In 1997, a team made up of individuals from Dodge and Jefferson County put together a listing of goals for the community to create an atmosphere for Positive Youth Development. This team recommended that goals be set to:
- encourage youth to become assets to the community
- prevent delinquency
- create a safe environment
- empower youth
- adopt Search Institute’s Asset Building Model throughout Dodge and Jefferson counties
High Expectations uses the following strategies as the local leader for community youth:
- Enrich young people’s environments by providing local youth-serving organizations with the capacity to network, organize, and attract funding resources.
- Stabilize young people’s families by providing parents with comprehensive skill trainings.
- Engage and build youth’s emotional assets and skills in the community through teachers, parents, leaders, organizations, media, peers, and anyone else who will listen.
- Empower youth by providing opportunities for them to recognize their abilities, gain new skills,and have an impact on the community.
- Promote volunteering activities to reduce risk-taking behaviors and prevent juvenile delinquency and improve the life of youth.
High Expectations programming:
- Supports youth through empowerment of youth led activities, prevention education, parent support and community service.
- Develops and implements job coaching programs with school students.
- Partners with local youth serving organizations to provide prevention education and healthy opportunities for youth.
- Supports youth-led and developed, after school mentoring programs.
- Promotes youth led activities to reduce risk-taking behaviors that lead to juvenile delinquency.
Search Institute’s Developmental Asset Model
This Developmental Asset Model looks at 40 Assets or "Building Blocks" that all youth need to succeed. These building blocks include:EXTERNAL ASSETS
- Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, Constructive Use of Time
INTERNAL ASSETS
- Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies, Positive Identity
The Search Institute Survey was conducted in Dodge and Jefferson County Schools and revealed dramatic needs in the local youth population.
- AVERAGE YOUTH = 16.3 of 40 assets (40%)
- 14% Believe Community Values Youth
- 21% Have Positive Role Models
- 17% Participate in Creative Activities
- 22% Have a Caring School Environment
- 36% Consider Themselves to be Caring
- 26% Understood Causes and Effects of their Decisions
- 34% Know that they Can Make Things Better
High Expectations feels that if we can build these assets in youth we can create a better community.
What are all 40 Assets? - Download the list of all 40 Assets
Need Spanish? - Download a list of all 40 Assets in Spanish Search Institute