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What is PLUS Program? The PLUS Program is a student leadership approach that enables schools, communities and after school programs with the tools to address the critical issues that impact positive youth development and school culture. PLUS is a proactive youth development program which empowers youth to lead, educate, influence and support their fellow peers. The PLUS Program is one of the few approaches in education which utilizes the natural channels of peer influence to address critical issues that impact the positive youth development of our children. The PLUS vision is invested in the power of the peer group model and the sense of belonging that develops when individuals feel an identity to a group. All activities of the PLUS Program are a result of the extensive research findings validated in the success of peer leadership programs and positive youth development approaches. |
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How does it Work? A team of student leaders will be trained in the facilitation strategies to implement the activities of the PLUS Program. The foundation of this training is to utilize activities that “create a culture in kids to take care of kids”. At the center of this activity based approach is a peer-to-peer led forum of discussion. The forum provides an opporunity for young people to be empowered to engage in dialogue, bond with one another, and identify their critical issues have been shown to create a positive culture and safe school climates. |
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The Forum Process The forums serve two powerful purposes for schools and communities when implemented on a regular basis. 1. The forum activity creates a Pro-Social Bonding moment. The conversations among students create social understanding and opportunities for young people to foster their pro-social norms. Participants of the forum will identify the critical issues on their campus/community, discuss how the identified critical issues impact their campus/community, and discover together what can the students do together to address the critical issues on their in their community. Simply put, it gives students the opportunity for their voice to be heard amongst the peers in their community. The forums create a personal campus where students understand and value the other students are on their campus. The forum builds process serves as a rite of passage for all participants into the PLUS identity. All students going through a PLUS forum will become part of the PLUS program identity. 2. The activities outlined in the Forum will enable schools and/or communities to gather, both quantitative and qualitative data. By gathering data and assessing student behavior on a regular basis, student leadership programs will know which critical issues they need to target with their program development throughout a school year. Schools implementing the PLUS Program will have unlimited access to the PLUS Program Surveys Database. This database will enable schools to create their own surveys and trend specific critical issues identified as part of the program development. |
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Data Integration and Program Development The data gathered from the PLUS Forums will be stored in the online survey database. By gathering data, student leadership programs and site administrators will be able to trend specific critical issues throughout the school year. School leadership programs are trained in how to identify critical issues that need to be addressed within their calendar of activities. The forums along with the online database will serve as a tool for schools and communities to assess whether or not the activities they are implementing are making an impact on the critical issues identified. By implementing PLUS, the overall program development of a school or community will be guided by the identified areas of need discovered through the implementation the PLUS Forums and the results found in the data assessment. (For more on the PLUS Program Survey Database click here.) |
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On-Going Activities The power of the PLUS Program is that it grows a little different in every community. Students leadership programs are challenged to innovate new ideas, strategies, and activities to tackle the critical issues in their community. Different programs will be guided in different directions. What direction a program goes throughout the year will be dictated by the findings in the forums. Some schools will end up identifying bullying as a critical issue, while others might find the need to address alcohol and substance abuse. Whatever the issue, schools and communities implementing the PLUS Program will have a tool in place that will guide them in the right direction for their program development. |
