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Congratulations to these exemplary teachers!

The PAL® program and character development are going strong in Fort Bend Independent School District! On February 8th, the 2011-2012 Teacher of the Year Finalists for Fort Bend ISD were announced. Three of the five finalist teachers in the secondary school category are PAL® teachers! Big congratulations to these worthy and dedicated teachers: Barbara Burnham of L.V. Hightower High School, Debra Coleman of George Bush High School, and Karla Lalendorff of Stephen F. Austin High School.

About the Finalists
Barbara Burnham, M. Ed., has been teaching for twenty five years, and the last twenty-two of those have been within Fort Bend ISD. She began teaching PAL® in the 2000-2001 school year with a class of eleven students. By February of 2002, she was selected as one of thirteen Master PAL® Teachers from around the state of Texas. She continued to teach PAL® through 2006. As of the 2011-2012 school year Barbara Burnham returned to teaching PAL® once more. In addition to teaching PAL®, she also teaches Algebra I at Hightower High.

Debra Coleman, MLA, has been teaching for eleven years, and the last six of those have been at George Bush High School. While this is her first year to teach PAL® she is very proactive in implementing this transformative and character developing curriculum with her PAL® students. Debra Coleman also teaches AP English at Bush High School and a freshman English course at a local community college two nights a week.

Karla Lalendorff of Stephen F. Austin High School has been teaching over thirteen years and teaching PAL® for four years. In addition to PAL®, Ms. Lalendorff also teaches Advanced World History and AP World History.

Character Building and Excellence in Teaching Go Hand In Hand in Fort Bend ISD
This was also a big year for Fort Bend ISD as a whole. They were recently named as a recipient of the 2011 National District of Character award by the Character Education Partnership (CEP) in Washington, D.C. To be given this award involves a lengthy application process, and Fort Bend ISD is the only School District in the United States to receive this prestigious award from Washington.

Congratulations all around to these dedicated and talented teachers and to Fort Bend ISD for all of their efforts in helping to create a more responsible, caring and resilient future!

For to learn more about Fort Bend ISD’s Teacher of the Year Finalists, please go to: http://www.fortbendisdnews.com/go/doc/1934/1303255/

For more on Fort Bend ISD, please see: www.fortbendisd.com

Article written by Tara Cowan. Edited by Scott Shipman. Photos and interview information provided by teachers. Special thanks to Annette Henderson, FBISD PAL® District Coordinator.

Continue reading »]]> Written by: Jim Barnes Middle School PAL®s

Peer Assistance and Leadership (PAL®) Middle School students attended a state conference on Saturday, November 5th at Akins High School in Austin, Texas. While at the conference, Jim Barnes Middle School PALs® learned more about being a student leader.

Tory Gant, head of trainings at the conference, told his uplifting life story of positively overcoming a troubling childhood. Gant discussed family issues and how he managed to maintain a positive attitude even after the tragic deaths of over 20 of his siblings due to alcohol abuse, illness, and violence. With a radiating smile and electric storytelling, Gant now organizes trainings on peer leadership and gives motivational speeches to youth and adults.

Notable workshops at the conference included “The Truth About Bullying,” “Dangers Without Intentions” (DWI) and “Busted.” In “The Truth About Bullying,” lead by Anson High School PAL® students, conference attendees learned more about bullying prevention and how to spot an incident. At the DWI workshop, students learned about the horrific and graphic truths of driving under the influence as well as the dangers of texting while driving. PALs® learned the importance of always wearing a seatbelt to keep your life and body intact. In the “Busted” workshop, PALs® learned about the experiences of young people that have been assigned to Juvenile Detention (JD) centers. Here PALs® encountered life stories of young people in juvenile detention struggling with the consequences of their poor decision making, describing what they have encountered along the way and how they have had to change their own ways of thinking to get their lives back on track.

PAL® attendees from Jim Barnes Middle School included: Caleb Moreno, Carly Guiterrez, Casey Smithey, Cassie Arzola, Cassie Coyle, Christian Tovar, Emily Nash, Gabe Gonzales, Huston Haas, Jenesis Cantu, Jonathan Hernandez, Joseph Freeman, Kailey Villareal, Kaly Kinser, Kelly Casey, Khrisgina Applewhite, Kimberly Fransen, Matias Pelcastre, Miranda Garcia, Paige Conrey, Sam Coyle, Serena Molina, and Shay Boenig. Photo credit: Catherine Colvin, Jim Barnes Middle School PAL® Teacher

PALs® report meeting students from around the state of Texas in character building sessions and teamwork exercises. Overall, this year’s state PAL® Middle School Leadership Conference seemed to be one for the record books of great influence and positivity!

Edited by: Catherine Colvin & Tara Cowan

For more on Jim Barnes Middle School please visit: the Jim Barnes Middle School website.

Continue reading »]]> PAL® curriculum for school-aged youth achieves official certification as an evidence-based practice by the US Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

Sep 13, 2011 Austin, Texas

The Peer Assistance and Leadership (PAL®) Program is proud to announce that based on results of independent studies, the PAL® curriculum and training program has gained official certification by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

Formerly known as the National Registry of Effective Programs, the NREPP registry is a part of US Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). This registry database is a classification system for mental health, substance abuse prevention and treatment interventions. Used as a first stop to assist local organizations in making well-informed decisions to determine interventions that fit the needs of their communities, NREPP is designed to identify, review and disseminate information about effective intervention programs.

For PAL® to obtain the NREPP certification represents a four-year review and rating process by independent experts of PAL® curriculum and results with data collected on active certified PAL® programs. This NREPP certification is significant because while there are tens of thousands of intervention programs available to choose from nationwide only 206 are NREPP certified.

As NREPP reports, independent evaluations show that the PAL® program is an effective strategy for dropout prevention. Study results also indicate that being part of a PAL® program creates positive changes in the following areas: academic performance, attitudes toward school, attendance, peer relations, decision-making, responsibility, concern for others, and leadership skills. Further studies demonstrate that the PAL® program benefits students who receive the peer support; they are less likely to engage in negative behaviors. This improves their chances for a successful academic completion thereby creating a positive foundation for future successes and careers.

ABOUT PAL®

PAL® is a professional service of Workers Assistance Program, Inc., a 501C(3) non-for-profit organization. Founded in 1980, the PAL® program addresses youth-related risk factors in schools such as absenteeism, bullying, dropout, gang participation, low achievement, substance abuse, suicide, teen pregnancy and other behavioral problems. PAL® provides a critical line of defense to these community issues both at school and in the home. The basis of the PAL® program is to build resiliency in youth by empowering students trained in the PAL® curriculum, called PAL®s, to be leaders and peer mentors to people their own age and younger. Under the guidance of their adult PAL® certified teachers, PAL®s use the skills they learn to create positive changes in their schools and communities.

Currently in Texas, PAL® can be found in over 1,770 middle and high schools representing over 60,000 students and 750 school districts. Due to its tremendous successes, PAL® is also utilized in schools in 14 additional states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

For more information about NREPP visit http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/ .

For more information about the PAL® program visit www.palusa.org .

Contact PAL at 800-522-0550 or via email at contact@palusa.org .

Press Contacts:
Tory Gant
PAL® Services Training Director
tgant@palusa.org
800-522-0550

Terry Cowan
WAP, Inc., CEO
800-522-0550

Continue reading »]]> Update related to Innovative Course Renewal Effort:

Your friends at the Peer Assistance and Leadership® (PAL® ) Program would like to share the good news that Peer Assistance and Leadership I and II, have been approved for renewal beginning with school year 2011-2012. We appreciate the support and interest shown toward the application for these courses.

The courses will remain in effect until the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Please note that the approved courses may serve as state graduation elective credit only and are not approved to substitute for any required state graduation requirements.

Updates regarding the newly approved and renewed courses will be available soon on the innovative course website. The webpage can be accessed at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=6079.

Thank you!

-Your Friends at PAL®