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leaving the brunt of behavior management to us. This improved a bit towards the end of the semester. It was

clear that teachers began to use the system more, although not as consistently as is intended. We assume this

improvement was due to teachers becoming more familiar with the system as we modeled it for them. If we

could go back, we would have emphasized the importance of teachers using the system independently and at

all times, even on the days we weren’t there. We would have take more of a support role as the teachers

utilized PBIS with independence, providing detailed and thorough feedback each day and only modeling PBIS

practices when necessary. This is what we advise you do as you pick this project up again.

Another issue that we faced, which was expected, was the language barrier. A project of this scale required a

lot of coordination with our teachers. At times, we understood perfectly the requests, concerns, discussions,

and logistics that we were presented with. However, not understanding a particular sentence or phrase often

altered or inhibited the messages that both sides (English and Spanish speakers) were trying to get across. We

would often have to message our coordinator, Alberto, to make sure that there were no major

miscommunications. Be prepared for this natural struggle. Every staff member was very understanding, so it

wasn’t stressful as much as it was inconveniencing.

It is also important to note that there is a bit of tension between some of the staff members at Virgen del

Carmen. When we were running our professional developments our first introductory session ran hours longer

than expected, for one teacher in particular was highly concerned about receiving recognition for

implementing the system, for he felt he was the only one who did his job. Additionally, in our second

professional development that was intended to address issues and discuss data, the same teacher and another

teacher began to engage in a very unproductive back and forth that wasted time and was quite an

uncomfortable experience. We are omitting names in the interest of not biasing your opinions of the teachers

in question, but be prepared to negotiate these tensions if they arise. Our coordinators discussed with the

teachers at length about preventing this issue from arising again, so it may not be a concern for your

implementation of the project. If it does arise, it may be helpful to set distinct time boundaries for the

meetings and conduct expectations.

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