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Using the 40 Developmental Assets to "change the present and build the future" is the mission of today's communities, the keynote speaker said at Thursday's Education Summit IX.
Charles Pratt, judge of the Allen Superior Court, Family Relations Division, in Fort Wayne, said the sense of community he found in Kosciusko County was proof that people in this county are serious about doing what's best for young people.
"For youth to be healthy, they have to be resilient, and to be resilient, they need a sense of community, and I think you're rich in that," he told the standing-room-only crowd Thursday morning at 2517 Restaurant.
The Search Institute, a think tank in Minneapolis, Minn., Pratt said, was asked by some national organizations to do research to determine "why some kids soar with the eagles and others stumble and fall."
After interviewing more than one million kids, SI identified "40 developmental building blocks that young people need that need to be provided on a consistent basis," he said.
"It's not just a children's program, it's a community program," he added.
SI found that if young people have more of the assets, they are less likely to engage in risky behavior, Pratt said. Likewise, if they have 10 or fewer assets, they are significantly involved in alcohol, drugs and violent behavior.
The 40 Developmental Assets, Pratt said, can't be used as a checklist to "fix" problem kids, but should be a road map "to begin a journey toward positive development."
The safer the young people in the community, the safer the community, he said.
"We need to see young people as ministries to be embraced, not problems to be solved," he said, adding that his definition of ministry is working with others, embracing diversity and mentoring.
The 40 Developmental Assets that kids need to thrive include such external influences as a caring neighborhood, parental involvement in schooling, positive peer influence, adult role models and family and school boundaries.
Internal assets include motivation to do well in school, placing a high value on helping others and on promoting equality, accepting personal responsibility, resisting negative peer pressure and being optimistic about the future.
Reinforcing some of the 40 Developmental Assets was the goal of several other programs that were described Thursday.
Suzie Light, executive director of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, said the community book read - "Plant the Seed - Read!" - was intended in part to promote the assets on a countywide basis.
The program, which ended Thursday, also was meant to promote reading for pleasure and to provide a community building activity in the county.
Richard and Nancy Rooker, Warsaw teachers, talked about the third EdCom Expo, which will take place March 15.
A unique program that builds on the 40 Developmental Assets, EdCom is based on their vision "that the community would come together to celebrate developing expertise in academics."
Joe Banks and Pat Outlaw made presentations on programs for middle-schoolers - Banks talked about the middle school career fair and Outlaw discussed R.R. Donnelley's middle school job skills program, in which eighth-graders "have the opportunity to have a glimpse of the type of work we do at Donnelley."
All of the programs discussed at the Summit had a common theme, expressed by Pratt: "The morality of a community is measured by what it does for its youth."
