Three Central Minnesota Districts Earn State Recognition For Behavior Framework

(KNSI) – Three Central Minnesota school districts are being recognized by the state for putting a positive behavior framework in place across nearly all of their buildings.

St. Cloud Area School District 742, Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools and Foley Public School District were all named districtwide honorees by the Minnesota Department of Education for their work with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS. The designation goes to districts where at least 60% of schools have implemented the framework.

In St. Cloud, 10 individual schools made the list: Apollo High School, Tech High School, North Junior High, Katherine Johnson Education Center, Talahi Community School, Clearview Elementary, Discovery Community Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Madison Elementary and Westwood Elementary.

Sauk Rapids-Rice was honored for Mississippi Heights Elementary, Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School and Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. Foley was recognized for Foley Elementary School and Foley Intermediate School.

Several other area schools were honored with one building making the list: Becker Intermediate School, Riverview Intermediate School in Sartell, ROCORI High School and Paynesville Area Elementary School.

According to the MDE, PBIS is an evidence-based approach built around teaching and reinforcing cooperative behavior while supporting students’ social, emotional and behavioral needs. The state says schools using it see better student achievement, fewer disciplinary incidents and higher engagement. Minnesota districts have been using the framework for more than two decades.

Statewide, 97 schools in 41 districts were recognized. The department will honor them at the 2026 PBIS Summer Institute on Wednesday, August 12th, where several schools will present on how they built the framework into their buildings.

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