PBIS at DJJ: Savannah RYDC Ice Cream Social

August at the Savannah Regional Youth Detention Center (Savannah RYDC) means ice cream on the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) calendar. Sponsored by the medical department, youth who were special incident reports and disciplinary report free and incident-free for medical events were rewarded with access to the ice cream social. Decorations and special toppings highlight the event as the tasty treats were a cool reward for good behavior. 

PBIS is an evidence-based, data-driven framework proven to reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety and support improved academic outcomes. More than 23,000 U.S. schools are implementing PBIS and saving countless instructional hours otherwise lost to discipline. The premise of PBIS is that continual teaching, combined with acknowledgment or feedback of positive student over the counter behavior, will reduce unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety and learning. PBIS schools apply a multi-tiered approach to prevention, using disciplinary data and principles of behavior analysis to develop school-wide, targeted and individualized interventions and supports to improve the school climate for all students.