From Framework to Flourishing: Leveraging PBIS to Strengthen MTSS and Transform School Culture

Presenters

• Adam Efird, Navigate360Follow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

M.Ed.

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

MSA and M.Ed. in Professional School Counseling

First Presenter's Field of Study

Education

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

First Presenter's Institution

Navigate360

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Adam Efird is the Manager of Professional Development with Navigate360 and an experienced educator and school leader with over a decade of service in North Carolina’s public schools. Born and raised in rural NC, he has dedicated his career to supporting students, educators, and school communities. Adam holds degrees in Music Education, Professional School Counseling, and School Administration (M.S.A.). He has served as a teacher, Principal Designee, and District PBIS Trainer. Passionate about fostering positive school climates, Adam is a leader in implementing PBIS, SEL, Restorative Practices, Mental Health & Prevention, and Trauma-Informed approaches. In his current role, he supports schools nationwide in integrating tools like PBIS Rewards and Compass Curriculum to enhance outcomes and build resilient learning environments. A proud father and lifelong advocate for rural education, Adam remains committed to ensuring every student has the support to thrive.

Location

Scarbrough 2

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

Supports the PBIS strand by promoting sustainable, evidence-based practices that strengthen the three-tiered framework and improve behavioral outcomes through leadership and school-wide capacity building.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

Transform your PBIS framework into a sustainable MTSS model that improves school climate, equity, and student success. This interactive session provides practical strategies for aligning academic and behavioral supports, using data for decision-making, and building strong Tier 1–3 systems. Participants will leave with tools to strengthen staff collaboration, engage families, and embed PBIS practices within School Improvement Plans for long-term impact.

Summary

This session provides school and district leaders with a practical roadmap for embedding PBIS within a broader MTSS framework to strengthen both academic and behavioral outcomes. Through field-tested strategies, participants will learn how to enhance Tier 1 prevention efforts, refine Tier 2 targeted supports, and sustain Tier 3 individualized interventions for students with significant needs.

Drawing from data-driven implementation models, this session will demonstrate how schools have achieved measurable reductions in office discipline referrals, improved attendance, and increased staff satisfaction through consistent PBIS-MTSS alignment. Participants will engage in collaborative planning activities to assess current practices, identify areas for improvement, and design action steps for sustainable growth.

The approach presented is grounded in research from the Center on PBIS and aligned with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) emphasis on evidence-based interventions. It is also supported by promising practices from schools implementing the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) and data integration tools to improve fidelity and impact.

Participants will leave the session with an implementation checklist, a sample communication plan for staff and families, and a tiered intervention guide that can be directly applied in their schools.

Evidence

The PBIS-MTSS integration model is grounded in over 20 years of research supported by the Center on PBIS and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. Studies show that schools implementing PBIS with fidelity experience up to a 60% reduction in office discipline referrals and improved academic outcomes (Bradshaw, Reinke, et al., School Psychology Review).

Field-tested implementation data from multiple districts indicate improved teacher efficacy and stronger student-teacher relationships after aligning PBIS within an MTSS structure. The proposed approach is based on established practices from the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) and Implementation Science Frameworks promoted by the National Technical Assistance Center on PBIS.

Learning Objective 1

Identify strategies for aligning PBIS and MTSS frameworks to strengthen academic and behavioral outcomes.

Learning Objective 2

Apply data-driven tools to improve Tier 1–3 implementation and fidelity.

Learning Objective 3

Explore strategies to sustain PBIS-MTSS alignment within school improvement processes.

Start Date

6-2-2026 10:15 AM

End Date

6-2-2026 11:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Efird, Adam, "From Framework to Flourishing: Leveraging PBIS to Strengthen MTSS and Transform School Culture" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 45.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/45

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.