When the Millard School District began using the asset framework a few years ago, Geri McClenny, a school social worker at Millard Learning Center, an alternative high school in the district, volunteered to be one of the school’s Asset Builders and has since worked in many capacities to promote the Developmental Assets at the school.
Youth leadership is a key part of how Millard Learning Center builds the Developmental Assets. Student leaders, called Asset Builders, are nominated by teachers, and they attend the Millard Summer Institute and a teen leadership summit. The Asset Builders are involved in a variety of leadership activities. One of the many things they do is work with a group of 19- to 21-year-old young adults with varying levels of disability. The students have greatly enjoyed the experience, and come back from it expressing a lot of gratitude for what they have. The Asset Builders also help with planning and idea generation around other asset-building activities that happen around the school.
During a presentation to a middle school resource class for younger students that were having problems, the Asset Builders talked about how they got involved with the assets and how they wished they had not made some of the mistakes they made when they were younger. During the talk, one of them told the group that when McClenny approached her about being a leader, she thought it was weird because no one had ever done it before, but thought that it might be fun to try something different. After the presentation, the Asset Builders received thank-you cards and were elated to be thanked for their sharing their experiences.
Asset building at Millard Learning Center pays special attention to what students can do to develop their own assets, recognizing that the assets are a part of being independent and making one’s life a success. The school has a career and college fair and an independent living fair to help students be more independent and move out of home more successfully. McClenny tries to make the experiences as relevant as possible to the students’ lives by showing the young leaders how to put their leadership experience on a résumé, and discussing where they are and what they are going to do to build their own assets for the rest of their lives.
Parent/student meetings, which occur as evening activities outside of the school day, provide opportunities for parents to become more connected with what the students are doing at school, and for students and staff to educate the parents about the Developmental Assets and how anyone has the power to build them.
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