Positive Action originated as the brainchild of Carol Gerber Allred, Ph.D., in a high school in southern Idaho in 1973. In a social studies elective, she began incorporating elements of what has evolved into today’s nationally acclaimed Positive Action program.

The impetus for the development of Positive Action was Dr. Allred’s desire to have a positive effect on what she had observed over the course of several years of teaching. She saw that many of her students were failing to succeed in school as well as in the real world after graduating; that many did not have a basic belief in the value of education and self-improvement; that many lacked the essential positive self-concept required to thrive. Dr. Allred saw that there were important concepts that could be taught in the classroom, concepts that would serve as the tools that students needed first simply to recognize and next to strive to realize their full potential—not just in school but also in life.

Her success at the high school level led Dr. Allred to develop Positive Action at the elementary level in the school district from 1977–1982. In 1982, she founded Positive Action Company, which became Positive Action, Inc. in 1999. The program has been used in all 50 states and internationally, reaching over 13,000 schools, community-based organizations, and other sites. It is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program that works for character, academics, behavior, and prevention by promoting positive self-concept, healthy behavior, and social and emotional learning.