Recently, Julie Smith, Director of Special Programs for Pendleton School District, discussed some new strategies the district has used to support students during the 2024-25 school year. Here are highlights from that conversation with Dr. Smith.

How is student support different now?

The COVID pandemic drastically shifted the landscape for communities, families, children, and schools. Five years later, schools are still working to refine systems of support to better meet the new and different needs of our students. Our systems were built around pre-pandemic student needs. Using a data-driven approach, the district looked at the high number of students who needed significant levels of support and realized we needed to develop a more proactive system.

What is the current system used at PSD?

 All Pendleton schools utilize Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) within our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for students. The MTSS system has three support levels — Tier 1, 2, and 3. Tier 1 is delivered in the classroom to all students. Some students receive additional support through Tier 2. Some students receive high levels of individualized support through Tier 3.

 PSD elementary schools have child development specialists and behavior support specialists providing Tier 2 and 3 supports.

• Sunridge Middle School (SMS) and Pendleton High School have school counselors.
• Elementary schools and SMS have spaces dedicated for students to take a structured break.
• Kindergarten through eighth grade use a check-in/check-out system as support in Tier 3.
• Additionally, schools provide small group and individual support in Tier 3.

 District and school leaders identified there was a higher number of students needing Tier 3 support, indicating practices at the lower tiers of support may not be as effective as they could be. The team worked to identify what was working and what needs adapting to strengthen our system.

How is Pendleton School District responding?

 In May 2024, I reached out to colleagues at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) I had worked with on school improvement projects. The ODE partners agreed to support the district as a pilot developing technical assistance tools potentially for other districts asking for support.

Pendleton School District’s K-8 Administrative Team spent a full day training with ODE experts in Behavior Support Systems at the beginning of the 24-25 school year. Building administrators developed action plans to share with their building leadership teams based on this training and an assessment of where they might refine their systems of support. Building leadership teams worked to adjust the PBIS system based on individual building needs.

• ODE partners visited our schools in November 2024 as a follow up. ODE provided us with school-level data to help inform building administrators of how the changes they made are affecting school climate and culture.
• ODE individually followed up with each building administrator to refine action plans set at the beginning of the school year through virtual meetings.
• ODE partners will meet with our administrative team in June to evaluate the impact of the changes and help them set goals and action plans for the 25-26 school year.

What are your takeaways from this process?

Building administrators, counselors, teachers, and paraprofessionals are working hard to meet the needs of every student every day. They are working to identify what is working well and what is not working well. We are trying to be proactive while responding to the needs of students who need a high level of support. We want to work in partnership with our families, community partners, and the Oregon Department of Education to make our schools welcoming and inviting for every person who enters our schools.