The atmosphere in some local schools is changing! “It feels so peaceful here. I just feel encouraged and uplifted when I visit your school. When I go to middle school, I want to go here. I just love this school.” These are the comments heard from students, parents, teachers, and visitors who step into a select group of schools in the Raleigh-Durham area. This is Great News! Right?

For detailed information visit The Center of Light website

Since the Power & Light program was offered to local schools by The Center of Light, as well as in collaboration with each individual school’s faculty and academic resources, amazing, dramatic, and even transformative changes have occurred. There has been a measurable shift in the behavior, culture and academic level in these schools. Here are a few of the results from the beginning years of a 5-year pilot from each school.

Middle school-selected metrics were identified to evaluate progress. Success was determined by annual improvements in the following with results noted.

  • Behavior referrals to school administrators – Result: 300 less referrals after 1st year of Power & Light
  • Acts of violence and verbal abuse – Results: No fights during 1st semester of classes
  • Reading levels – Results: Literacy program stated that K-1 readers are now at 6th grade level
  • EOG testing scores for 2017 thru 2019 – Results: Every subject of every grade level had improvement across the board, 2 years in a row, additionally, at the end-of-year 2019 one school increased their improvement by 1 entire letter grade – a “N.C. School to Watch”
  • Suspensions/Expulsions – Results: only 1 suspension reported
  • Testimonies of progress from students, parents, and faculty – Results: Students are intervening when conflicts happen in classrooms, there is a feeling/culture of peace within the schools, overt bullying has ceased, teachers have stated: “This is the best year of teaching ever…”