or body. ¨ Exclusionary time-out (ETO): involves removing a student from the classroom or his regularly scheduled program, contingent on a problem behavior. ¨ Seclusion: is the confinement of a student alone in a secured room or other space from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. ¨ Definitions obtained from the Wayne RESA, Guidelines for Behavior Intervention 2008

RESTRICTIVE PROCEDURE REPORT

Total Number of Restrictive Procedures by Month

Daily Average of RPRs by Month

Total Support Calls per Month (Burger West only)

Daily Average Support Calls per Month (Burger West only)

Total Minutes of Intervention by Month

Daily Average Intervention Minutes by Month

Time of Day by Month

Positive Behavior Indicator

How do we use our data? n Student Assistance Team (SAT) ¨ Team includes OT, Speech, Social Work, Administrator, Behavior Specialist ¨ Discuss students with 5 or more Restrictive Procedures within the previous month. ¨ Identify students for possible Tier 2 interventions ¨ Discuss parent meetings, classroom staffings etc. n Review Data at Monthly PBS Meetings ¨ Team discusses data and changes to explore/needed

Tier 2 & 3 Students (Insert completed Quick Sort Tool) CICO Men’s Club K. K V. R. V. V. J. T. C. C. D. C J. M J. H. T. K. D. J. H. A. C. B. D. S. M. S. E. U. B. C. U. U. C. Mentor Social Skills Token System Simple FBA/BIP Tier 3 FBA/BIP

Resources w Wayne Resa www. resa. net w Chris Mc. Evoy, Wayne Resa w Michigan Department of Education, School-wide Positive Behavior Support Implementation Guide w www. pbis. org w Association for Positive Behavior Support www. APBS. org

n Derek Nowka, Behavior Coordinator Nowkad@gardencityschools. com n Danielle Tagai, School Social Worker Tagaid@gardencityschools. com