Positive Action, Inc. Launches Pasela Digital Interactive Platform for Social and Emotional Learning

"I am so pleased that after first publishing our materials more than 40 years ago and supporting the education of millions of students around the globe, we have successfully evolved and are positioned to thrive in a digital world," said Alex Allred, CEO. "Positive Action remains one of the most effective educational programs available, and Pasela vastly improves the scalability of our products."

Pasela provides a single web interface for all editions of the Positive Action Program, including grades spanning elementary, middle school, and high school, as well as the family edition. The Positive Action Program offers more than 2,000 lessons that have been scientifically validated through multiple randomized controlled trials. With Pasela, these lessons are now digitally accessible on desktop and mobile devices, with content being continually updated. In addition, the platform includes a suite of fully interactive features that streamline and simplify the implementation process.

"Scalability has been a barrier for many of our customers, especially state-based interests. Recent benefit-cost analyses provide a compelling incentive for large-scale implementations, and Pasela is the perfect vehicle for leveraging the benefits of school-based prevention at the state or even national levels," continued Allred.

A benefit-cost study performed by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, a respected, non-partisan, economic policy think tank, indicated a more than 3,000% benefit-cost ratio for implementing Positive Action. Further analysis indicated a 94% chance the program will produce benefits greater than the costs.

To help customers navigate its library, PAI created the Content Genome™ within Pasela to empower educators with enhanced capabilities for planning instruction and managing dosage. This feature enables educators to identify lessons on specific topics using a content taxonomy that spans more than 90 individual topics organized into eight domains.

Mr. Allred continued, "Our vision for digital transformation began more than 10 years ago. It included digitizing our existing published content and providing a pathway to new content that was developed but never published. With more than 500 unpublished lessons, we are excited to begin introducing expanded versions of our existing titles later this year. The Content Genome provides educators with a framework for data-informed lesson planning and Differentiated Instruction, complemented by an ever-expanding library of lessons. Pasela is already earning rave reviews from customers for its ease of use in planning and tracking implementation progress."

Pasela enters the market as schools and districts nationwide grapple with record high levels of chronic absenteeism, a cross-effect of pandemic school closures and deteriorating school environments.

"We're witnessing a slow-moving catastrophe across the nation with few solutions at hand," commented Allred. "Pasela provides administrators and policy makers an evidence-based solution for addressing multiple issues at once that is also highly scalable and affordable," continued Allred.

In a randomized controlled trial in Chicago Public Schools, Positive Action effectively reduced absenteeism by 28% with its approach to systematically improving school climate. Additional outcomes included reduced bullying and improved academic motivation.

"For schools that rely on attendance rates for funding levels, this is a true game changer. By implementing Positive Action with Pasela, schools and districts have an opportunity to not only improve the climate in their schools but also increase their funding just as ESSER funding is dropping off," concluded Allred.

About Positive Action, Inc.

Positive Action, Inc. (PAI) is a leading education and technology company for PreK–12 evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. PAI's programs have been trusted by educators for more than 40 years and have earned prestigious accolades from numerous institutions, including the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, Harvard University, and The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). For more information, visit https://www.positiveaction.net/.

About Pasela

Pasela is a digital interactive platform operated by Positive Action, Inc. (PAI) to facilitate the implementation of the Positive Action Program, an evidence-based PreK–12 social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum trusted by educators for more than 40 years. For more information, visit https://www.pasela.com.

About Washington State Institute for Public Policy

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) is a nonpartisan public research group located in Olympia, Washington. Its mission is to carry out practical, non-partisan research for policymakers. For more information about the benefit-cost analysis for Positive Action, please visit https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/BenefitCost/Program/538.

SOURCE Positive Action, Inc.