Related Downloads:
Fact Sheet PDF (1MB)

Now Is the Time for Positive Action

There is an educational imperative in the United States to improve academic achievement. Many in the business sector express concern that high school graduates are not performing to basic standards—even in entry-level jobs. Many other students don’t even graduate from high school, leading to overwhelming social problems and expenses. On the other side of the equation, educators feel under siege by the twin realities of underperforming schools and, now, mounting pressures to balance inadequate resources with the high expectations imposed by the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. In sum, everyone agrees “Education as Usual” is not an option. The problem needs to be addressed not later, not tomorrow, but now. Unfortunately, there are few successful solutions.

The Positive Action program (PA), however, has been improving academics for over 25 years. Even so, the immediacy for such a program has never been more readily apparent and generally understood. As the nation has been arriving at this common understanding, PA has been working all over the nation, and receiving some of the best results of any evaluated program! It has been successfully implemented in over 13,000 diverse settings nationally and internationally over the past 25 years. The program is universal—it works for people of all ages, cultures, and socio-economic levels. It is used everywhere—in schools/districts, homes, and community organizations. In fact, PA works so well that it has earned the recognition of the U.S. Department of Education; see for yourself what PA can do for you.
Positive Action Is a National Leader.

The PA program is distinguished as the only program in the nation to receive the top rating by the U.S. Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse for both academics and behavior. No other program received a top rating in either area. However, PA, which meets the highest evidence standards, was awarded the highest rating of “positive effects” in both the academic outcome and behavior domains. Students using PA were found to improve an average of +15 percentile points in the academic outcome domain and an average of +19 percentile points in the behavior domain. See the sidebar on the back for a list of other organizations that have recognized PA.

Studies show that schools using PA have verifiable improvement in standardized test scores for all subject areas, including language arts, science, social studies, and mathematics, as well as reductions in violence, bullying, disciplinary referrals, and drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. Highlights of this research found the following results:

• Academic achievement scores (reading, math, and combined scores) improved by up to 75%,
• General discipline reduced by up to 90%,
• Violence reduced by up to 85%, and
• Drug, alcohol, and tobacco use reduced by up to 71%.

Keys to Positive Action's Success

Our name—Positive Action—says it all. For students to improve in academics they have to do positive actions—all kinds of positive actions. PA teaches positive actions that address the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional areas of the whole self. It cannot be stressed enough that PA is not just another add-on program. Using the following keys to success, PA forms the foundation on which academic achievement is built. 

Key #1:
Positive Action Lessons Teach Core Academic Standards
The PA curriculum teaches the critical positive actions for academic achievement. Not only do the lessons teach positive actions, but they also teach many core academic standards, which are embedded into the lessons. By teaching academic standards in the context of positive actions, they are more relevant and often better retained. PA has aligned the lessons in most grade levels to language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics standards for 49 states.

Key #2:
Positive Action Generates Intrinsic Motivation to Achieve
Everyone knows that motivation is the most important element of academic performance. PA reveals the key to building intrinsic motivation; it is a central concept in the program’s philosophy. The program’s philosophy is intuitive to all of us. Simply stated, you feel good about yourself when you think and do positive actions, and there is always a positive way to do everything. This universal premise is represented by the Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle. It shows how positive thoughts lead to positive actions, positive actions lead to positive feelings about yourself, and positive feelings lead to more positive thoughts. We all want to feel good about ourselves, so when we consciously understand this natural process, we are motivated to choose positive actions. When we learn to value achievement, we will achieve.

Key #3:
Positive Action Systematically Teaches the Skills for Achievement
Students cannot learn their academic lessons if they don’t know how to learn. Sadly, many students begin school without the basic skills needed to learn, but are still expected to start learning along with those who have been taught these skills.

PA provides insight into the critical role learning skills play in academic achievement. It teaches all students how to learn by systematically teaching the necessary skills for achievement in the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional areas of the whole self. These skills are taught through the six focus units, which apply to people of all ages and are taught at every grade level and in other complementary program components. The units are listed below, along with a few example of skills taught in each unit.

• Unit 1: Philosophy and Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle (Self-concept, how to feel good about yourself by choosing positive actions)
• Unit 2: Skills for a Healthy Body and Mind (Nutrition, exercise, sleep, and thinking skills like problem-solving and decision-making)
  
• Unit 3: Skills for Self-Management (Managing your time, energy, and emotions)
• Unit 4: Skills for Getting Along with Others (Treating others the way you want to be treated and improving relationships)
• Unit 5: Skills for Being Honest with Yourself and Others (Responsibility, admitting mistakes, and not blaming others)
• Unit 6: Skills for Improving Yourself Continually (Setting and achieving goals)

When students master how to learn with these invaluable skills, PA becomes more than just another program—it's a lifestyle for achieving.

Key #4:
Positive Action Builds a Climate of Learning
In addition to teachers teaching the PA lessons in the classroom, teachers, school staff, and administration also reinforce the positive actions school-wide throughout the day. This creates an environment that is positive, safe, and encouraging—an environment where students thrive and academic achievement happens.

Key #5:
Positive Action Increases Time on Task
Research shows that one of the most important factors to improving academic achievement is increasing time on task. PA helps increase students’ time on task by teaching academic standards, increasing student motivation, teaching the critical skills for achievement, and creating an effective learning environment. Teachers spend less time on classroom management and other problems when they use PA’sproactive approach. Therefore, they spend more quality time teaching academics.

Key #6:
Positive Action Involves Parents
PA involves parents through the curriculum, in the site-wide climate activities, and by offering families their own kit and classes that teach them how to use PA. The Family Kit, Family Classes, and Parenting Classes have the same philosophy, Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle, and six focus units as the school curriculum so families teach and reinforce the same concepts that the children are learning in PA at school.

Key #7:
Positive Action Closes the Gap
All students perform better with PA, but low-performing students gain more with the program. Often, low-performing students underperform because they aren’t motivated and don’t have the skills to achieve. With these critical learning skills, previously low-performing students do become high achievers. PA puts those essential elements of achievement into place with an engaging curriculum, a positive climate, and parental involvement. The result is that low-performing students close the gap faster, and everyone wins—teachers, high- and low-performing students, school staff, parents, and communities.

Implementing Positive Action

The PA program has five main components: K–12 Curriculum, Climate Development, Counselor, Family, and Community. The components come in kits with scripted curricula, directed activities, and the necessary materials for teachers and 30 students. Each of the program’s components can stand alone, but because they are based on the same philosophy and focus units, they can be used in any combination and always fit together as a coherent program. This makes PA easy to customize for any setting.
It is made even more user-friendly because the investment of time required to achieve measurable results with the K–12 Instruction Curriculum is relatively small. In elementary schools, the 15-minute lessons are ideally implemented four times a week during the mornings. This helps set the tone for a positive and successful day. In middle schools, the program is implemented two to three times a week for 15–20 minutes. The time commitment for elementary and middle schools totals about one hour per week.
At the high school level, the lessons are linked in sets of three, allowing them to be taught three times a week for 15–20 minutes or once a week for a one-hour period. While these are typical designs, PA is flexible and can be implemented in a variety of ways. These brief lessons rapidly build on each other to improve academic performance, behavior, and character.

Call today to have a friendly customer service representative help you design a program to meet your academic achievement needs. Multiple training options are available to help you implement the program and achieve maximum results.