Asset Message of the Week - Survey Reflections

Last week, we went through the process of resurveying Middletown youth using the Search Institute’s Profiles of Student Life survey. The administration of the survey which reached out to approximately 2,200 students in grades 7-12 (including Adult Education) went extremely smoothly and a lot of that is due to the work of school system staff and administration. Additionally, feedback we’ve received has been really strong around how seriously the students took filling out the survey. The previous two week’s really have been a whirlwind (see our blog post on all the preparation here: http://middletownyouthservices.blogspot.com/2011/12/week-of-survey-preperation.html)  and we really appreciate all the partnerships needed to pull off all this work.


Now that the smoke has cleared, we really have the opportunity to reflect on how a survey of this nature generates such positive outcomes in our community. This spring will mark the five year anniversary of the release of our initial survey and of the all the work that has gone into building a universal language community-wide around supporting our youth. The data released in 2006 was such an amazing springboard for conversations that took place in all parts of Middletown, from City Hall to schools’ staff meeting and PTAs, from afterschool programs to churches to civic organizations so many people were able to gather together around this framework and what our kids’ were saying about growing up in Middletown. With all the great work that has come from the survey I thought it would be a nice opportunity to briefly celebrate some of the initial key outcomes.

The first is around the use of students in sharing the results in the community. Dr. David Blumenkrantz who has worked with the YSB as a key advisor in this initiative insisted that when the results were released, that they be shown to a group of students even before key stakeholders like the Mayor or Superintendent of Schools got a chance to see it. Furthermore, no one outside of the students would get to see it until the big launch where the students themselves would announce the results along with a national facilitator from the Search Institute. Apparently, we were on of the first communities if not the first in this facilitator’s 30+ year career in this work, to co-present along with teens. What this also did, was set a critical notion that has carried with us throughout the first five years, and that is that teens need to be the driving force behind these discussions. By empowering the students to “own” their data, they were the ones who set the tone for any discussion that was to follow; their priorities would become our priorities.

One of the ways we’ve helped students promote their priorities was through a poster series aimed at increasing the percentage of an individual asset. A total of 30 students had a chance to create an individualized poster which were disseminated throughout the community. The posters can be seen here: http://www.assetpromise.org/uploads/pdf/posters/AssetsPosters_AllSchools.pdf

The final outcome that I wanted to note came directly from a conversation which with then-Mayor Sebastian Giuliano. As highlighted in many of the above posters, one of the most glaring statistics from 2006 was that only 19% of our kids felt valued by the community. As we discussed this figure and asked the questioned how do we improve on it, one of the answers became “we involve them in our community’s decision making process”; and from there the City’s Youth in Government program was born. It became a great example of the intentional and purposeful involvement of teens and of the simplicity of asset building (we’re holding these meetings anyway, why not involve them). Today the program has expanded to include 12 boards/commissions within the city and involves close to 20 young people each year.

In the next week, we’ll be shipping off this latest batch of surveys to be tabulated by the folks at the Search Institute and will be eagerly awaiting the results. A lot can happen in five years and this is a great opportunity for us to revisit what and how we’re doing as a community in supporting our youth. It’s possible some assets will increase while some might need additional improvements but the importance in data like this goes beyond the numbers because it gets us talking about the “whys” and the “hows” that create real community change. I know these next several months will fly by but as the spring approaches, I hope that you will all find the time to take part in the community discussions that will follow the release of the results and in continuing your commitment to support Middletown youth.

Thanks for all you do and have a great weekend.