Beyond Behavior Charts
How SEL and PBIS Build Safer, Smarter Schools, Especially in Title I Communities By: Saliha Bazmjow
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and if you’ve spent any time in a school, especially a Title I school, you know mental health is not just a one-week conversation. It’s part of the classroom. It walks in with our students each morning and lingers in the background of every lesson, every hallway exchange, every tough moment we work through.
So when we talk about student success, we have to go beyond grades and test scores. We need to talk about emotional safety, consistent systems, and the tools we give students to regulate, connect, and cope. That’s where Social Emotional Learning and PBIS come in. Not as extras. As essentials.
What is SEL
Social Emotional Learning is how we teach students to understand their emotions, build positive relationships, solve problems, and make responsible choices. It shows up when a student is frustrated but chooses to take a breath instead of yelling. It shows up when students apologize and work things out on their own. It shows up when a child who once shut down during group work starts raising their hand and contributing with confidence.
There are five main SEL competencies:
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Relationship skills
Responsible decision-making
In Title I schools, SEL is not a luxury. It’s necessary. Many of our students come in carrying stress, trauma, and uncertainty. SEL gives them a foundation to stand on.
What is PBIS
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is how we create the structure that makes SEL part of the daily school experience. PBIS is about being clear with expectations, teaching those expectations, and recognizing students when they follow through.
It’s not about punishment. It’s about consistency.
A strong PBIS system helps every student know what is expected of them, and it helps every adult respond the same way. That’s how schools feel safe and predictable. And for a lot of our students, predictability is the first step to trust.
What It Looks Like at My School
At our site, we use a schoolwide ticket system. Students earn tickets for showing respect, responsibility, and safety. These tickets can be used for small rewards, but more importantly, they give students a moment of recognition. They tell students we see them doing the right thing. And for some kids, that one moment can shift their whole day.
We reteach expectations after every long break. We hold student-led assemblies, share short lessons in class, and model what those expectations look like in real time. It helps reset the tone and reminds students that we’re all in this together.
We also send out student surveys to check in. We ask how they’re feeling, what’s working, and what needs to change. Student voice is central to what we do. If something isn’t working for them, we listen.
California’s Commitment to SEL and PBIS
California has made big moves to support this work. In 2018, the California Department of Education released statewide SEL Guiding Principles. These principles encourage schools to focus on equity, student voice, and relationship-based learning.
Today, more than 75 percent of districts in California report active efforts to implement SEL into school culture, instruction, and systems.
PBIS is also deeply rooted here. Through the California PBIS Coalition, more than 5,000 schools across all 58 counties are supported in building out systems that reach over 3 million students.
When PBIS is done well, we see big results:
Up to 50 percent fewer behavior referrals
Suspensions down by 35 percent
More learning time and stronger school culture
In 2023, more than 2,000 California schools were recognized for their PBIS implementation. This isn’t just paperwork. It reflects real work happening across campuses every day.
Tools and Strategies That Make a Difference
Schools across the state are using practical strategies to make SEL and PBIS part of the daily experience.
These include:
Behavior matrices posted in classrooms and common areas
School stores or prize carts for positive behavior incentives
Mystery student programs and voice level visuals
Student of the Month recognitions tied to values
Restorative circles to promote empathy and repair
Positive office referrals to celebrate student growth
Many schools also use digital tools like ClassDojo, PBIS Rewards, LiveSchool, Kickboard, and Hero. Others use Google Forms for feedback, Padlet to share student shoutouts, and QR codes to gather data in real time.
These tools help schools stay consistent and allow students to feel acknowledged, supported, and part of something bigger.
Trauma-Informed, SEL-Aligned
Many of our students are carrying Adverse Childhood Experiences. These experiences—like witnessing violence, losing a parent, or experiencing chronic stress—don’t stay outside the school walls.
A trauma-informed school shifts its lens. It stops asking what’s wrong with a student and starts asking what they’ve been through and how we can help.
When we combine trauma-informed care with SEL and PBIS, we create systems that don’t just improve behavior. They support healing. They build trust. They create environments where students can feel safe enough to take academic risks and grow.
This Isn’t Work We Can Do Alone
SEL and PBIS aren’t quick fixes. They require buy-in from the whole school community.
That means:
Teachers need to be trained and supported
Admin needs to prioritize this work and follow through
Parents need to be included and informed
Community partners need to understand why this matters and be willing to help
It also means we need time to plan, space to reflect, and flexibility to adjust.
When every adult on campus is aligned and when families are brought in with clarity and respect, these systems become more than posters on the wall. They become culture.
Why It Matters
Most students in this country attend public schools. And most public schools serve communities facing real barriers.
This work matters because our kids need more than just content. They need connection. They need to feel emotionally safe before they can take in what we’re teaching.
The data backs this up:
SEL programs are linked to improved academic performance
PBIS schools see better attendance and lower staff turnover
Schools that do both well see more engagement and less disruption
But most importantly, students in these schools feel like they matter. And when students feel safe and seen, they show up differently. They engage. They participate. They grow.
Let’s Keep Centering What Matters
Right now, there’s so much attention on AI and innovation in schools. And while tools can be helpful, they’re not the heart of what we do.
You can automate grading. You can personalize instruction. But you can’t automate relationships. You can’t replace the impact of a teacher who takes the time to know a student. You can’t replicate a classroom culture built on mutual respect and trust.
This week is about mental health awareness, but in schools, it’s never just a week. It’s every single day and every system we build with intention: the day to day connections with our students and peers.
When we commit to SEL and PBIS with full hearts and full teams, we build schools where students feel safe enough to learn and confident enough to thrive.