The 2016 Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support’s (GAPBS) 9th Annual Conference hosted its largest conference to date, drawing 1200 attendees from across the state on November 30th – December 1st at the Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA.
The conference goal was to increase the visibility of positive behavior support in the state of Georgia. The GAPBS network aims to provide a collaborative statewide effort to disseminate positive behavior support practices and support those interested in promoting positive behavior support capacity building initiatives. GAPBS is a network of the national Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS).
"The Center for Leadership in Disability was proud to be a lead sponsor of the 9th Annual GAPBS Conference,” said Emily Graybill, PhD, NCSP and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Center for Leadership in Disability at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. “We collaborated with multiple universities, state agencies, local school districts, and community organizations to make this event happen. The GAPBS Conference presenters included lead researchers in the field of positive behavior support (PBS), state-level trainers on PBS, and practitioners who are implementing PBS in schools and early childhood settings," added Dr. Graybill.
The conference workshops and presentations included a K-12 track, an Early Childhood track, and a Spanish parent track. Representatives from Gwinnett County Public Schools led a group of 150 educators from across the state on a pre-conference bus tour of model PBIS schools in Gwinnett county.
Conference sponsors included the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University; Georgia Department of Education; Georgia Southern University; Parent to Parent of Georgia; Bright from the Start – Department of Early Care and Learning; and Georgia State University MINRS Project.