An overview of how the Developmental Assets model can inform the use of community engagement for the high school of the future.

1. The High School of the Future

2. Carol’s Bio
 An entrepreneurial, strategic leader with over 16 years of experience
providing nimble and pragmatic vision to turn challenges and crises
into opportunities:
 Interim and permanent CEO, COO and Executive Director roles with community
nonprofits focused on early childhood and youth development, mental health,
and family violence, including New Community for Children, The Women’s
Center, CrisisLink, and Women Empowered Against Violence.
 Led efforts to raise over $27 Million for community-based charities, as well as
garnered coverage by CNN, NPR, MSNBC, and the Washington Post.
 Served as Secretary of the Alexandria Early Childhood Commission and Issue
Leader for At-Risk Children for the Northern Virginia Interfaith Coalition for Social
Justice.
 Designed and developed a “Civics and Youth in Action” initiative to get 17 high
school students appointed to 13 city boards and commissions, and 4 nonprofit
boards. In just one year, this program has become the largest of its kind in the
United States.
 As Co-founder of Sustainability Nexus, she focuses on bringing her unique depth
and breadth of experience in community organizations to building coalitions with
schools, government, corporations and other nonprofits.

3. Community Engagement –
Why?
 Why focus on community engagement?
 “The 3 R’s”:
 Resources
 Reach
 Relevance

4. Community Partners for
Schools
 Who are community partners?
 Families
 Local Government
 Churches
 Businesses
 Community Organizations
○ Nonprofits, Clubs, Civic Associations, etc
 Who else?

5. What is community
engagement?
 Schools & community partners can
collaborate to:
 to engage students and
 provide supports in a
 community-based
 holistic approach
 to learning and education
 for students

6. Developmental Assets
Model
 Developed by Search Institute in 1990 with
the release of The Troubled Journey: A
Portrait of 6th to 12th Grade Youth
 Introduced framework of Developmental
Assets
 Studies conducted with over 4 million youth
across U.S. since then
 Strengths-based approach

7. Developmental Assets – A
Strengths Based Approach
 Rather than “fixing broken kids” this is a
strengths-based approach
 Identifies the traits and supports that help
kids to be resilience, less likely to engage
in risky behavior, and more likely to
succeed academically
 Through research, identified 40 building
blocks for healthy development

8. 2 Main Categories
 External Assets
 Community
 Family
 School
 Neighborhood
 Faith
 Internal Assets
 Habits
 Values
 Behaviors

9. External Assets – 4 Groups
 Support
 Family Love & Support, Parent Involvement
in Schooling, Positive Adult Relationships,
Caring Neighborhood, Caring School
Climate
 Empowerment
 Community Values Youth, Youth as
Resources, Service to Others, Safety

10. External Assets – Continued
 Boundaries & Expectations
 Family Boundaries, School Boundaries,
Neighborhood Boundaries, Adult Role
Models, Positive Peer Influence, High
Expectations
 Constructive Use of Time
 Creative Activities, Youth Programs,
Religious Community, Time at Home

11. Internal Assets – 4 Groups
 Commitment to Learning
 Achievement Motivation, School
Engagement, Homework Time, Bonding to
School, Reading for Pleasure
 Positive Values
 Caring, Equality & Social Justice, Integrity,
Honesty, Responsibility, Restraint

12. Internal Assets – Continued
 Social Competencies
 Planning and Decision-Making,
Interpersonal Competence, Cultural
Competence, Resistance to Peer Pressure
Skills, Peaceful Conflict Resolution
 Positive Identity
 Personal Power, Self-Esteem, Sense of
Purpose, Positive View of Personal Future

13. Resources
 http://www.search-
institute.org/content/40-developmental-
assets-adolescents-ages-12-18

14. Example #1: Suicide Prevention
 CrisisLink, a regional nonprofit providing crisis hotlines &
education to prevent suicide
 Partnered with Fairfax County H.S. guidance counselors & faith
community
 Collaborated on an annual conference to prevent teen suicide
called “Bridging the Gap”
 CrisisLink wallet cards funded by Fairfax County
 Loss team outreach to families, schools and students who lost
someone to suicide
 http://crisislink.org/about-us/press-releases/may-is-national-
mental-health-month/

15. Community & Asset Building
 How did community engagement work in
this example?
 Which of the 40 Developmental Assets
did this collaboration build?
 What do you think some of the
challenges were for this collaboration?

16. Example #2: New Community
for Children
 NCFC is an after school & summer program for
kindergarten thru high school students in Shaw
Neighborhood of Washington, DC
 Developed hip hop multi-media curriculum to improve
literacy for middle school & 9th grade students
 Art program with pottery & printmaking to build identity
and sense of community
 https://www.facebook.com/NCFCDC
 http://ncfc-dc.org/

17. Community Partners
 What do you think NCFC brings to kids
in strengthening Developmental Assets?
 What does NCFC do that schools may
not be able to do?
 How could NCFC and schools work
together to even more effectively build
Developmental Assets?

18. Example #3: CBC Youth Reps
Initiative
 Collaboration between Citizens for a Better
City, a 50+ year old civic group, & schools,
government, and other nonprofits/civic
organizations
 Only program of its kind in the U.S.
 In 10 months became the largest program
engaging students as Youth Reps to City
Boards, Commissions & Civic Groups
 http://www.youthrepsinitiative.org/

19. 360 Community
Collaboration
 What’s unique in the CBC Youth Reps
model?
 How does it address Developmental
Assets?
 What contributed to its success?
 What would the challenges be of
replicating this model in other
communities?

20. Community Engagement,
Development Assets & Schools
 Why is it important?
 What makes it work?
 What doesn’t work?
 How does this relate to your educational
essay?

21. Carol’s Contact Info
 Carol Loftur-Thun
 Principal, Sustainability Nexus
 Email: carol@sustainabilitynexus.com
 Cell: 703-346-5104