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Central Middle School reports mixed behavior-referral trends after PBIS push
Summary
Central Middle School administrators credited PBIS, deans and classroom interventions for large drops in defiance and disruption referrals but reported increases in disrespect and physical contact referrals in the current school year.
Central Middle School administrators told the Evergreen Park ESD 124 Board of Education on Feb. 19 that targeted PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) work and dean-led interventions have coincided with large declines in some referral categories, though other categories rose.
Megan (CMS administrator) presented a comparison of referrals from August–January of 2023–24 and August–January of 2024–25. She said defiance referrals fell from 241 to 125 and disruption referrals fell from 359 to 98. At the same time, disrespect referrals rose from 53 to 70 and physical-contact/aggression referrals rose from 45 to 60.
Those changes come after schoolwide implementation of a progressive-discipline matrix, increased de-escalation professional learning for staff, more-visible expectations and incentives tied to the district’s PBIS tier-1 work. “It really is a direct result of intentional and targeted effort on everyone’s part,” Megan said, describing the declines as the outcome of coordinated staff actions and dean-led interventions.
Megan walked the board through specific steps the school has taken: consistent consequences and follow-through using the matrix; de-escalation training for staff; quarterly PBIS incentive assemblies; weekly advisory time to review expectations; a districtwide schedule for SEL lessons; and consistent use of the LiveSchool positive-reinforcement system. She said school leaders will now focus on improving fidelity for tier-2 and tier-3 interventions and creating shared language so teachers and staff consistently identify “disrespect,” “disruption” and “defiance.”
Board members acknowledged the work in the building and praised the administrative team and deans for increased consistency and visibility. The PBIS tier-1 team — which Megan said includes Paula Polasic, Eli Morales and Michaela Akaveli — produced a short video of students thanking staff; the board viewed the recording during the presentation.
The administrators said they will continue to monitor referral data monthly and meet as a school-improvement and PBIS team to refine interventions. They emphasized that some behaviors — notably physical-contact incidents — have not decreased and require continued attention and restorative interventions.
The board did not take formal action on the CMS behavior update; it was presented as a progress report and will be revisited at future meetings with updated data.
Ending: The district said it will continue to report referral trends and intervention outcomes at upcoming board meetings so the board and community can track whether changes in tier-2 and tier-3 supports reduce the categories that increased this year.
