Hastings Community Education Advisory Council
February 12, 2008
Fulfilling Minnesota’s Promise
Sarah Dixon, Minnesota Alliance With YouthKelly Amoth, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow
Contact MN Alliance at: 612.616.1305 Visit our Website: www.mnyouth.net
President’s Summit
Our VisionOur VisionAll young people in Minnesota are connected to their communities, have hope for the future, and are
able to realize their dreams.
Mission of the Alliance
To ensure that all young people in Minnesota have access to the resources they need to be successful: caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; effective education; and opportunities to help others (the Five Promises)
The Five Promises Work Research shows that the more of the Five
Promises that children receive, the more successful they are likely to be.
Children who receive the Five Promises are 5 to 10 times more likely to succeed as students, citizens, parents, and employees.
Caring Adults
Caring adults who are actively involved in their lives – ongoing relationships with parents, mentors, tutors, coaches.
• 87% of young people say it is very important to have caring adults in their lives.• 45% of young people expressed a need for more adults they could turn to when they need help. • 15 million at-risk young people need a mentor.
Safe Places
Safe places in which to learn and grow – with structured activities during non-school hours.
• 31% of young people do not feel safe walking around alone in their communities. •Between 7 and 15 million children are alone at home after school; the most juvenile crime takes place between 3-6pm.•We spend over $14 billion each year on juvenile justice.
A Healthy Start
A healthy start towards adulthood – healthy bodies, minds, habits, & choices for a healthy start & healthy future.
• 92% of young people think it is important to pay attention to their health, yet 60% of teens admit that there are a lot of things they do that are not healthy. • Millions of young people lack health insurance and at least one child goes hungry in up to 50,000 American households on an average day.
Effective Education
An effective education that builds marketable skills – development, motivation & skills for successful work and lifelong learning.
• 33% don’t think they are learning the skills they need to be successful in life. • American students rank in the bottom third of test scores in the world. • More than half a million young people leave school each year without a diploma, resulting in associated costs of $260 billion.
Opportunities to Help Others
Opportunities to give back through community service – the chance to learn and make a difference through volunteering, leadership and service. • 94% of young people want to help their communities and make the world a better place.• Only 51% of all young people who want to help have been asked to do so. • 46% think community service and volunteering is boring.
AMERICA’S PROMISE GOALS 40 ASSETS
1. Ongoing relationships
with caring adults
1. Family support: Family life provides high levels of love and support. 3. Other adult relationships: Young person receives support from three or
more non-parent adults. 4. Caring neighborhood: Young person experiences caring neighbors. 7. Community values youth: Young person perceives that adults in
community value youth. 2. Safe places and
structured activities
10. Safety: Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.
17. Creative activities: Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts.
18. Youth programs: Young person spends three hours or more per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in community organizations.
19. Religious community: Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution.
3. A healthy start for a
healthy future
31. Restraint: Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or use alcohol or other drugs.
36. Peaceful conflict resolution: Young person seeks to resolve conflict non-violently.
38. Self-esteem: Young person reports having high self-esteem. 39. Sense of purpose: Young person reports “my life has a sense of
purpose.” 40. Positive view of the future: Young person is optimistic about her or his
personal future. 4. An effective education
resulting in marketable skills
21. Achievement motivation: Young person is motivated to do well in school. 22. School engagement: Young person is actively engaged in learning. 23. Homework: Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework
every school day. 24. Bonding to school: Young person cares about his or her school. 29. Honesty: Young person tells the truth even when it is not easy. 30. Responsibility: Young person has accepts and takes personal
responsibility. 32. Planning and decision-making: Young person knows how to plan ahead
and make choices. 33. Interpersonal competence: Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and
friendship skills. 34. Cultural competence: Young person has knowledge of and comfort with
young people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds. 5. Opportunities to serve
8. Youth given useful roles: Young people are given useful roles in the community.
9. Service to others: Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
26. Caring: Young person places high value on helping other people.
5 Promises & 40 Assets
Research conducted by the Search Institute identifies the 40 Developmental Assets as critical to ensuring positive youth development.
The Five Promises framework is consistent with the 40 Assets framework.
American Dream GapAmerican Dream Gap
Young people say they value and want more guidance from adults,
more challenges and higher expectations from their schools,
and more opportunities to contribute to their communities.
(Voices Study, America’s Promise & Child Trends, Inc.)
American Dream Gap
The Promise of America is the American Dream – the idea that anyone can be anybody or do anything that they want. (Voices Study, America’s Promise & Child Trends, Inc.)
95% of young people believe that “kids can grow up to be anything they want in America” and had set goals for their future.
However, 42% of youth doubted if they would achieve their goals.
Too Many Young People Lack Resources for Success
Only 31% of our young people today are receiving enough of the fundamental resources, the Five Promises, necessary for success.(National Promises Study, America’s Promise & Search Institute)
1000s of youth in MN have lost services over the past few years due to declining in funding, with 25% of nonprofits saying they are serving fewer youth because of these funding reductions. (MN Council of Nonprofits)
Social Return on Investment
An effective comprehensive program costing around $9,000 per participant can return benefits of from $4 to $9 for every dollar of cost. (Wilder Research)
There is a 16% long-term return on each dollar invested in children – compared to a 7% return on the stock market. For example, a 1% increase in high school graduation rates would yield $1.8 billion in social benefits and reduce the number of crimes nationwide by 94,000.(Art Rolnick, Mpls. Federal Reserve Bank)
Social Return on Investment
When disadvantaged children go to a quality preschool the graduation rate from high school is 65%. When support continues through childhood and adolescents the graduation rate increases to 91%. (University of Chicago)
It costs taxpayers almost $2 million dollars in criminal justice costs, victim costs, drug abuse related costs, lost wages and taxes for each young person that drops out of school and embraces a life of crime and drug use.(Vanderbilt University)
Key Strategies of the Alliance
Connect & Mobilize Partner OrganizationsConnect & Mobilize Partner Organizations to build capacity around the resources young people need to be successful
Create, connect, and strengthen School- Create, connect, and strengthen School- Community PartnershipsCommunity Partnerships to build capacity around the Five Promises
Increase opportunities for youth voice, youth Increase opportunities for youth voice, youth engagement, and academic successengagement, and academic success
Connecting & Mobilizing Partner Organizations
• Identifying programs and resources from statewide and national partners to share with schools & communities.
• Providing opportunities for networking and collaboration for statewide organizations.
• Sharing needs assessments, best practices & great ideas from schools & communities.
• Building capacity to deliver the Five Promises through a Statewide Partner Promise Fellow Corps
• Modeling and providing a source of youth voice & youth action with a statewide Youth Advisory Council
Strengthening School-Community Partnerships
• Providing opportunities for networking and collaboration.
• Sharing programs and resources from state and national partners.
• Collecting and sharing best practices & great ideas from schools & communities.
• Recognizing and celebrating school & community success.
• Supporting schools & communities in engaging and supporting young people.
Increasing Youth Voice Youth Engagement & Academic Success
Increasing youth civic engagement through:• Youth Leadership Opportunities & Development• Youth Service & Service Learning• Authentic Youth-Adult PartnershipsSupporting youth civic engagement through:• Sharing Civic Engagement Best Practices, Great
Ideas, Programs and Resources for Youth Engagement
• Providing opportunities for youth voice & youth action
• Recognizing and Celebrating Young People
Youth Voice & Youth Action
Statewide Youth Advisory Council Lieutenant Governor’s Red Wagon Awards Delta Dental Serve a Smile Program for
National & Global Youth Service Day Promise Fellow Service-Learning & Civic
Engagement Programs Resources: My Voice, Connecting is Key,
Power of 5, 5 Promises Ambassadors Network
Online Youth Program Directory
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows in Minnesota
The Alliance hosts the AmeriCorps Promise Fellows, who work with partners, schools and communities across the state, building capacity around our key strategies to fulfill the Five Promises for every young person in Minnesota.
The work of the Fellows Coordinate volunteers to serve as
mentors, tutors, and on service projects with youth
Develop key partnerships between schools, communities, and parents
Engage young people in service, service-learning, and leadership activities
Involve youth in developing collaborations within their communities
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows
Over the last three years, Fellows have:
Directly served over 129,000 young people Recruited 17,000 youth volunteers serving
over 112,000 hours in their communities. Recruited over 10,900 adult volunteers
serving over 146,000 hours working with youth.
Supported mentoring, tutoring, and service learning programs that led to improved academic performance in 69% of participants.
How does it work in communities?
Example of Multi-Sector Collaborations:
Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, Northfield, MN
Northfield Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) Formed in 1992 Original partners – City of Northfield,
Northfield Public Schools, and Northfield Hospital; expanded over the years
Strength-based approach to youth development – 40 assets and 5 Promises
Over the past 5 years, HCI has Over the past 5 years, HCI has helped bring in nearly helped bring in nearly $2 million$2 million from outside the community to from outside the community to benefit youth effortsbenefit youth efforts
HCI Overview Not about running programs – they convene,
connect, & mobilize
Identify gaps and opportunities around youth issues in the community – help fill these gaps and take advantage of opportunities
Bring partners together to expand mentoring opportunities, after school options, graduation initiatives, and school/community connectedness
They are an umbrella for other things to happen…
HCI Initiatives – YOUTH
Northfield Mentoring Coalition Mayor’s Youth Council Familias en Accion/TORCH Middle School Youth Center Youth Sports Collaborative YouthPlus
HCI Initiatives – PARENTS
Parent Education and Resource Liaisons (PEARLs)
Parent Communication Network Parenting Events Parent Resource Carts
HCI Initiatives – Community & Capacity Building
Rice County Chemical Health Coalition Fundraising for youth organizations Mini-grants to projects that build youth
assets Recognition/celebration community
events Continuing education events
HCI Impact in Northfield
Mentoring matches have increased by 65% in past 4 years
Youth substance use has decreased More after school opportunities for
youth Latino graduation rates increasing More opportunities for youth to have
voice in community dialogues
Northfield Mayor’s Youth Council
Formed in spring 2006 13 high school students - diverse group! Mayor appoints and City Council approves City-level commission (like other city boards) Charge: To provide youth input into civic affairs
and to work on initiatives that positively impact Northfield youth
Key Outcomes for the Alliance
Promoting a common vision for Minnesota community-wide youth development. o Increased number of volunteers (Youth &
Adults) serving their communities.o Increased number of opportunities for
leadership, service, and civic engagement. o Increased number of communities working
collaboratively WITH Youth.
“The Little Red Wagon – a symbol of childhood. It could be filled with a child’s hopes and dreams or weighed down with their burdens. Millions of American children need our help to pull that wagon along. Let’s all pull together.”
“We have no choice but to keep moving in this direction, to keep giving of our resources, our time, our talent, and our energy – because the need is still there. The need is still great. There are still youngsters who are looking to use for a promise.”
–Colin Powell, Founding Chairman, America’s Promise