The Rainier Beach Positive Behaviors Project

• In Event: Policy Panel: "Research for the Real World" in Seattle: Establishing a Community of Research and Practice

Abstract

In January 2016, the City of Seattle and the Seattle Public Schools launched a collaboration with community partners in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood to support the use of a proven framework for promoting positive behaviors and reducing negative behaviors at the five Rainier Beach schools, the Rainier Beach Community Center, the Seattle Public Library branch, at local businesses, and in the community at-large. The project uses an evidence-based non-punitive approach called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and will build on the work of an existing community-led public safety effort called Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth. PBIS is currently implemented in over 21,000 schools across the United States. However, the feature that makes this Rainier Beach PBIS implementation especially innovative is that the City of Seattle is leading an effort to extend PBIS beyond the schools and into the Rainier Beach community—including the community center, the library, businesses, and public spaces. This presentation will describe our development of an integrated “PBIS continuum” in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood as well as our plan to evaluate our efforts.

Author

• Claudia Gross-Shader, City of Seattle Office of City Auditor