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Sowing the Seeds for a Positive Future

Effective character education sows the seeds for developing good character by teaching basic values and methods for dealing positively, ethically, and successfully with all aspects of life.

Our name—Positive Action—says it all. For over 25 years, our program has been teaching the necessary actions to be successful in education, health, and personal life.

Positive Action (PA) is a nationally recognized, comprehensive, evidence-based program that links academic success, behavior, and character development.

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) rated the Positive Action program as the only evidence-based character education program in the nation to achieve the top rating of “positive effects” in both domains:

• Behavior (average of +19 percentile points) and
• Academic outcomes (average of +15 percentile points).

Research shows that schools using PA have verifiable improvement in standardized test scores for all subjects areas, including reading, math, and writing, as well as reductions in violence, disciplinary referrals, drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, and other problem behaviors. Highlights of this research found the following results:

• Academic achievement 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%.

In addition to the WWC rating, PA has earned a place on many other prestigious national lists of effective education programs, including:

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/Center for Substance Abuse Prevention SAMHSA/CSAP) Model Program,
• Safe and Drug-Free Schools (SDFS),
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP),
• Character Education Partnership (CEP), and
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

A Program for Schools, Families, and Communities

PA has been successfully implemented in over 13,000 diverse settings nationally and internationally over the past 25 years. It works for people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, cultures, and socioeconomic levels. While PA is frequently used in schools/districts to meet an array of needs, the program is also used in homes, youth programs, businesses, juvenile justice agencies, law enforcement agencies, mental health and welfare agencies, and other at-risk programs. The PA program has components for:

• K-12 Instruction Curriculum with kits at each grade level,
• Climate Development for sites,
• Counselors,
• Families, and
• Communities.

Each of PA’s components comes in kits with scripted curricula, directed activities, and the necessary materials to carry out the activities. All of the program’s components can stand alone, but because they are based on the same philosophy and focus units, they also fit together as a coherent program. This makes PA easy to customize for any setting.

Our Philosophy

PA teaches fundamental life skills to create positive growth for individuals, families, schools, and communities. Our program is based on the intuitive philosophy that you feel good about yourself when you think and do positive actions, and there is always a positive way to do everything.

A key teaching tool is the Thoughts-Actions-Feelings-Circle. It demonstrates how positive thoughts lead to positive actions, positive actions lead to positive feelings about yourself, and positive feelings lead to more positive thoughts. This self-reinforcing circle is brought to a conscious level in Positive Action.

When you consider that the synonyms for the term positive are good or right, you realize these words refer to values, and values refer to character. Because Positive Action is teaching good behaviors, the entire program is character education.

All people intuitively understand the intrinsic, good feelings that results from positive (good or right) behavior. As we learn to recognize the good feelings that come from positive actions, our character, achievement, and behavior improve, while our susceptibility to negative (bad or wrong) behaviors decreases.

To convey this message, PA applies to the whole person by teaching positive actions for the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional areas. This approach helps people focus on the importance of positive thoughts, actions, and feelings. Research supports our method and message: when people learn and practice positive actions, good changes occur in their lives and in the world around them.

Vital Values in Six Focus Units

PA uses six focus units to teach the philosophy and circle for the whole self: physical, intellectual, social, and emotional. The focus units appear in the program’s K–12 Instruction Curriculum, Climate Development, Counselor, Family, and Community components.

PA’s concepts stay with people, guiding their choices and decisions in a positive direction. The program’s sustained effects and adaptability to every situation make it more than a program—it’s a lifestyle.

PA links academics, behavior, and character development. It begins with establishing an understanding of how positive actions can help us feel good about ourselves in Unit 1, and builds to cover vital values in the other five focus units.

• Unit 1: Self-Concept: What It Is, How It’s Formed, and Why It’s Important. Self-concept is the way you think and feel about yourself. Unit 1 introduces the program’s philosophy and the Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle to show how thoughts, actions, and feelings are all connected to self-worth.
• Unit 2: Keeping a Healthy Body and Mind. The second unit promotes the physical and intellectual positive actions for healthy bodies and minds.
• Unit 3: Social/Emotional Positive Actions for Managing Yourself Responsibly. We all have eight personal resources: time, energy, talents, possessions, money, thoughts, actions, and feelings. This unit teaches the positive actions for and importance of managing these resources wisely.
• Unit 4: Social/Emotional Positive Actions for Getting Along with Others. Treating others the way you like to be treated, or social skills, is the focus of this unit. The social skills taught in this unit include core values like: respect, empathy, fairness, honesty, and kindness, among others.
• Unit 5: Social/Emotional Positive Actions for Being Honest with Yourself and Others. This powerful unit teaches the valuable positive actions of: self-honesty, recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, admitting your mistakes, resisting peer pressure, and acknowledging reality.
• Unit 6: Social/Emotional Positive Actions for Improving Yourself Continually. The last unit focuses on the lifelong goal of self improvement by setting goals. It teaches that in order to reach goals, you need to believe in your potential, have the courage to try, turn problems into opportunities, and persist.

These six focus units apply to all people. Any positive action or value you wish to teach can be incorporated into the six units.

Positive Action for Schools

PA is not just another add-on program. The values taught are a precondition to successful learning. If we want students to achieve, they have to be taught to value achievement. If we want students to be good persons, they have to value being a good person. PA makes this happen.

This single program can meet many needs, including the No Child Left Behind Act and other demands for school improvement. The lessons are aligned to academic standards in language arts, science, social studies, and mathematics for 49 states in most grade levels.

When schools invest in PA, teachers spend less time dealing with disciplinary issues and have more time to actually teach. Students are able to stay on task more effectively and spend more time learning. PA focuses the entire school on the importance of positive behavior, enhancing the core curriculum and creating an optimum learning environment.

The investment of time required to achieve measurable results is relatively small. The K–12 Instruction Curriculum is designed to be implemented in 15-minute lessons, several times a week. These 15- minute lessons will rapidly improve character, behavior, and academic performance.

An additional benefit to teachers is that as they teach the PA lessons, the value of positive actions is reinforced for them. Every lesson is like a mini in-service and places them in the role of modeling the positive actions they teach, thereby building their own self-worth.

Positive Action for Families and Communities

In addition to schools, PA is also used throughout the community. The program has kits designed to meet the needs of: parents, counselors, social workers, therapists, health and welfare service providers, businesses, youth program leaders, law enforcement agencies, and even judges.

Like the teachers’ kits in schools, the kits for counselor, family, and community members include scripted lessons, directed activities, and supporting materials. Because PA’s components are bound together by its common philosophy and the six focus units, they can stand alone, but also fit together seamlessly in any combination. This allows you to customize the program to fit your needs.

Training: Easy and Straightforward

To achieve the best results, users need appropriate training and follow-up. It is useful for everyone to understand PA’s role in the organization and how it helps to meet the goals.

There are several training options. The most common option is to have a PA training workshop at your site for staff members or trainers who will train others. The duration of a training can be a half day or more, depending on the scope of your program.

Additionally, there are also self-training materials. The self-training kits are fully scripted and easy to teach. Our customer service department is always willing to help you design a customized training program that will fit your needs.

Our customer service department is always willing to help you design a custom program that will fit your needs. Call 800-345-2974 to get your program started today!