Triton focuses on building positive relationships between youth and adults

by TLos | Jan 22, 2025 | Our Work in Action

Triton Developmental Trainings

We all know there are certain qualities, skills and relationships youth need to help them thrive and make healthy choices. While research has shown the positive cumulative effect of these protective factors, it has also shown the powerful impact a positive relationship between a youth and a trusted adult can have in helping the youth feel supported and make healthy choices. This year, Triton Regional School District is committed to building more of these meaningful relationships between youth and staff.

Recent youth survey results from Trition Middle and High School found this positive relationship is less about the subject you teach, but more about the relationship between the adult and the student. When asked what makes them feel most seen or connected to an adult in school, youth most common responses were, “they say hi to me in the hall, they ask me about my weekend, and they listen to me”. It may not be as complicated or time intensive as you’d expect. Here we see, the most impactful ways adults can interact with youth center around relationship building and showing you care.

Triton staff were first briefed on the Developmental Relationships during a professional development day in October. The Developmental Relationships framework was created by the Search Institute as a way to identify ways to intentionally build these connections between youth and adults. The five qualities of these relationships include, Express Care, Challenge Growth, Provide Support, Share Power and Expand Possibilities. A more recent professional development day in January centered on seeing results from the youth in terms of what made them feel they had a trusted adult. Teachers were then asked to think about ways they could intentionally build these impactful relationships with more of their students.

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About Us The Essex County Asset Builder (ECAB) Network creates regional connections and supports for individuals, families and organizations from Amesbury, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport, in using a positive youth development approach to help youth thrive. Positive Youth Development

The Positive Youth Development approach engages youth with peers, family and community in a way that enhances their strengths and promotes positive outcomes. It can also be used as an approach to prevention that encourages healthy decisions.
A positive youth development approach to prevention is an effective, evidence based way to look at the opioid epidemic and how we can prevent future harm to our youth. Specifically, it uses a whole community approach rather than just relying on schools and social services agencies.

Being a part of the ECAB Network brings local and regional opportunities. Locally, communities have access to trainings, data, and best practices, and receive guidance on implementation and outreach strategies that build positive youth development possibilities. Communities also get the benefit of regionalizing efforts, where networking, combining resources, current policies, and a shared vision strengthen the towns and cities as well as the region. History Recently, the communities of Amesbury, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport came together to form the Essex County Asset Builder Network. Funded by a three year grant, the goal of this Network is to create a common language of asset- based youth development (creating protective factors). It has been shown that youth who have more assets are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. This grant will use the 40 Developmental Assets framework to build these protective factors and reduce risk behaviors by focusing on both the youth and the environment that shapes them. The community partnership will enhance the great work already being done to support youth and families, as well as expand community supports, opportunities, and resources. Additionally, the grant will collect and disseminate regional data, coordinate shared resources and bring educational opportunities for various sectors of the community. Goal To spread the philosophy and practice of the positive youth development approach through implementation of 40 Developmental Asset framework within communities across the region. We will accomplish this goal by:

Collecting and disseminating regional and community specific data that can then be shared and used among all agencies.
Increasing the number of community members who feel comfortable using the language of positive youth development and the 40 Developmental Assets approach
Increasing the number of community members who implement a positive youth development approach in their work
Increasing the number of developmental assets youth report

Mission To use a positive youth development approach to build networks within each community and across the region that help decrease risk behaviors in youth and produce a healthier community. Vision A network of communities that welcome, value and empower youth through meaningful opportunities and collaborative efforts to support and strengthen youth assets and increase healthy decision making.