EXCELLENCE & ETHICS

Power2Achieve programming is designed to develop the essential character competencies and cultural assets NEEDED FOR effective teaching and successful learning. Power2Achieve programming focuses on key competencies, such as ability to revise, communicate, collaborate, negotiate, give and receive constructive critique, demonstrate integrity, and support and challenge one another to do one’s best. When mastered, these essential competencies assist youth as they seek to become better learners and achieve their full potential. Power2Achieve programming is also designed to shape the school and classroom culture of excellence and ethics, an environment in which students and staff are safe, supported, and empowered to learn and teach better.

Power2Achieve programming is authentically aligned with the major educational standards and theoretical frameworks. These include federal and state standards, Response to Intervention (RTI), Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBiS), 21st Century Skills, Social and Emotional Learning standards (SEL), and workforce preparation recommendations. Power2Achieve programming is built as a series of student curricular units and professional development workshops around the eight Power2Achieve focus areas. The authentic alignment of Power2Achieve programming with educational standards and reform frameworks provides schools with a way to help simultaneously satisfy many pressing needs that are competing for resources.

Power2Achieve programming integrates and distills the research educators need to know and be able to use. Power2Achieve tools and strategies are built on the most current available research coming from many relevant scholarly fields. For example, the Power2Achieve Foundations unit on talent development integrates cutting-edge theory and research from five of the most highly respected authorities by translating it into user-friendly tools and strategies for putting knowledge into action. Second, Power2Achieve programming relies on the research-based 4 KEYS master strategy (Lickona and Davidson, 2005) that is woven into the structure of each unit and guides the construction and use of each tool, strategy, or activity.

Power2Achieve programming delivers an intentional approach to building character competencies and cultural assets. The theory- and research-based framework of Power2Achieve programming calls for comprehensive intentional effort to be sustained throughout the school year. To ensure effectiveness of implementation, IEE offers ongoing web-based support, options for extended leadership and staff professional development, rigorous assessment of school culture, and various consultation services.

Power2Achieve programming respects and empowers faculty. While the curricular materials are built to reduce the time and effort for teacher preparation, it does not replace the teacher in the classroom. Rather, the design of Power2Achieve programming balances intentionality of content and pedagogical methods with flexibility to adapt delivery to the needs of different learners and the contexts of specific schools or classrooms. The Power2Achieve training and curricular materials empower teachers to make it "their own" by providing structural flexibility and various strategies for differentiation, extension, authentic adaptation, and increasing student engagement.

Power2Achieve programming engages and empowers students. The Power2Achieve curricular materials are built to engage students through compelling content (music, literature & videos), interactions with peers, and experiential activities. The ultimate impact of Power2Achieve programming, however, comes from equipping students with the tools for dealing with various challenges facing them. When mastered, the Power2Achieve Tools provide students the strategies needed for success in school, work, and beyond.

Power2Achieve programming provides comprehensive assessment for and of learning. Each unit incorporates formative assessment designed to benchmark and improve mastery of the concepts. Power2Achieve programming also provides outcome assessment measuring impact on the overall growth of student competencies and school culture, using the Culture of Excellence & Ethics Assessment™ (CEEA) student and faculty surveys. Consistently collecting and using assessment data, Power2Achieve programming supports accountability and continuous improvement.

Power2Achieve programming offers flexible approaches to initiate and sustain implementation. While comprehensive implementation ensures maximum effectiveness, the Power2Achieve programming is built in a way that allows schools to choose a delivery approach based on their current needs and matched to available resources, but capable of evolving over time, as needs and resources change.