How should a principal introduce PBIS to families in the newsletter?

Start with the outcome families care about: a school where students feel safe, respected, and engaged. Explain that PBIS is the framework the school uses to create that environment consistently. Then describe concretely what students experience under PBIS: shared behavior expectations, recognition for meeting those expectations, and clear, consistent support when behavior falls short. Most families do not need to understand the framework. They need to understand what their student will experience.

What PBIS information should a principal include in the newsletter?

Cover the school-wide expectations and how they are taught and reinforced, what the recognition system looks like (what students earn and how), how the school responds when expectations are not met, and what families can do at home to reinforce the same language and expectations. Sharing the specific expectations matrix, which names behaviors like Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful, helps families use the same language as teachers.

How often should a principal communicate about PBIS in the newsletter?

At the start of the year to introduce or reinforce the framework, in November when the initial implementation energy tends to fade, and in March when post-winter behavior patterns often shift. A brief recognition highlight in each issue, noting school or grade-level PBIS achievements, keeps the program visible without requiring a full explanation every time.

What mistakes do principals make when explaining PBIS to families?

Using the acronym without explanation is the most common mistake. Most families do not know what PBIS stands for or why it is different from traditional discipline approaches. The second mistake is describing the framework in policy language rather than in terms of what students and families actually experience. Families need to know what their student is being taught and recognized for, not what the research base for the framework is.

How does Daystage help schools communicate about PBIS consistently throughout the year?

Daystage lets you build a recurring PBIS recognition section into your newsletter template, so you can highlight student and class achievements against the school expectations each month without redesigning the section. Consistent recognition visibility keeps the positive behavior program front of mind for families and reinforces the culture you are building.

PBIS and Positive Behavior Program

PBIS, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, is the most widely used school-wide behavior framework in the country. It is also one of the most misunderstood by families. Some assume it means there are no consequences for misbehavior. Others see the reward systems and dismiss them as bribery. Many families have simply never been told what it is or why the school uses it.

The principal newsletter is your best opportunity to close that gap and turn families into partners in the framework rather than skeptics of it.

What PBIS is and why it is worth explaining to families

PBIS is a framework for creating consistent, positive school environments by clearly defining expectations, actively teaching them to students, and recognizing students who meet them. It also provides a graduated system of support for students whose behavior indicates they need more than universal classroom instruction.

Families who understand this framework are significantly more effective at reinforcing it at home. When a parent uses the same language as the teacher, when "Be Responsible" means the same thing in the kitchen conversation it does in the classroom, the framework is working in two environments instead of one.

Families who do not understand PBIS sometimes actively undermine it, not out of hostility but out of confusion.

Introducing the school expectations in the newsletter

Most PBIS schools have a short set of school-wide expectations, typically three to five, that are taught explicitly and posted throughout the building. Share these in your newsletter with a brief explanation of each:

"Our school's three expectations are Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Kind. We teach every student what each of these looks like in different settings: in the classroom, in the hallway, in the cafeteria, and on the playground. Students are not expected to just know how to behave. They are taught, just like they are taught to read."

That last sentence is the most important one. It reframes PBIS from a discipline program to a teaching program.

Explaining the recognition system

PBIS recognition systems, whether they use tickets, points, or other tangible acknowledgments, sometimes generate skepticism from families who view them as extrinsic motivation that undermines authentic behavior. Address this directly:

"We use a recognition system to make sure students receive specific, positive feedback when they meet our expectations. Research consistently shows that students who receive clear recognition for meeting behavior expectations are more likely to maintain those behaviors over time and develop intrinsic motivation for them. This is similar to how feedback works in learning academic skills."

Families who understand the rationale behind recognition systems engage with them differently than families who see them as arbitrary.

How the school responds when expectations are not met

One of the most common family misconceptions about PBIS is that it means misbehavior goes unaddressed. Be direct in your newsletter:

"PBIS does not mean there are no consequences for behavior that falls short of our expectations. Students who struggle to meet expectations consistently receive additional teaching and support. Students whose behavior affects the safety or learning of others receive logical, graduated consequences. What PBIS means is that we treat behavior the same way we treat academic skills: as something to be taught, practiced, and supported, not just punished."

Giving families language to use at home

The most practical section of a PBIS newsletter is the one that tells families specifically how to reinforce the same expectations at home:

Use the same expectation language: "How were you responsible today?" instead of "Were you good?"
When your student reports receiving recognition, ask specifically what they did to earn it. This reinforces the connection between the behavior and the recognition.
When your student describes a conflict or behavior issue at school, ask which expectation was hard to meet and why, rather than only asking what happened.

Families who know how to engage with the PBIS framework at home multiply the school's investment in the program. That is worth communicating clearly and more than once.

PBIS and Positive Behavior Program Newsletter from Principal