SOAR® (Skills, Opportunities, and Recognition)
The SOAR program was developed through the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP), a 15-year seminal study being conducted by Dr. J. David Hawkins and Dr. Richard F. Catalano in urban, multiethnic elementary schools in the Seattle, Washington, school district.
The SOAR program was based on the belief that the family is an important partner in learning. Designed to promote positive youth development and academic success, the multiyear SOAR program provided:
- social-skills training for elementary school students
- training for teachers to improve classroom-management methods
- parenting workshops.
In a follow-up study, reported in the May 2002 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, researchers found that the benefits of SSDP lasted through the age of 21. The students, now young adults, were engaged in less risky sexual behavior, and had less history of violence and less heavy use of alcohol.
Like many studies and projects, the SOAR program will not be developed into a commercial product. SOAR and SSDP do stand as the starting point for many proven-effective positive youth development programs. While SOAR will not be developed into a commercially available product, lessons learned from the project influenced an entire generation of prevention science researchers.
By offering programs developed by Dr. Hawkins and Dr. Catalano, Channing Bete Company provides some of the best parenting programs and positive youth development tools available. Many of our programs use the same science that is behind the SOAR program. We encourage you to use the links below to visit their sites for more information, including the national recognition they've received.
Supporting School Success® Program
Guiding Good Choices® Program
Staying Connected with Your Teen® Program
National Recognition
The SOAR project has been recognized as the following:
Effective Program
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
Effective Program
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Promising Program
U.S. Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program's Expert Panel
Promising Program
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
|