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As summer comes to an end and for many involved in school, whether sending youth or attending yourself, you find new starts. In an unsettling fall with the news reports of increasing unemployment and financial challenges for families, Portage County Alliance for Youth wishes to offer for consideration, some positive views for connecting with youth in relationships.MORE

With every student that enrolls at the Charles F. Fernandez Center for Alternative Learning, Principal Liz Fulton goes over the Developmental Assets, provides the students and parents with written information, and meets with all of the parents individually. The school’s goals are rooted in the Developmental Assets, as it tries to support students, meet social and emotional needs, and work with parents and the community.MORE

Asset #25 is that quality a youth develops or has when they are reading three or more hours per week. In the last Asset survey done in Portage County, 24 % of youth completing the survey reported they had that quality.MORE

External Assets to share with teachers, children, parents and staff:

Asset 1: Family Support. Regularly call or write parents to give positive messages, and during conferences, start and focus on the positive aspects of the student. Encourage students to attend conferences with the parents and then include them in the discussion or even have the students tell their accomplishments and goals.MORE

“Preventing Teens from Engaging in Risky Behaviors as a Means of Coping with Stress” is a recent informational piece received from Gen Kirchman, CESA 5. Youth struggle with a great deal of stress in their everyday lives—from family situations, to school, to money, to peer pressure.MORE

As Portage County Alliance for Youth recently celebrated 25 years of volunteers who work together to value youth, the group took the opportunity to honor community asset builders in Portage County.MORE

Portage County Alliance for Youth, an all volunteer group of individuals and agencies who care about youth and promote positive youth development, is proudly celebrating 25 years of service in 2009.MORE

Building assets in youth has always been about relationships and positive approaches to issues youth need in their lives. The Holiday Season has always been regarded as a time of PEACE and Family Celebrations.MORE

Mary Ann Krems and Dee Erlandson write a monthly article that is published in the Portage County Gazette, Rosholt News, and Tomorrow River Paper in Amherst, WI. Their work is also shared with some Iowa schools and the Des Moines County Register.

The Fall air is crisp as many cover up their still growing flowers and gardens. Your children now wait for the bus in longer pants and hoodies. It is the time for Homecomings at High Schools, Football games at all levels and who can miss the excitement of the Brewers and the Packers, or even the Jets?MORE