Bully Prevention Program Representatives for the PAX Good Behavior Game Coming to Polk County on October 15 and October 17, 2013

Dr. Dennis Embry, researcher of the PAX Good Behavior Game, along with program representatives from around the United States and Canada, will be in Polk County on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 and Thursday, October 17, 2013, to observe the work done by InnerAct Alliance with the PAX Good Behavior Game in the Lake Wales Charter Elementary schools.  PAX means Peace in Latin.

Dinner and discussion sessions with Dr. Embry, hosted by InnerAct Alliance, will be held on Tuesday, October 15^th, at L’Incontro Restaurant, at 35 Highway 60, in Lake Wales, FL. All of the Lake Wales Charter School teachers, administrators, and superintendent, Jesse Jackson, will be in attendance at the dinner and presentation. The public is welcome to learn more about the program at the session which begins at 6:00 pm. 

In addition, Dr. Embry, along with approximately 75 program representatives from the U.S. and Canada who are currently using PAX in their school districts, will visit teachers and classrooms at Polk Avenue Elementary and Hillcrest Elementary on Thursday, October 17^th to experience the work that InnerAct Alliance teachers are doing with the teachers in these schools. The teachers that have utilized the PAX games with fidelity in their classrooms have seen a dramatic difference in their students’ behaviors, and have also had a dramatic drop in office referrals.  These teachers are spending more time on task with learning and less time disciplining.

The PAX Good Behavior Game is a proven, research-based classroom management model designed for use in all grade levels. Based on a strategy developed by a classroom teacher 40 years ago, the PAX Game involves student teams “competing against” each other to earn rewards for refraining from disruptive, inattentive, or aggressive behavior.  Approximately 20 published studies have shown that use of this model results in decreased classroom disruptions (by 50-90%), a great number of students fully engaged in learning (by 20-50%), decreased referrals and suspensions (by 30-60%), and more time for teaching and learning (by 25%). Studies have also shown that children who experienced the Good Behavior Game in elementary school were less likely to be involved in violent behaviors later in life, and were less likely to use tobacco or other drugs later in life.  The PAX program promotes peace and encourages students to work together which assists with bully prevention.

InnerAct Alliance has been successfully coaching the PAX Good Behavior Game in all of the Lake Wales Charter Elementary schools since 2011, beginning in first grade and moving forward a grade each year. The grant was written with collaboration from InnerAct Alliance and the Polk Education Foundation. Funding for the program has been provided by a Federal Government grant through SAMHSA.  The grant is currently in its third year, and runs two more years. Instructors continue to create sustainability in the community so it continues long after the program is completed.

For additional information, please contact InnerAct Alliance Executive Director, Angie Ellison, at (863) 802-0777, or via e-mail at: angie.ellison@inneractalliance.org