Supporting implementation of universal prevention initiatives in K-12 schools: impacts on fidelity through organizational readiness and team functioning in a cluster-randomized trial.
A three-part support bundle lifted rural schools’ PBIS fidelity by boosting team productivity first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
CWhaling et al. (2025) worked with rural K-12 schools. They wanted to see if a support bundle could lift PBIS fidelity.
The bundle had three parts: training, coaching calls, and a virtual team room. Schools were picked at random to get the bundle or just basic help.
What they found
Schools that got the bundle scored half a standard deviation higher on PBIS fidelity. Team productivity and school readiness grew first, then fidelity followed.
How this fits with other research
Doughty et al. (2015) first showed PBIS is behavior analysis at school scale. CM et al. now prove you can push that scale higher with teaming and readiness work.
Park et al. (2024) and Aslan (2022) both used short BST cycles to hit 100% teacher fidelity on single tools. CM et al. embed BST inside a bigger bundle, showing the same logic works for school-wide systems.
Biggs et al. (2026) ran a large RCT and saw high fidelity after light LEGO training. CM et al. add team-level mediators, explaining why some schools keep quality and others drift.
Why it matters
You can copy the RS3 bundle next month. Give staff a one-day BST kickoff, set up weekly coaching calls, and open a shared team room. Track team minutes and readiness surveys; when those rise, expect your PBIS scores to jump too.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
<h4>Background</h4>Rural School Support Strategies (RS3) is a bundle of implementation supports (including training, technical assistance, and a virtual learning collaborative) designed for the scale-up of universal prevention initiatives. This study addresses mechanisms of action, exploring whether positive effects of RS3 on implementation fidelity are attributable to improvements in functioning of school implementation teams, and increases in organizational readiness.<h4>Methods</h4>Data are from a cluster-randomized hybrid Type 3 implementation-effectiveness trial of RS3 among rural Idaho schools implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Forty public K-12 schools in Idaho, located in rural areas or townships, were recruited for the trial and were equally randomized to either the basic supports condition, including standard trainings, or to the RS3 condition. Condition was not masked. The mechanistic aims were hypothesized prior to the trial and tested with survey data from individuals on each school's implementation team (n = 205). Surveys were collected in spring 2019 and 2020 regarding organizational readiness and team functioning. The outcome measure was PBIS implementation fidelity, measured by school teams during the summers of 2019 and 2020 using the Tiered Fidelity Inventory. School-level path models tested the effect of RS3 on implementation fidelity, controlling for baseline, school grade level, and school location. Multilevel (2-1-2) mediation models tested the degree to which individual team members' perceptions of organizational readiness and team functioning mediated the relationship between school-level experimental condition and fidelity, controlling for the team members' role.<h4>Results</h4>Schools receiving RS3 reported significantly greater implementation fidelity, although effects were slightly reduced (b = 8.40, p = .056, 95% CI [-0.22,17.01], β = 0.54) after inclusion of baseline and demographic controls. Models indicated a significant indirect effect of RS3 on fidelity through increased team productivity (b = 6.30, SE = 2.63, p = .017, MC 95% CI [0.83,13.86], β = 0.21), and effects through organizational readiness, change commitment, team culture, and team goal setting.<h4>Conclusions</h4>External supports may improve implementation of universal prevention initiatives in rural schools through improvements in readiness and fostering teaming in organizations.<h4>Trial registration</h4>This research was prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03736395 ), on November 9, 2018.
, 2025 · doi:10.1186/s43058-024-00691-9