COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County will be a community pilot in international efforts to study and enhance youth development.
The Council For Youth Development, the Indiana Department of Education, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. made the announcement.
BCSC Director of Secondary Instruction Bill Jensen said that this is an opportunity “to help youth around the world.”
“All of these groups are coming together for this project that we hope will be a replicable, international model for well-being of students,” he said.
The county has joined an international research team led by the International School Psychology Association, the International Institute for Child Rights and Development, Search Institute and the Indiana Department of Education “to advance current work in the area of positive youth development and child well-being.”
The county will work with the international team to study whether asset-based practices “reduce the effects of childhood trauma and improve youth resiliency.”
Jensen said that asset development focuses on building upon students’ “strengths and passions.”
“You’re really building upon strengths and giving students more assets so that they can be more resilient to adverse experiences,” he said. He added that this will also help prepare students for when they face challenges in adulthood as well.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
