What are "Assets"
Youth developmental assets are the individual qualities and social supports that help children and youth make good decisions and grow to be healthy and successful. Success is defined as becoming a self-sufficient, caring and contributing member of the community.

Build Assets

AASB's Long Range Plan & Child Advocacy
In 1991, the AASB Board of Directors developed a child advocacy mission statement that ultimately resulted in a specific advocacy strand being added to the Association’s Long Range Plan. Advocacy for the shared responsibility for educating public school children was a central emphasis that is supported by AASB's traditional roles of effecting legislation, delivering board member education, offering policy services, actively collaborating with other concerned partners, and public relations. The significance of this deliberate focus should not be overlooked, as it has expanded the role of AASB and Alaskan school boards. Building "assets" has been a natural outgrowth of this child advocacy focus.

Description of AASB's Child Advocacy Service
AASB's advocacy effort provides school board members with ideas on how to motivate, educate, and activate their own local school boards and communities to work together by building on their strengths and building the assets in each youth that will ultimately help them to succeed. The presentation on "Building Assets in Youth" is in great demand throughout Alaska. Services include teacher in-services, board development, student leadership workshops, and collaboration with state agencies.

AASB's Child Advocacy Service
AASB's advocacy effort provides school board members with ideas on how to motivate, educate, and activate their own local school boards and communities to work together by building assets in youth that will ultimately help them to succeed. Services include presentations on Building Assets, an Advocacy Network to advance district and AASB child advocacy goals, workshops for school staff and community members on how to be effective advocates for children, and collaboration among state organizations and agencies.

Helping Kids Succeed–Alaskan Style
Helping Kids Succeed–Alaskan Style is a culmination of an 18-month effort by several school district, agencies, and individuals. Over 4000 asset-building practices were collected from nearly 3000 Alaskans living in 114 communities. These practices were input into a database and reviewed by writers, reviewers and editors from across Alaska. Click here to find out more about the book .

Alaskan Assets Get Nationwide Attention
In the summer of 1998, Alaska was featured in a national magazine , Assets , for our work toward promoting assets in Alaska's youth. Click here to read the full article.

Build Assets: It's the Constitution
Remember the words: "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."  Click here to read full article.

The Advocacy Network
The advocacy role of school boards is to promote the parental, public, and social service commitment to the shared responsibility for educating Alaska’s public school children. The AASB Advocacy Network is made up of school board members who are selected, by their local board, to represent their district as a Child and Youth Advocate. Each Advocate serves as the conduit between their school board and the AASB Advocacy office in advancing district and AASB child advocacy goals.

Seminars
To assist school board members, educators, and community members on how to be effective advocates for children, AASB offers workshops designed to promote and integrate asset building throughout the community and school district. AASB offers programs for students, parents and families to expand public awareness of the advocacy role of AASB and school boards statewide.

T.O.P.P.S.
(The Training of Presenters and PromoterS for Building Assets in Alaska's Youth)
The Association of Alaska School Boards has put together several two-day training for presenters and promoters of Building Assets in Alaska's Youth. Our goal is to provide participants with the necessary information and tools to give workshops, seminars, presentations, and overviews.
Academic Credit Available
UAA ED 540C, section 141, is a three credit, pass/no pass, course associated with post workshop project based learning. To enroll in the course, contact the Alaska Staff Development Network at (907)364-3809 or asdn@ptialaska.net . Registration materials will also be available at the workshop.

Building Assets for Resilient Youth Forum
A forum to discuss and comment on what's happening at your site, and what you need help with and/or would like to share with others. Derek Peterson, Director of Child/Youth Advocacy will monitor questions and provide suggestions and comments. Please join us!

Collaboration
AASB works in concert with other organizations and agencies and helps you do the same at the local level. AASB is a statewide resource and can connect you with the appropriate individuals from state departments, non-profit agencies, social service organizations, and others to get the assistance your district needs.

Advocacy and the Legislature
AASB is your source for background and updates on legislation impacting the health and safety of Alaska’s public school children. AASB has information and resources to support your position on advocacy related legislation. Through the long range plan and resolutions, AASB actively works to gain support for legislation on behalf of Alaska’s youth.