All 24 Waukegan Community Unit School District # 60 school buildings were recently recognized by the Midwest PBIS Network for their PBIS implementation during the 2023-24 school year. Buildings recognized included all 15 elementary schools, five middle schools, the Lightfoot Early Learning Center, AOEC, and both high school campuses. 

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a multi-tiered, social-emotional-behavioral framework for supporting a response to behavior.  It serves as a way for schools to encourage positive behavior by providing students the opportunity to learn about behavior as they would other subjects. It is a way to create a positive, predictable, equitable, and safe learning environment where everyone thrives. All Waukegan schools were recognized for their strides toward fully implementing an equitable, multi-tiered system of support. 

Waukegan schools are among more than 215 schools in Illinois recognized by Midwest PBIS, which annually recognizes schools for their implementation efforts. According to PBIS, by utilizing these evidence-based practices, the framework helps to increase consistency of instruction, enhances staff skills, proactively provides support for learners, and builds stronger relationships with students.

In addition to the general recognition, Cooke, Clark, Clearview, Glen Flora, Glenwood, Lewis, Washington, Whittier, and the Waukegan High School - Washington Campus were also awarded the organization’s Storytelling Badge. The badge acknowledges the school’s efforts to develop a teaching and learning story about their journey to improve school culture and climate and student, family, and staff outcomes.

Additionally, AOEC, Cooke, Carman-Buckner, Clark, Clearview, Glen Flora, Glenwood, McCall, North, Whittier, and both Waukegan High School campuses were all recognized with the Action Planning Badge, which acknowledges the school’s efforts to assess their current PBIS implementation and then use those results and other data points to guide future action planning.