September 21, 2004 - As students return to school, bullying, hazing and physical and sexual harassment will likely become headlines again. PAAR has released the results of a pilot program that achieved a 73% improvement in high-risk students’ ability to cope with daily violence. Such results are unheard of in a program’s first year.
PAAR educators developed “Resiliency: It’s All About Me” last school year in an effort to reach these students. Resiliency programs, although not new, have been relatively ignored since the 1960s. “It’s All About Me” is a fresh look at an old formula.
“We knew that we needed to try something new,” commented PAAR School Education Supervisor Julie Evans, MSW. “Ultimately, we hope that this program will create a sense of safety and confidence so that kids are less likely to be victims and less likely to be offenders.”
The program, launched at Philip Murray Elementary, Milliones Technology Academy and Arsenal Middle School, focuses on giving kids a sense of independence, encouraging them to believe in their future and helping them to understand healthy relationships and empathy.
“We often work with high-risk students, so we knew that these kids were at greatest risk for behavioral problems and academic failure,” continued Evans. “We expected the program would have some effect, just not the kind of astonishing numbers we saw. It just proves that this may be the best approach in reaching the kids that are routinely living with violence, drug and alcohol abuse and poverty. You have to give them the skills to cope. We can’t make it all go away, but we can prepare them. It’s the only hope we have in keeping our kids safe.”
“Resiliency” was funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Crime and Delinquency. PAAR will be conducting the program again this school year and is pursuing funding for an additional three years.
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