Giving Leeds youth a voice…

What matters to youth from grades 7 - 12

Developmental Assets: A Profile of Our Youth

Leeds County SchoolsGrades 7 -12

Search Institute Profile of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviours

Participating schools

• Athens DHS• Brockville CIVS• Gananoque SS• Rideau DHS• Thousand Islands SS

• Commonwealth PS• Lyn/Tincap PS• Prince of Wales PS• Toniata PS• Westminster PS

Who was surveyed

• Randomly selected grade 7-12 students:

1107

• Gender: Females 576Males 523

Breakdown by grades

• Grade 7 96• Grade 8 123• Grade 9 287• Grade 10 220• Grade 11 201• Grade 12 177

• Total **1107**

Leeds county profile

0-10 Assets

11-20 Assets

21-30 Assets

31-40 Assets

21 %4%

25%

49%

Our community profile

0-10 Assets

11-20 Assets

21-30 Assets

31-40 Assets

22 %4%

35%

49%

A visual comparison??

0-10 Assets

11-20 Assets

21-30 Assets

31-40 Assets

Note the significant differences!!

0-10 Assets

11-20 Assets

21-30 Assets

31-40 Assets

L & G Leeds

We believe that…..

…young people are valuable resources

Investigating our community profile

What did the survey show???

Percentage of Youth reporting each specific asset…

How do our youth see themselves and their world???

External assets….

• SUPPORT young people with care and attention.

• EMPOWER them to use their abilities to help others.

• Set reasonable BOUNDARIES AND have high EXPECTATIONS.

• Help them find activities that make CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF their TIME.

SUPPORT young people with care and attention.

#1 – Family support 65% 65%

#2 – Positive family communication 29% 31%

#3 – Other adult relationships 43% 41%

#4 – Caring neighbourhood 37% 36%

#5 – Caring School climate 28% 26%

#6 – Parent involvement in schooling 20% 20%

EMPOWER them to use their abilities to help others.

# 7 - Community Values Youth 18%18%

# 8 – Youth as resources 24%23%

# 9 – Service to others 51%49%

# 10 – Safety 49% 51%

Set reasonable BOUNDARIES AND have high EXPECTATIONS.

#11 – Family boundaries 35% 34%

# 12 – School boundaries 40% 39%

# 13 – Neighbourhood boundaries 38% 39%

# 14 – Adult role models 23% 23%

# 15 Positive peer influence 48% 48%

# 16 – High expectations 44% 43%

Help them find activities that make CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF their

time.

# 17 – Creative activities 16% 16%

# 18 – Youth programs 58%57%

# 19 – Religious community 24%24%

# 20 – Time at home 49%50%

Internal assets

• Spark their COMMITMENT TO LEARNING.

• Guide them toward a life based on POSITIVE VALUES.

• Help the develop SOCIAL COMPETENCIES and life skills.

• Celebrate their uniqueness and affirm their POSITIVE IDENTITY.

Spark their COMMITMENT TO LEARNING.

# 21 - Achievement motivation58% 58%

# 22 - School engagement 55% 54%

# 23 - Homework 35% 36%

# 24 – Bonding to school 58% 55%

# 25 – Reading for pleasure 28% 28%

Guide them toward a life based on POSITIVE VALUES.

# 26 – Caring 44% 42%

# 27 – Equality and social justice 46% 45%

# 28 – Integrity 66% 65%

# 29 – Honesty 65% 65%

# 30 – Responsibility 57% 58%

# 31 – Restraint 23% 23%

Help the develop SOCIAL COMPETENCIES and life skills.

# 32 – Planning and decision-making 25% 25%

# 33 – Interpersonal competence 42% 39%

# 34 – Cultural competence 35% 33%

# 35 – Resistance skills 35% 35%

# 36 - Peaceful conflict resolution 38% 38%

Celebrate their uniqueness and affirm their POSITIVE IDENTITY.

# 37 – Personal power 40% 40%

# 38 – Self-esteem 44% 44%

# 39 – Sense of purpose 60% 59%

# 40 – Positive view of personal future 75% 74%

Average # assets/ community

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

L & G Leeds

17.9 17.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Total Grade 7 Gr 8 Gr 9 Gr 10 Gr 11 Gr 12

Asset profile by grade ….

Leeds & Grenville Counties combined data

17.9 18.9 17.1 17.1 16.2 15.0 16.3

16.716.4

14.616.317.

6

17.

718.9

Why assets are important…

They domake a difference

in the lives of young people

They are the keys to success

The following information is based on data from both Leeds and Grenville counties.

Thriving behaviours

• School success• Informal helping• Valuing diversity• Maintaining good health• Exhibiting leadership• Resisting danger• Impulse control• Overcoming adversity

The Survey shows the connection between thriving (+) behaviours and the number of assets a youth has…

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0-10 Assets 11-20 Assets 21-30 Assets 31-40 Assets

#Of

+

Behaviours

High Risk behaviours(24 -- Identified by the survey )

• Alcohol use• Binge drinking• Smoking• Smokeless tobacco• Inhalants• Marijuana• Other illicit drugs• Drinking and driving• Riding with a driver who has

been drinking• Sexual intercourse• Shoplifting• Vandalism

• Trouble with police• Hitting someone• Hurting someone• Use of a weapon• Group fighting• Carrying a weapon for

protection• Threatening physical harm• Skipping school• Gambling • Eating disorders• Depression• Attempted suicide

The Survey shows the connection between high risk behaviours and the

number of assets a youth has…

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0-10 Assets 11-20 Assets 21-30 Assets 31-40 Assets

#OfHighRiskBehaviours

From awareness to action…

Regardless of town size or geography, youth typically:

• Receive too little support through sustained and positive intergenerational relationships

• Lack opportunities for leadership and involvement• Disengage from youth-serving programs in the

community• Experience inconsistent and unarticulated

boundaries• Feel disconnected from their community• Miss the formation of social competencies and

positive values

So what???

• We will continue to see too many young people who are susceptible to risk taking and negative pressure, drawn to less desirable sources of belonging, and ill-equipped to become the next generation of parents, workers, leaders, and citizens.

• What needs to change??

What needs to change??

• Refocus emphasis of well-intentioned youth development programs from attacking the consequences of asset depletion

• To placing energy into rebuilding the asset foundation for youth

Ultimately, rebuilding and strengthening the developmental infrastructure in a community is not a program run by professionals. It is a ……

…movement

That creates a community-wide sense of common purpose, places residents and their leaders on the same team moving in the same direction, and creates a culture in which all residents are expected, by virtue of their membership in the community, to promote the positive development of youth.

Developmental Assets: A profile of youth in Leeds& GrenvilleSurvey Report, Search Institute

Promoting Developmental Assets

Assets are cumulative or additive

The more the better

Research shows the more assets, the less likely to participate in risk taking behaviours and more likely to be involved in thriving behaviours

PRINCIPLES

• All children and youth need assets.• Relationships are key.• Everyone can build assets.• Building assets is an ongoing process.• Asset building requires consistent

messages.• Duplication and repetition are good

and important.

Taking Action• Establish long-term goals and perspective• Mobilize the public• Think intergenerationally• Expand the reach of family education• Support and expand current asset-building efforts• Strengthen socializing systems• Empower youth to contribute• Elevate the importance of service• Provide places to grow• Advocate for quality opportunities for young

people• Begin public dialogueDevelopmental Assets: A profile of youth in Leeds& Grenville

Survey Report, Search Institute