Positive Action Center

Positive Action Center (PAC) is an innovative approach for addressing established student disciplinary practices. The PAC program is a structured integration process into an existing In School Suspension (ISS) disciplinary system. Selected staff and students participate in training to learn specific skills, such as communication, listening, dispute resolution, problem solving, and goal setting, which they specifically learn to apply in the PAC setting.

Once trained, staff and PAC mentors work with students assigned to ISS who volunteer to participate in the PAC program. Through an adaptation of the mediation process, students assigned to ISS for one or more days may volunteer to work one-on-one with a PAC mentor. The mentor helps the student assess the situation, develop skills in anger and conflict management, and create an action plan to rectify the situation. PAC empowers active resolution of student dilemmas through improved and specific communication and problem-solving skills.

The goal of the PAC program is to reduce recidivism to the In School Suspension system and to reduce students' risk of being expelled, dropping out, or failing out of school.

The evaluation of the Positive Action Center program used a pre-post, quasi-experimental design with six school sites located within six school districts. The evaluation found that there was a significant improvement in grade point average, absenteeism, and tardies. Participant grade point averages increased by 12%, which increases student commitment to school and lowers the drop out rate. The number of absences decreased by 53.8%, the number of tardies decreased by 70.8%, and the numbers of students returning to ISS were cut by almost 50%. The success rate for action plans was 97.6%. All mentors (151) improved their test scores pre- to post.