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Faribault Middle School leaders and students say PBIS and restorative practices are changing school culture
Summary
District staff and students told the Faribault Public School District board that a years-long rollout of restorative practices and a PBIS (SOAR) framework has coincided with drops in disruptive behavior and high participation in a short-term intervention program.
Faribault Middle School administrators and students described a multi-year effort to build school culture through restorative practices and a school-wide PBIS framework during the Feb. 18 Faribault Public School District board meeting.
School staff said the program begins with defining and teaching expectations and intentionally building community. "Our foundation is restorative practices," a school presenter said, adding that restorative work both "builds community" and provides a structured process for repairing harm when incidents occur.
District presenters said those foundations shaped a PBIS program at the middle school built around the SOAR pledge — "We are safe, we are on task, we are accountable, and we are respectful" — that staff reinforce through daily announcements, incentives and structured interventions. Students Bella Salt (student) and Salman Gabbani (student) addressed the board about changes they have noticed in classrooms and in peer behavior since PBIS expanded.
School leaders gave specific data points from the current year: the Falcons Forward short-term intervention — used in lieu of suspension and described as a same-day program to support students to catch up on work and receive targeted character lessons — had a high single-year non-recidivism rate. Staff reported that 93 percent of students who attended Falcons Forward this year did not need to repeat the program. Administrators also reported a roughly 40 percent reduction in behaviors this year after implementing PBIS and restorative practices.
Administrators told the board that among the building's roughly 636 students, 464 had no referrals and another 131 had a single referral this year; presenters said that amounts to about 93.55 percent of students who had not required student services visits. Board members asked for clarification about how long the programs had been in place; staff said PBIS planning began more than a year earlier and this school year was the first year the building was officially part of a PBIS cohort.
Board members praised the student presenters and asked how the district could sustain and spread the work. Several trustees recommended visiting the school to observe PBIS meetings led by students and staff. Trustees also asked staff to track outcomes over time as PBIS expands to additional buildings.
No formal board action was taken during the presentation. Board members later approved a separate agenda item to rescind Policy 5-37 (Positive School Expectations); district administrators told the board that the student handbooks now capture the operational details previously codified in that policy.
The district said it plans to continue using restorative conversations, accountability projects and other targeted activities to keep students engaged in class; staff also emphasized that PBIS aims to teach pro-social behavior and keep students in school rather than excluding them.
Board members and staff identified continuing supports (for example, aligning PBIS across elementary and secondary grades) as a priority as the district implements reorganization and additional behavioral supports across buildings.
