Lancaster County School District
Positive Action Program (PAP) )

Contact Information: Lisa Byrd, Project Director
Lancaster County School District
300 S. Catawba Street, P.O. Box 130
Lancaster, SC 29720
Web site: None
Grant Period: 2006-2010
Amount Requested: $1,811,287 for a four-year project

Program Description
Lancaster County School District’s Positive Action Program will serve 3,444 high school students in grades 9-12 and 240 teachers from four target school sites. Sites will be selected based on their high level of problem youth behaviors including substance use, fighting, poor achievement, and referrals to the Juvenile Justice staff. The program will include the following features: Positive Action classroom curriculum aligned with state curriculum standards; a school climate component, and parent and community components that parallel the school-based model. The project will be based on a rigorous risk-focused assessment and meticulous planning conducted by the Lancaster Prevention Coalition comprised of over 30 public, private, civic and faith-based entities.

Goals and Objectives

• To reduce student absences by 10%, reduce student suspensions by 15%, increase faculty and staff morale by 20%, and increase parent involvement by 15% at target schools by the end of the first project year
• To significantly improve family management skills by the end of the first project year following enrollment in program services
• To increase the number of students by 10% who pass all three components of the high school exit exam (HSAP) by the end of the second project year
• To decrease the number of behavioral incidents of violence, fighting, bullying, or other disciplinary codes by 15%; and decrease alcohol, tobacco and other drug possession or use by 10% at each of the target schools by the end of the second project year
• To decrease faculty absenteeism by 5% and increase in the number of community volunteers by 15% at each of the four target schools by the end of the second project year
To
• conduct a minimum of four Positive Action Day events by program youth each year within local community settings

Evaluation
This project will conduct a single study, pre-post evaluation design. Lancaster will evaluate the status of its Positive Action Program objectives and overall impact on participant knowledge, attitude and behavior, by conducting an evaluation that includes a pre-post survey design, process tracking and statistical analysis.