JPMorgan Chase is providing the College of Education with a grant to pilot a school-based violence-prevention program called Positive Adolescent Choice Training (PACT). UA’s John E. Queener, professor in the Department of Counseling, is leading the project, which runs from February through June 2013 for children at Mason Elementary School in Akron.
Designed to reduce the probability that at-risk students will become perpetrators or victims of violence, PACT emphasizes socially appropriate behavior, managing anger, and avoiding potentially violent situations through the use of culturally appropriate strategies. PACT has been shown to reduce violent behavior among minority adolescents – but has been used with students from all ethnicities.
The program is a collaborative effort among The University of Akron, the Greater Cleveland Association of Black Psychologists, and the Minority Behavioral Health Group, a mental health program of Akron Community Development.