The secret to helping children and youth grow into happy, healthy, and responsible adults isn't really a secret at all.

 Here are the facts

 Research from the Search Institute identifies 40 Developmental Assets that have a powerful, positive impact on young people. Children and teenagers who have high levels of these assets get involved in fewer risky behaviors and are much more likely to exhibit the positive values, such as leadership, good health, diversity, and success in school. The bad news is most young people don't have enough assets. About 59 percent of young people, ages 11-18, have 20 or fewer Developmental Assets, according to Search Institute surveys. The good news is we can change this because we all have the power to build assets in young people's lives.

 Understanding Developmental Assets

 The eight asset categories Search Institute has found crucial in helping young people grow up healthy include:

• Support: Young people need to be surrounded by people, who love, care for, appreciate, and accept them.
• Empowerment: Young people need to feel valued and valuable. This happens when youth feel safe and respected.
• Boundaries and Expectations: Young people need clear rules, consistent consequences for breaking rules, and encouragement to do their best.
• Constructive Use of Time: Young people need opportunities-outside of school-to learn and develop new skills and interests with other youth and adults.
• Commitment to Learning: Young people need a sense of the lasting importance of learning and a belief in their own abilities.
• Positive Values: Young people need to develop strong guiding values to help them make healthy life choices.
• Social Competencies: Young people need the skills to interact effectively with others, to make difficult decisions, and to cope with new situations.
• Positive Identity: Young people need to believe in their own self-worth and to feel they have control over the things that happen to them.

 Each of these categories involves several specific assets that help young people grow up healthy. We are excited to be developing a framework to help our students start to build their own assets. Watch our school newsletter and our website under the Parent Info tab to see which of the 40 developmental Assets we are working on.

Want to know more about the 40 Developmental Assets and ideas for helping young people build them?

Visit www.search-institute.org/assets.

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