Up with Williston youth

The results are in on how healthy Williston's youth are. The community received the findings from the latest Search Institute Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors Survey conducted in December 2006 on Tuesday. It is the second survey to be conducted since "Healthy Williston ... Healthy Youth" was initiated in 2003.

It was quite a busy day for Marilyn Peplau, who presented the survey results entitled "What's Up with Williston Youth" to the Chamber of Commerce during a breakfast at the El Rancho Motor Hotel as well as at a teacher in-service and public forum. She is an educational trainer for Search Institute with Vision Training Associates.

Peplau was happy to be in the community, and the feeling was mutual. The staff at District 1, St. Joe's, Trinity Christian and New Public School District 8 got new insight into their students as to how they feel about Williston just in time for the 2007-2008 school year, which began today. She also had some students assist in the presentation to illustrate the people behind the results.

"These are not just numbers," Peplau said, "they're faces."

There were 1,255 students in grades six through 12 enrolled at all local schools who took the survey. Of the surveys completed, 49 percent were female and 51 percent were male. Peplau said that 21 surveys, or 2 percent, were discarded for not meeting one or more of the five criteria. She noted the reason those surveys were discarded was because the responses were not authentic. However, Peplau said the other students took the survey seriously due to the anonymity.

The Search Institute's framework of Developmental Assets provides a tool for assessing the health and well-being of middle and high school age youth. Those assets represent a common core of developmental building blocks crucial to all youth - regardless of community size, region of the country, gender, family economics and race/ethnicity.

Peplau presented the report summarizing the extent to which youth in Williston experience these assets and how the assets relate to their behavior. The 40 Developmental Assets are grouped into two major types - external and internal. External assets are the network of support, opportunities and people that stimulate and nurture positive growth in youth. Internal assets are the young person's own commitments, values and competencies.

She explained there are a couple of things paramount for increasing the number of assets in youth - promoting their strengths rather than fixing problems and building relationships instead of adding new community programs.

"Relationships are the key," Peplau said.

She said that young people in the United States experience too few of the 40 assets. The results reported that 20 percent of young people have 0-10 assets and are at risk development, 40 percent have 11-20 assets and are at vulnerable development, 32 percent have 21-30 assets and are at adequate development, and just eight percent have 31-40 assets and are at optimal development.

Search Institute's research on adolescents consistently has shown a small, but observable, decrease in assets among older youth in grades nine through 12 as compared with younger adolescents in grades six through eight. The average number of assets held by Williston's recently surveyed youth is 18.4.

The sixth graders are the most asset rich with 21.5 assets, Peplau said. However, students in grades 10 and 11 are the most deficit.

"They tend to have a little rise," she said, referring to the 16 assets graduating seniors possess.

Search Institute's research consistently shows that youth with higher levels of assets are involved in fewer risk-taking behaviors. The 24 risk-taking behaviors are alcohol use, binge drinking, smoking, smokeless tobacco, inhalants, marijuana, other illicit drugs, drinking and driving, riding with a driver who has been drinking, sexual intercourse, shoplifting, vandalism, trouble with police, hitting someone, hurting someone, use of a weapon, group fighting, carrying a weapon for protection, threatening physical harm, skipping school, gambling, eating disorders, depression and attempted suicided. The average number of risk-taking behaviors reported in youth with 0-10 assets is 8.6, 4.4 with 11-20 assets, 2 with 21-30 assets and 0.7 with 31-40 assets.

Student Mallory Nygard explained that 68 percent of youth reported high levels of love and family support. Only 27 percent reported positive communication with parents. Support is an external asset as well as empowerment, boundaries and expectations and constructive use of time.

"You need to talk to them about the tough stuff," she said.

Fifty-three percent reported service to others while only 22 percent reported that the community values young people. Seventy percent of youth reported positive peer influence. Less than 30 percent reported that they have adult role models.

Nearly two-thirds of youth surveyed reported spending one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution as constructive use of time. A mere 16 percent reported spending three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater or arts.

Students reported a higher percentage of external assets compared to internal assets, which are commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies and positive identity. A teacher in the audience noted that those findings conclude it's easier for youth to depend on others rather than themselves.

Sixty-five percent of youth surveyed reported they are motivated to do well in school. However, only 27 percent reported reading for pleasure three or more hours per week. Over 45 percent of all the students reported positive values such as caring, equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility and restraint with some types ranking higher than others like telling the truth even when it's not easy at 66 percent.

Forty-seven percent of youth reported seeking resolve conflict nonviolently. However, only 26 percent reported knowing how to plan ahead and make choices. A whopping 70 percent of young people reported being optimistic about his or her personal future. Even 41 percent reported that they feel he or she has control over "things that happen to me."

Student Vance Nygard believes there is a lot of room for improvement upon seeing the numbers reported. Student Paige Lambert said youth should be challenged to succeed an comforted if they fail. Peplau said not only will youth remember what they've been taught but also how you made them feel.

LeAnne Tracey, a Spanish teacher at Williston High School, said she used to keep relationships with her students at a distance. However, that changed after the tragic deaths of two students last spring. She noted that their mutual grieving created a life-long bond. Tracey still visits with some of her former students as they know she is someone to lean on for support. Some of those students may be in her class for four years.

"I realize how important it is to be close and maintain relationships with my students," she said.

Tracey said she was disappointed with the low percentage of students reading for pleasure as well as creative activities as constructive use of time. Those are things she plans on working this school year among. Many ideas swirled through her mind during the presentation. Tracey said she was informed as to the assets after the first survey was conducted four years ago and wants them to be at the forefront of institution in the schools.

"I think I am an asset builder," Tracey said. "I really didn't recognize that in myself."

Peplau said that good intentions are not going to help Williston's young people increase the number of assets but through action. She told the crowd that anyone can be an asset builder.

"You can be that turn around educator for youth," Peplau added.

There is plenty of information about asset building in the schools, families and workplace available at the HWHY office. For more information, contact Grant Administrator Assistant Kathy Bingeman at (701) 774- 7417.