Kids do well, if they can

After the long commute to Boston, 32 hours of intensive training, and countless conversations with experts in the field, I found myself back in the Berkshire hills with a new intentionality for ensuring all of our young people are supported in their development. The training I attended is called the BEST Initiative (Building Exemplary Systems of Training), and it was facilitated by the Boston-based nonprofit, Health Resources in Action.

One of many topics discussed at this training was developmental outcomes.  Often times, we tend to focus on achievement-based outcomes, or the idea that young people are deemed successful when they transition to young adulthood and gain stable employment or pursue higher education; we forget about the developmental outcomes or soft skills it takes to get to those achievements, some of which are listed in the chart below.

Achievement	Developmental
·         Getting a job ·         High school diploma ·         Recommendation ·         Passing the PARCC ·         Internship ·         College ·         Scholarship	·         Confidence ·         Relationships ·         Social skills ·         Leadership skills ·         Presentation skills ·         Appreciating diversity ·         Sense of responsibility ·         Ability to control behavior

Members of our Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC) are committed to creating opportunities throughout the county to ensure our young people develop these soft skills, which will help them achieve future success.  We know that, behind challenging behavior our youth exhibit, are opportunities for building developmental skills – kids do well if they can.

If you would like to increase youth access to positive, healthy opportunities in our community by joining the Positive Youth Development Impact Council, please contact me at ktoomey@berkshireunitedway.org or 413-442-6948 x 15.

I hope to hear from you!

Kat

Coordinator of Positive Youth Development