Board Development

School Improvement & Community Engagement

–What are 'Assets'
–Alaska Assets Get Nationwide Attention
–Build Assets It's the Constitution
–Indicators and Behavior Patterns
–T.O.P.S.
–AASB Grant for Alaska ICE
–Curriculum Activites
–Helping Kids Succeed- Alaskan Style

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Helping Kids Succeed – Alaskan Style & Helping Little Kids Succeed - Alaskan Style

First published in 1998 by AASB and the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Helping Kids Succeed – Alaskan Style has been shared throughout the state, the nation and the world and is now in its 5th edition. A major aim of Helping Kids Succeed is to introduce the Developmental Assets Framework, developed by the Search Institute of Minnesota, to parents and adults who care about children and youth success in school and in life.

Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets are concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people. Assets are the supporting threads in a young person’s life, the key building blocks that can help them to grow up strong, capable and caring. This book is a tool for you to help make your community become a more positive environment where kids can grow and thrive. Parents, teachers, elders, faith communities, businesses, Native organizations, neighbors in the community; we all have a role to play in this ongoing process of promoting positive youth development through asset building.

The ideas laid out in the pages of Helping Kids Succeed – Alaskan Style were chosen from over 4,000 examples offered by people from 114 communities throughout Alaska. They came from workshops, cultural retreats and interviews from regions all across the state. The book presents practical ways of giving support and encouraging kids and offers methods for parents/extended family, Native communities, faith communities, and community members to incorporate assets into their daily lives.

And this isn't about complex approaches to showing children and teens your love and support. When it comes to showing kids how much you care, even the smallest things count. Click here to view some of the simplest ways to build assets in our youth!

Helping Kids Succeed – Alaskan Style is a great way to introduce people to assets and can also be used to build on a community’s existing knowledge of assets, inspiring them to see new possibilities for its use with children and teens. ICE staff can help community members, school staff, faith communities and other interested groups design and/or deliver a workshop around their specific needs.

Also, look for Helping LITTLE Kids Succeed - Alaskan Style, the companion book to Helping Kids Succeed, focused on building assets in our youngest ones, ages 0-6.

Contact Alaska ICE by email at alaskaice@aasb.org or give Laurie a call at (907) 586-1486 to learn more about Asset Building in Alaska or visit our on-line store to order a copy of Helping Kids Succeed – Alaskan Style today.