16-year-old Nini To was on the brink of dropping out of high school. Despite starting school in Orange County, California, with a high GPA and even higher hopes, she soon had trouble keeping up in her fast-paced classes. Although she did her best to participate in discussions, impatient teachers and unsupportive classmates saw her questioning nature as burdensome. Financial issues, a lack of familial support, and the resulting depression she suffered nearly pushed her over the edge—she had run out of options.
As a last resort, Nini contacted Dan Sackheim, the Community Day School and Opportunity Education Consultant for the California Department of Education. Posing as her mother, she questioned Dan over the phone about the alternatives her “daughter” had to dropping out of school. After discussing alternative schooling options for a while, Dan asked to speak with the student herself—a surprise Nini was not prepared for. Nini admitted that she was the student in question and thus began Dan’s asset building in Nini’s life.
Although Nini ultimately ended up dropping out of high school, her relationship with the school administrator continued. Dan kept in contact with Nini during the next couple years, showing her the support and empowerment she had been missing in her life. Thanks to Dan’s encouragement and asset building, Nini now attends Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California. Nini hopes to one day have the opportunity to work with youth in situations similar to the one she faced at sixteen.
Nini’s story is just one example of the young people Dan Sackheim works with every day—the kids who fall through the cracks. As the Community Day School consultant, Dan has brought Search Institute’s Developmental Assets Framework to schools throughout California. The goal of the Community Day School is to give at-risk and at-promise students a sense of purpose, and the problem solving skills and workforce abilities they need to be functioning—and thriving—members of society. To accomplish this, the school infuses asset building into everything it does. The assets are an important feature of student referral forms and student plans used around the state, so even before a student enters a classroom, they are introduced to the 40 assets.
By highlighting strengths and building assets, Dan reports that these formerly troubled students often develop a positive identity by attending the alternative schools. He often asks students “When you walk into this classroom now, do you walk in and stand the way you did when you first started at this school? Do you have the same future plans as you did six months ago?” He consistently gets the same response: “No, I’ve changed.”
Dan Sackheim is an asset champion in every area of his life, from his personal relationships to his professional accomplishments.
