National headlines detail epidemic school violence weekly, while the word “bully” saturates the Internet. Archuleta School District (ASD) teachers’ recent presentation to the Board of Education made it known they are not sitting by idly.
Dec. 9, kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers, lead by Justin Cowan, assistant principal at Pagosa Springs Middle School, introduced the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program (PBIS).
PBIS is a comprehensive plan that promotes a positive school culture, empowers students to seek solutions and attempts to identify student needs.
Rather than enforce a traditional disciplinary model, PBIS is a fluid program, interwoven through school life and adapted to the changing needs of today’s students.
ASD is not isolated from the school issues plaguing much of the United States, as has been reported by this paper.
The school board’s own document, “Bullying Prevention and Education,” defines bullying as, “the use of coercion or intimidation to obtain control over another person or to cause physical, mental or emotional harm to another person.”
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