What is PBIS?

PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports 

PBIS is an evidence-based, multi-tiered system of support that helps develop and strengthen our students' social, emotional, and behavioral skills. PBIS is broken up into three tiers, or levels of support. 

Here in Flandreau, we use the SOAR acronym for our PBIS program. 

SOAR stands for Safe, Organized/Open Minded, Accountable & Respectful. 

Tier 1 / Universal Level 


Social Emotional Learning

At the universal level, all students at Flandreau Public Schools receive direct instruction in the area of Social Emotional Learning at least 1 time per week. At the JK-8th grade levels, these lessons are taught by our school counselors, Miss. Molden and Mrs. Lena-Helling. At the high school level, the lessons are taught by a general education teacher during Homeroom. (Check out our SEL curriculum here ).


Teaching Behavioral Expectations 

Here at Flandreau Public Schools, we intentionally teach our behavioral expectations within every setting within our school building. We typically take the first few days of school to teach our students the expectations through fun avenues such as funny videos, BINGO cards, and interactive presentations. When we TEACH, rather than solely punish misbehaviors, we support our students' social, emotional & behavioral well-being. This creates a more positive school culture and enhances student-teacher relationships. 

Positive Reinforcement

When our students engage in appropriate behaviors, our staff is encouraged to "catch" students being good and to acknowledge those behaviors through nonverbal reinforcements (ex. thumbs up, smiles), verbal reinforcement (ex. "Hey, thanks for cleaning up those paper towels Kali. I know they weren't yours, but that was really kind and respectful of you."), and/or tangible reinforcement (ex. SOAR tickets/points). Students are able to exchange their SOAR tickets/points for fun activities on SOAR Day Events, SOAR Stores, and SOAR raffle buckets. 

Tier 2 / Selected Level 

Despite our efforts to teach and reinforce positive behaviors, we know that some students will need additional support. In order to identify these students, our staff documents minor behavior problems throughout the day. These behaviors are tracked and monitored by the PBIS Team. When a student meets a certain threshold of minor behavior referrals, they may move into our Tier 2 level of support which includes:


We also understand that not all students who need additional social-emotional support will engage in inappropriate behaviors. For that reason, we have several avenues that students can gain access to a Tier 2 intervention:

Tier 3/ Intensive Level 


The PBIS team monitors student progress on a monthly basis. If students who are receiving Tier 2 supports consistently struggle to achieve their goals or make progress, we then move them to a Tier 3 intervention. Here at Flandreau Public Schools, we have the following Tier 3 supports available to our students: