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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Media Contact
Kay Reed
KayReed@DibbleInstitute.org
Relationship Smarts PLUS
Wins Association of American
Publishers Award
Berkeley, CA--June 30, 2014—The
Dibble Institute is pleased to announce that Relationship
Smarts PLUS has won the prestigious 2014 Revere Award for Distinguished
Achievement in the supplementary life skills and character education category
from the Association of American Publishers (AAP). This is the fourth Distinguished
Achievement Award earned by a Dibble program since 2009.
Judges comments included, “Wow! This curriculum beautifully,
honestly and realistically explains the relationship process in easy to
understand and remember terms. It not only engages (teens) in building their
critical thinking skills and goal setting, but it also hits all the important
points of current teen life.”
Relationship Smarts PLUS is listed
in the National
Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP). In 2005 the
program was selected for a 5-year, million dollar federal evaluation study at
Auburn University. During the study, author, Marline Pearson and researcher,
Jennifer Kerpelman, Ph.D. worked and reworked Relationship Smarts PLUS based on
student results and teacher comments to focus in on the essential messages and
the most effective ways to deliver them.
Outcomes from the study indicate
that young people who participated in the Relationship Smarts PLUS program
were more knowledgeable about what was and was not healthy in relationships, held
more realistic relationship beliefs, had improved conflict management skills,
and expressed an increased openness to taking relationship education classes in
the future.
In the Distinguished
Achievement Awards (DAAs), entries are subject to a rigorous judging
process consisting of three rounds of review by teachers and leading experts
throughout the industry. Three key principles--quality content, age
appropriateness, and innovation--drive the judging criteria and evaluation
process. The semi-finalists in the Life Skills and Character Education
Resources were Emotional ABC’s and Sesame Workshop.
The Dibble Institute has been
publishing evidence based, best practices, evaluated programs relationship
skills programs since 1996. Their highly acclaimed curricula are used in all 50
states and around the world in settings ranging from public schools to juvenile
detention facilities and from after-school programs to pregnancy prevention
efforts.
“Our mission at The Dibble
Institute is to help young people learn how to navigate their romantic lives,”
Kay Reed, Executive Director, explained. “We know from our research that teens
who participate in these programs are more likely to resolve conflicts
non-violently and more likely to know how to build a healthy relationship. We
so appreciate the AAP distinguished panel of educators’ awareness of the
relevance and pertinence of our publications.”
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