MEASURABLE RESULTS

R.I.SkSeminars is a member of the national Character Education Partnership. Our programs support the CEP's "11 Principles of Effective Character Education" by

> "promot[ing] core ethical values as the basis of good character" (Principle 1)

> defining character comprehensively "to include thinking, feeling, and behavior" (Principle 2),

> offering "an intentional, proactive, and comprehensive approach that promotes the core values in all phases of school life" (Principle 3)

> providing a common behavioral language that can create "a caring [school-wide] community" (Principle 4)

> incorporating "opportunities for moral action" through the practice of behavioral choices and goal setting in group situations requiring consensus (Principle 5)

> using positive peer pressure to effectively "develop students' intrinsic motivation" (Principle 7)

> providing professional development inservices designed to make the entire "school staff…a learning and moral community in which all share responsibility for character education and attempt to adhere to the same core values that guide the education of students" (Principle 8)

> offering 'both staff and students" the opportunity to develop and display "moral leadership" (Principle 9)

> including a parent training component that allows a school to "recruit parents and community members as full partners in the character-building effort" (Principle 10)

> featuring pre- and post-behavioral surveys that provide built-in outcomes evaluation assessing "the extent to which students manifest good character" (Principle 11).

Relationship Improvement SKills is a unique and uniquely effective character education program because it translates abstract values into measurable skills. Interacting in a safe, nonthreatening group environment guided by norms that stress Acceptance, participants learn and practice the roles and responses used in every 1-to-1 or group relationship. As they give and receive respectful, responsible feedback from their peers, they experience the consequences of behavior and develop intra- and interpersonal awarenesses and skills that promote a peaceful, productive society.

Pre- and post-course surveys confirm that this approach to character education works: although members of a control group showed no significant changes over time in responses to 23 questions measuring prosocial attitudes and behaviors, among R.I.Sk^-takers there were statistically significant positive changes in answers to 21 of the 23 survey questions.

The second most dramatic difference was in response to the statement, "I feel I don't fit in." As research and the tragic stories of students who perpetrate acts of violence make all too clear, feelings of not fitting in--of Rejection--give rise to negative attitudes that can lead to dropping out of school activities and/or school itself or evolve into extreme and violent behaviors. Before R.I.Sk,survey takers asked to respond to "I feel I don't fit in" with a number from 1 [Never] to 10 [Always] gave a mean response of 5.3.

After the R.I.Skexperience, which bonds participants across gender, cultural, and socio-economic differences, the mean dropped dramatically to 2.9, demonstrating significantly increased feelings of belonging in participants. Such feelings of Acceptance have been linked to positive attitudes and behaviors and improved school attendance. Not surprisingly, other survey responses document a decrease in verbally and physically abusive and disruptive behaviors.

The R.I.Skprogram is fundamentally and ultimately a character education initiative, for the organization's mission is "To teach 20 measurable Relationship Improvement SKills that promote 'Relating with Respect and Responsibility'." Those two core values are included in the "Six Pillars of Character Education" emphasized by New Jersey's Character Education Network. R.I.Sk 's group-centered concepts and activities also develop awarenesses and skills that promote the other four Pillars--Caring, Citizenship, Fairness, and Trustworthiness. Listed as state-approved provider #623 on the New Jersey Department of Education's website, R.I.SkSeminars is also featured in the NJDOE's Directory of Character Education Programs.