Shaler Area is proud to announce Burchfield Primary School received an $8,000 grant through the 2020-2021 Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education Performance Grant: School Based Behavioral Health Programs: Installation of Tier 1 SWPBIS.
Burchfield Primary School’s School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) team wrote the grant to enhance the school’s current SWPBIS and the continuation of positive support available to all students.
“We are so grateful for this opportunity because we truly believe in the SWPBIS process and the continuum of positive support available to all students at Burchfield Primary School” said Lezlie DelVecchio-Marks, school counselor. “We want our students to feel supported, valued and encouraged in a positive school environment.”
The grant will allow the school to purchase new signage and floor decals to serve as visual reminders of the expectations and commitment to the program, purchase an additional Buddy Bench for the upper playground area, and create a “Burchfield Café,” which would house reward events for students.
The SWPBIS team also is looking at adding a focused curriculum for social emotional learning.
“Implementation of school-wide positive supports and interventions with fidelity will help solidify the teaching and understanding of our school-wide behavioral expectations in common areas like the hallways, cafeteria, bathrooms, recess and bus as well as in the classroom setting,” DelVecchio-Marks said. “Anything we can do to enhance the climate of our building for students is a benefit.”
Burchfield Primary School and its SWPBIS team also is working with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit this year to learn how to effectively provide a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework to Burchfield students.
With the establishment of the SWPBIS framework, the team will utilize data to guide and expand upon tiered academic and social-emotional learning interventions to coincide with the behavioral interventions and expectations.