Implementation of Evidence-Based Programs Developed by Positive Action, Inc. to Be Funded by US Department of Justice

Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia to Target 3,500 Area Children in Grades K-12

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Feb 23, 2022, 09:07 ET

TWIN FALLS, Idaho, Feb. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The social and emotional learning (SEL) program, Positive Action, developed by Positive Action, Inc. ("PAI"), the leading education and technology company for evidence-based SEL programs, will be implemented in select Philadelphia area schools by the Youth Violence Outreach Initiative of the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia (AVP), funded by approximately $1 million in grant funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) of the US Department of Justice.

"We are honored to have been chosen as the only recipient in Philadelphia of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's STOP School Violence Program 2021 grant," said Natasha Danielá de Lima McGlynn, Executive Director of the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia. "Our city is bleeding from gun violence, the impact of which continues to take its toll on our children and youth. We have seen elsewhere the extraordinary effectiveness of Positive Action's evidence-based curriculum in reducing violence and violent behavior amongst children and youth. We look forward to working with Positive Action to implement their holistic model in Philadelphia and empower children and youth to learn positive actions –like peaceful conflict resolution– that can guide them in positive directions."

AVP will provide four full-time Violence Prevention Counselors to implement the Positive Action program in select Philadelphia area schools, impacting the lives of 3,500 children in grades K-12, and to work with school administrators, including principals, climate officers, and police resource officers to support and reinforce the program. AVP will purchase materials and training from Positive Action, including classroom curriculum and climate tools (or materials).

"The Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia has a long history of service in working to reduce the entire cycle of violence with origins dating back to 1980 and recognition at the national and local level from such organizations as the National Organization for Victim Assistance and the Philadelphia County Medical Society," said Alex Allred, CEO of PAI. "We are humbled to be selected as AVP's partner in this initiative to apply our SEL curriculum to the mission of eroding the cycle of violence facing youth in the Philadelphia area."

Funding will be provided under the BJA's Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Grant Program. The STOP School Violence Grant Program is designed to improve K-12 school security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence and ensure a positive school climate. The BJA was created in 1984 to reduce violent crime, create safer communities, and reform our Nation's criminal justice system.

About Positive Action, Inc.
Positive Action, Inc. (PAI) is the leading education and technology company for evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Developed by founder Dr. Carol Allred beginning in 1973 and first published in 1982, our PK-12 programs are based on the intuitive philosophy that we feel good about ourselves when we do positive actions. We offer the only SEL program proven to simultaneously improve student academic achievement and behavior in multiple, multi-year randomized controlled trials, the highest standard of evidence-based education. Our programs have earned prestigious accolades from numerous institutions, including the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, Harvard University, and The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). For more information, visit: https://www.positiveaction.net/.

SOURCE Positive Action, Inc.