“It takes a village” is a phrase widely thrown around in the edusphere. That’s because it rings true as it can be applied to nearly every goal or initiative established by K12 leaders and their cabinets. In this school’s case, it reflects the teamwork behind their award-winning PBIS program that’s garnered so much success.

Home to some 2,250 ninth- through 12fth-graders, State College Area High School is the only public high school in its Pennsylvania district. Like many schools since the pandemic, its leaders have noticed a considerable shift in student behavior—until innovation took hold.

They’ve been working to implement PBIS for the better part of 10 years, notes Danielle Ambrosia, the school’s assistant principal, on the latest episode of the “Talking Out of School Podcast. She says it’s been difficult to launch such a program given the school’s size. There was also a dramatic change in leadership in 2021 resulting in five fresh leaders, including Ambrosia and Principal Laura Tobias.