PATHS - Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies

   To address this issue, the Carbondale Area School partnered with PROSPER to implement PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies), an evidence based curriculum which promotes emotional and social competencies and reduces aggression and acting-out behaviors in elementary-school-aged children. Currently, K-2nd grade teachers are implementing the prevention program and 3rd grade teachers are slated for training this month.

     The PATHS curriculum teaches students:

• Emotional literacy
• Self-control
• Social competence
• Positive peer relations
• Interpersonal problem-solving skills

     PATHS enhances protective factors such as emotional understanding, communication skills, positive classroom atmosphere and teacher-student relations. It also reduces behavioral risk factors including impulsivity, aggression, and disruptive classroom behavior.

       It has been proven to:

• Improve children's ability to get along with others
  
• Improve attention and engagement in the classroom
  
• Reduce aggressive and disruptive behavior
  

     PATHS has been replicated in urban and rural settings in the U.S. and other countries. It not only has been effective in promoting positive youth development but it also saves tax dollars. For every $1.00 invested in PATHS, $13.00 in future costs (mental health services, remedial school services, etc.) is saved.

     For more information about PATHS, contact Karen Thomas, Penn State Extension educator in Lackawanna County, at 570-963-6842 or e-mail at kat1@psu.edu; or Elaine Berrena, Penn State Prevention Research Center, at 814-865-5249 or e-mail at exz4@psu.edu.