Bearcat PRIDE Program

ALEDO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Bearcat P.R.I.D.E Program
Proactive Responses Increasing Desired Engagement

The Bearcat PRIDE program provides highly structured support to increase participation in
mainstream settings for students with emotional and behavioral deficits that manifest in severe
behaviors presenting danger to self or others, and/or extreme disruption to the educational
environment. All efforts must be made to support students in a less restrictive environment
before consideration will be given to placing a student in the Bearcat PRIDE program.

Ensuring Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is Maintained

If the student's needs cannot be or have not been satisfactorily met in the regular education classroom,
gradually move along the continuum of alternative placements beginning with the less restrictive
options and moving to the most restrictive to determine where meaningful benefit can be received.
Students will not be removed to a more restrictive setting due to difficult behavior that is not being
adequately addressed through affective education and individualization of replacement behaviors and
alternate strategies. Relevant academics presented in engaging and innovative ways is critical. It is
common for student to engage in negative behavior due to a lack of academic engagement. See RTI
Handbook for more information on interventions to be implemented in less restrictive environments.

Interventions to be implemented prior to consideration for the Bearcat PRIDE program:

General Education and 504 Special Education

• Classroom management techniques and • Targeted social skills instruction 15 min daily
interventions for common misbehaviors (see • Daily feedback on goals done through a 15
behavior intervention section of appendix)
minute end of day check-in to review
• Target behavior monitoring form behavior sheet
• Beginning of day and end of day check-ins to • Functional Behavior Assessment
• Behavior Intervention Plan implemented for
prompt and reinforce behavior goals 8-12 weeks with data collection
• At least 6 weeks of skill-specific counseling • In-class support for up to 6 weeks teaching
• Behavior Intervention Plan through RTI or replacement behaviors tied to behavior goals
in IEP.
504 for 8-12 weeks with data collection • Target behavior monitoring form
• Documented fidelity checks of plan • Documented fidelity checks of plan
implementation
implementation • Scheduled progress monitoring meetings
• Scheduled progress monitoring meetings • Documentation of parent involvement
• Documentation of parent involvement • Consult with District Behavior Specialist for
• Referral for Special Education (if consent is additional intervention
• Consult with Special Education Counselor
given) • Classroom teachers must attend training as
• Consult with District Behavior Specialist for a documented intervention prior to
requesting a more restrictive setting.
additional intervention
• Classroom teachers must attend training as

a documented intervention prior to
requesting a more restrictive setting.

Submit request to LRE Review Committee:

If after implementing interventions with fidelity for 8-12 weeks, the student continues to exhibit
behaviors that present a danger to self or others, or cause extreme disruption to the educational
environment, the RTI, 504, or ARD committee may determine a referral for the Bearcat PRIDE program
is needed. The requesting administrator will submit a request for review to the LRE Review Committee.
All documented interventions, discipline referrals, parent contacts, fidelity checks, and tracking forms
must be submitted with the request. The LRE will advise next steps.

Description of Bearcat PRIDE (Proactive Responses Increasing Desired
Engagement) Program:

The Bearcat PRIDE program is a centralized instructional setting designed for students who
demonstrate significant behavioral and emotional challenges that require intensive support
after all other efforts have been continually unsuccessful. The program focuses on
individualized strategies to address targeted areas of concern through behavior monitoring and
phases of intervention. Intervention typically begins with a brief period of self-contained
instruction in pro-social replacement behaviors and advances to individually determined levels
of inclusion with monitoring and support as determined by the student support committee. The
goal of the program is to assist the student in developing self-management skills in order to
fade adult support and increase independence. Decisions regarding the level of support relies
on a highly structured data collection method. Social skills instruction, frequent behavior
monitoring, coaching for the student and classroom teacher, and parent collaboration are
critical components of the Bearcat PRIDE program. The program is designed to follow the
steps on the following page to teach pro-social replacement behaviors and increase desired
engagement.

Steps:

Intervention Planning: 2-5 days of direct instruction in prosocial replacement behaviors in the
special education setting. This time is also used to build rapport with the PRIDE teacher. Additionally,
careful observation and consideration will be given during this time to develop interventions that may be
duplicated in the general education setting to increase generalization of targeted skills. General
education teachers should make a visit to the student once per day to begin building rapport as well. A
conference should be held between the PRIDE teacher, gen ed teachers, and campus administrator
prior to advancing to the next step of General education Setting with Push-In Support. (See initial
conference guidelines).

General education setting with push-in support: The PRIDE staff will go into the general
education setting for approximately 15 minute increments to coach the student and teacher on
implementation of the interventions. The frequency of these in-class support sessions is fluid and
individualized based on the student’s level of proficiency in demonstrating the targeted skills.

Frequent Monitoring: As the student begins to demonstrate proficiency in the targeted skills, PRIDE
staff will provide frequent check-ins with the general education staff. Check-ins will range from every 5
minutes to once per hour depending on the frequency of the interfering behavior. Problem-solving and
re-teaching of prosocial behaviors will take place as needed during the check-ins. In order to provide
most information to the PRIDE staff without requiring the teacher to stop the lesson to engage in
conversation with PRIDE staff, the behavior needing addressed should be documented in the shared
document. Redirection may be given through a brief problem-solving discussion outside the classroom,
and the student immediately returned if the student is able to demonstrate appropriate behavior. If the
student is unable to be redirected to appropriate behavior, the student should return to the PRIDE room
for re-teaching until the student demonstrates appropriate behavior. All reinforcement should be placed
on hold until the student has returned to the general education classroom.

Check-In/Check-Out with Data Review: The goal is to continue to fade the intensity of the support
needed. Once the student demonstrates 85% mastery on all target behaviors for 3 consecutive weeks,
the support will be given through a morning check-in and afternoon review of the day.

Monitor through Data Collection Only: Once the student has reached 85% mastery on all target
behaviors for 8 consecutive weeks while receiving Check-In/Check-Out support, the student will be
monitored only through data collection. If the student continues to maintain at least 90% mastery for 12
consecutive weeks, the student support committee may determine an exit from PRIDE is appropriate.
The PRIDE staff should remain available as a mentor for the student once exiting.

Transition back to Home Campus: To reduce transitions, if a student is exited from PRIDE, a
request may be submitted for the student to remain on the campus until a natural transition occurs
(elementary to intermediate). Home campuses will continue to implement less restrictive interventions
as needed.

Key Components:

Removal for Redirection:
Students may be removed to the PRIDE classroom for short-term redirection to debrief and re-teach
skills regarding a specific situation. Decisions to remove a student for longer than one day must be
based on data showing a lack of improvement over time, or significant misbehavior that poses risk of
harm to self or others. The PRIDE teacher, general education teacher, and campus administrator
should collaborate and agree on the necessity of removals of this nature. If the pattern of behavior is
specific to one setting/class, the pull-back may only be implemented for that specific setting.

Data Collection:
Data will be recorded using an interval recording method collected through google. The google form
must be printed daily and sent home to be signed and returned. A copy is kept to determine weekly, 3
weeks, and 6 weeks averages.

Collaboration between Staff:
It is critical the PRIDE teacher and all staff involved in supporting the student collaborate often. Initial
meetings should be scheduled before the student begins attending the general education classroom, as
well as ongoing collaboration meetings.

• Interdisciplinary Collaborative Meeting Guidelines (Initial):
During this meeting, intervention strategies, accommodations, strengths, and needs should be
clearly explained to the general education teacher. Additionally, what to expect in regards to
support provided by the PRIDE staff should be clearly explained to the general education
teachers.

• Interdisciplinary Collaborative Meeting (Ongoing):
This should take place as often as needed for each student, but it is recommended at least
every 3 weeks. Progress, celebrations, and needs for improvement should be discussed. The
CPI Coping Model should be used for debriefing any crisis behavior or ongoing behavioral
challenges.

If progress is not being made, or additional support is needed, the District Behavior Specialist
must be invited. Additionally, the Special Education Counselor, District Intervention Counselor,
OT (if receiving services) and/or Special Programs Coordinator may be invited.

SEL Instruction:
Initially, students will receive daily direct instruction in social emotional learning. As students begin to
show progress and progress through the program, direct instruction will decrease to one time per week
until the student has reached “Monitor through Data Collection Only.” The Bearcat PRIDE program
uses Second Step as the main curriculum, supplemented with Zones of Regulation, Julia Cook books,
and Social Thinking materials by Michele Garcia Winner.

Safe Spot:
In addition to any strategies implemented as part of the student’s BIP within the general education
setting, the PRIDE room should also serve as a safe spot that students may request to go when
needing a break from the general education setting. The log should be kept to determine patterns and
problem-solve the need for self-removals. Self-removals should be addressed with empathetic listening
and solution-focused support. However, all reinforcement should be placed on hold until the student
returns to the general education setting.

Celebrations:
Improvements in behavior should be celebrated often. Each student should have a goal setting
conference with the PRIDE teacher and celebrate when goals are reached. There should be short term
goals as well as long term goals. A visual representation of how the student is progressing towards
meeting their goal should be developed and consistently reviewed. Reinforcement surveys may be
used to gain insight into what kind of reinforcement may be provided when celebrating success with the
students.

Student File:
• Schedule
• BIP
• IEP
• Bearcat PRIDE Room Log
• Data Collection Graph
• Conference Notes
• Information for Subs
• Parent Contact Info
• Restraint and Notification paperwork

Parental Partnership:
The most effective way for our students to make progress is with a consistent system of support.
Positive relationships and collaboration with parents and guardians is critical. The following efforts must
be made to increase parental partnership.

• The PRIDE teacher must meet with the parents/guardians at least monthly to review data,
problem-solve, and set goals.

• Training opportunities will be provided to parents at least twice per semester to increase
consistent systems of support.

• Outside resources must be shared with parents to increase likelihood of wrap-around services.
• In-Home Training evaluations should be considered for students served by Special Education.