Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports with Ripple Effects

Ripple Effects software is a resource for positive youth development as well as targeted intervention with individual students in a variety of learning and health settings. The programs are evidence-based research validated and support implementation of the three levels of PBIS: Primary - Class room-/School-wide, Secondary - Small group targeted intervention, and Tertiary - Specialized, Individualized interventions.
See a video on district-wide secondary and tertiary intervention outcomes.
See a video on targeted intervention outcomes in a middle school

Using the program in a PBIS setting is straightforward with the 4 steps below.

Identify a student strength that can be a foundation for growth The simplest way to do this is to have each student complete the self-profile under the ”learning styles” topic. For students, understanding how they learn most easily is a first step in recognizing how they can be successful learners. You can also have them complete the tutorial entitled “strengths”
Direct them to the behavior being promoted (primary) OR the issue that has caused disciplinary action(secondary, tertiary). The topic lists include more than a hundred behavioral infractions recognized at most school districts (from talking back to cheating, fighting, hate crimes, etc.) It also includes health and mental health issues that students face from anxiety and social isolation to obesity, to talking too much. The multi-media tutorial for each topic automatically leads students to training in social-emotional competencies that are correlated with changing the problematic behavior.
Have them seek out an underlying reason. Students exhibit the same problem behavior for a variety of different reasons. In most cases, you can’t know what the underlying reason is. Neither guessing nor interrogating students about personal issues is a productive way to find out. Instead, ask students to scroll down the topic list to find something that interests them, or (for older students) that they think could be connected to the underlying reason for the problem. Trust their instincts to find what they need. In many cases, after using the program in private, students will disclose the underlying problem to a trusting adult. Meanwhile, don’t hover or over direct.
End with asset building – training in key social-emotional abilities. These are organized into seven categories: self-understanding, assertiveness, empathy, connection to community, impulse control, management of feeling, and decision-making. Either you or the student may choose where to start. In either case, present it as a process of empowerment, not punishment.

The combined elementary and teen products have more than 525 inter-linking tutorials that address social, emotional, behavioral and academic issues that can interfere with school and life success. See more details on suspension alternatives ideas or read a success story of a successful implementation.