Maine PBIS Training

Is your district and/or school interested in implementing Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)?

Join the many districts and schools throughout the state that are experiencing transformative outcomes with PBIS. This is a journey towards a more positive and supportive school environment!

Maine PBIS off Tier 1 frameworkers comprehensive support to districts and schools. Our free intensive training and coaching ensure that you can implement a PBIS framework with fidelity. With our Tier 1 and Advanced Tiers Training Cohorts, you can receive support throughout the entire change process.

Tier 1 and District Training

Districts and schools begin with a comprehensive, intensive 3-year Tier 1 training. As school teams develop their Tier 1 framework, a district leadership team (when applicable) also receives training and coaching support alongside each school’s coaches and team.

Through Tier 1 training, school teams use relevant data to identify schoolwide and classroom practices and systems for their school community, which enhance predictability, safety, belonging, and equitable, positive outcomes for all.

Advanced Tiers Training

Once you have established a solid foundation in Tier 1, your district and school can begin developing an Advanced Tiers framework to support students who need targeted Tier 2 or Tier 3 individualized support. 

Through our Advanced Tiers training, school coaches and teams use a data-informed approach to establish systems for identifying student needs, developing interventions based on a student’s behavior function, and creating progress monitoring and evaluation protocols.

Getting Ready

Comprehensive systems change requires resources such as staffing and training. To support sustainable change, Maine PBIS works with each district and school to ensure they are ready to begin implementation. These resources provide insight into readiness requirements:

District:

• District Readiness Checklist and Application 

• District Coordinator Roles and Responsibilities

Tier 1:

• School Readiness Checklist and Application

• School-Based Coach Roles and Responsibilities

• Training Cohort Opportunity and Resources (Tier 1)

Advanced Tiers:

• Readiness Checklist, Application, and Agreement

• Training Cohort Opportunity and Resources (Advanced Tiers)

Applications for Tier 1 training, including district training when applicable, open each January for the following academic year. Advanced Tiers training applications open each March.

New applicants can learn more about the training process by attending annual Listen and Learn sessions. Sign up for our communications list to stay updated about dates, deadlines, and opportunities. You can also contact us at pbis@maine.edu.

Training FAQ’s

I don’t understand why training requires so many dates and so many years. Can you explain more?

Absolutely! Many people believe PBIS is only about having common expectations and recognition systems. That is an accurate assumption but only a tiny part of a much more comprehensive framework. Through training, your school and district will authentically engage learning partners, provide staff with professional development in effective practices, collect and use relevant data to inform decision-making, develop systems to support effective and efficient protocols and much more. This type of system change takes great effort and time to get into place. Eventually, PBIS will become the foundation for how your whole school and district will operate.

Does the entire team and the administrator need to attend all the trainings?

As much as possible, yes! Doing so provides the depth of understanding and knowledge needed to build your internal capacity, gather implementation momentum, and sustain. We understand it can be challenging to have so many people out of the school on any given day. Plus, we know finding substitutes is hard. We encourage you to identify a core team of no more than six people to attend the training days, and if that does not include your whole team, find time (aside from regular meeting time) to debrief after each training event.

Are there any costs associated with training?

We provide the training and coaching for free. Districts and schools are responsible for travel-related costs, substitute coverage on training dates, conference registration for team members, and annual subscriptions to SWIS, CICO-SWIS, and/or I-SWIS.

Can I join a training cohort as a single school rather than a whole district?

Yes! We recognize that many Maine schools operate independently from other schools (e.g., AOSs and SUs). If you are in a district, district-level support will be critical for sustainable implementation. Often, districts find it beneficial to have one school be the pilot and then have other schools begin training through a phased approach.

Who serves on a PBIS Leadership team?

A Tier 1 School Leadership team consists of an active administrator, 1-2 school coaches, plus representatives from relevant groups within your school (e.g. grade level/department educators, special educators, specialists, support staff), a family member who does not work within the school, student(s), and community members. 

A District Leadership team has representation from a range of stakeholders, including at least: (a) families, (b) general education, (c) special education, (d) mental health, and (e) the local community.

An Advanced Tiers School Leadership Team includes an active administrator, a school coach, a behavior interventionist and/or school counselor or social worker, a family member, a community member, and relevant educators representing groups within the school.

Each of these teams should include people knowledgeable about applied behavior support, school operations, crisis recovery, mental health, academic instruction, coaching, equity, physical wellness, and data systems.