Questions and Answers
Q. How does a school participate in MiBLSi?
A. Schools are accepted for participation in MiBLSi through an application process.
Q. Are high schools participating in MiBLSi?
A. At this time, MiBLSi only accepts elementary and middle/junior high schools for participation in MiBLSi. A few high schools are piloting schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Future plans include developing the MiBLSi model at the high school level. For more information, visit the MiBLSi High School section of the website
Q. How is MiBLSi funded?
A. MiBLSi is primarily funded by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education (MDE, OSE) as a Mandated Activities Project (IDEA Part B funds). Additional funding is provided by the United States Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) through a State Personnel Development Grant.
Q. How can I become a MiBLSi State Trainer?
A. Click here to see the becoming a MiBLSi State Trainer webpage.
Q. Why should our school use SWIS when we have another program for behavior data?
A. SWIS is a progress monitoring tool for behavior just like DIBELS/AIMSweb is a progress monitoring tool for reading. SWIS focuses on building level data so that the decision making is related to student behavior in relation to the building's culture and environment. With SWIS, you are able to generate up to 1400 different reports. This allows you to "dig deeper" into data to assist teams in making more informed decisions about which behavior interventions or strategies to implement from the schoolwide level to the individual student level.
Q. Do schools need to use a "ticket" reward system as part of implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports?
A. (from Rob Horner) Schools can use PBIS and not use tangible rewards. The key is not the type of recognition, but if the students receive regular recognition for appropriate behaviors. The use of tangible rewards does NOT prevent students from building intrinsic values and capacity, and in many ways the use of tangibles is more a way of helping the adults to have a regular and efficient system for recognizing students. The consistent finding from research analyses is that adults in schools dramatically over-estimate the level of reward they provide for student behavior. Students too often report that they do not feel their behavior has been rewarded, and often do not find the recognition they do get as reinforcing. This is a big issue for building a social culture that is predictable, consistent, positive and safe.