| Construction. The system has three
basic clusters, which are on CD-ROM. The implementation plans draw on each cluster every
week to create an effective school with a positive climate focused on academic achievement,
peaceful behavior, healthy choices and emotional wellbeing and balance: PAXISphere
Cluster. This cluster has specific plans to structure the physical and social
environment. The cluster increases a positive flow of behavior, structures success,
minimizes failure, eliminates predictable conflicts, and provides mechanism for feedback
on success. The PAXISphere components take away the "overwhelm" factor so
common.
Accomplishment Cluster. This cluster has proven strategies that
increase acts identified by students, staff and families as desirable. The cluster
increases academic focus, goal setting, goal attainment, helpfulness, friendly behaviors,
good manners, respect between age levels and healthy behaviors. Commendable actions are
linked to scientific studies that increase youth resiliency and success.
Self-Control Cluster. This cluster decreases negativity, failure,
disruptive, aggressive, or helpless behaviors that commonly result in social rejection,
failure and lifetime difficulties. The cluster is designed for school-wide application,
and can help with individual students and their families, too. The cluster encourages goal
setting and self-monitoring; the module provides practical tools that extend the efficacy
of school discipline plans. |
Having a CD-ROM based approach for prevention and school
improvement has many benefits for subscribing school:
Flexibility. A site no longer is bound by one way of doing
things, in the way printed materials inherently require. The PAXIS system allows the users
to find the right combination of approaches for your situation.
Customization. The nature of the software allows you to add your
site name to major documents. Even better, you can actually change many materials to suit
your situation.
Scientific Back Up. Sites may need to justify or explain why a
particular approach or procedure is recommended. It can be very difficult to track down
original source documents, expert information, reviews or citations. With the PAXIS
system, those links are built into the CD-ROM, and updated on the web-site as new
information emerges.
Training Tools. If your site needs to orient some new staff,
conduct a parenting or community meeting, tools for that are included. Additionally, it is
much easier to provide new staff with material--because copies are easily printed from the
computer.
Lower Cost & Easy Updates. The site license for the software
allows schools to reproduce what they need, and updates based on new discoveries are much
easier than printed documents. |
Sequence. The modules come in quarterly installments, with eight-week plans
with one week off for grading and planning.
Form. The modules are user friendly, with simple, stated observations and
objectives. The modules contain research proven and practice tempered approaches designed
to measurably increase higher order learning and behavioral skills.
Basis. The tools are based on multiple scientific studies, show
"cumulative" validity of the approaches in many settings, with many different
people. Tools are changed from time to time based on field feedback or on new scientific
findings.
Techniques. Methods are interactive, requiring active rather than passive
responses from young people. PAXIS is rarely didactic; it invites every participant to
make thinking, feeling and behaving connections so that behavior is not just parroted but
changed.
Breadth. Tools and procedures work in the classroom as well as hot-spots such
as the lunchroom, playground (or playing fields), buses, restrooms, and transition areas.
Youth Involvement. In general, the methods make students and peers heroes in
making a better world. The approaches are anchored in research on effective teaching and
learning.
Compatibility. The modules and approaches encourage keeping successes from
existing or past efforts. For example, Second Step™, PeaceBuilders®, Tribes, the
Comer Model, reality control therapy, Gill Botvin’s Life Skills program, Project
Alert and many others contain powerful, useful and effective techniques. The web site and
FAQ site address issues of compatibility.
Flexibility. With rare exception, the order and sequence can be moved around
to meet unique needs of sites. PAXIS may be started at any time of a school year.
Sustainability. Nothing lasts forever, yet PAXIS has been designed to be a
long-term approach by providing refresher packs, new training, and a "user
community." The careful use of youth as heroes and the use of materials outside
school increase longevity.
HomeLinks. The enhancement of family involvement and skills is built
in, not an extra.
Community Links. Schools always exist in a neighborhood, and such
interventions are built in to help young people generalize their actions off campus.
Dose Level. The modules contain suggestions for adapting the tools to children
with diagnosed disorders who may be at the site. These tools can be used by clinicians who
visit the campus or families. The tools can be integrated with 504 plans and IEP’s.
