EMPOWERING FAMILIES
Pilot program wants to help young people become resilient adults
NORTH COVENTRY >> Research has shown that children need 40 developmental assets to mature into resilient adults.
North Coventry Elementary School recently became the first school in Pennsylvania to implement a program that gets parents and children focused on building those assets.
The program, locally dubbed Empowering Families, consists of a 13-week curriculum that parents and children attend one night a week. More than 50 families from North Coventry, East Coventry and East Vincent Elementary Schools are participating.
During each session, participants engage in stories and activities to learn essential building blocks that can empower the entire family. The lessons are based on research that has shown that the more assets a child has in her life, the more likely he or she is to engage in healthy behaviors, avoid risky behaviors, and thrive.
“It’s not a parenting class,” explained North Coventry Elementary Instructional Support Teacher Kellie Bean, who was instrumental in securing a grant for the program. “It’s not focused on what families are doing wrong. These are skills that all children need.”
Empowering Families is
North Coventry Elementary School’s name for a program that was developed by a non-profit organization called RezilientKidz. The organization encourages schools that use the program to “name it something that gets people to buy into it,” explained North Coventry Principal Brad Bentman.
Bentman and Bean learned of the program while attending a National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NSEA) Conference in Kansas City, MO, where they were accepting a National ESEA Distinguished School Award. North Coventry was one of only two Pennsylvania schools honored with that award in 2018.
Bentman said they were intrigued by the program after visiting a RezilientKidz vendor table, and they decided to apply for a grant.
“We were the first school in Pennsylvania to be awarded the grant and run the program,” Bentman said.
RezilientKidz started the program on the West Coast, primarily in Spanish speaking communities.
“They got such great results, and they are now trying to grow the program,” Bean said.
According to the RezilientKidz website, the 40 developmental assets that the program fosters are based on decades of research by the Search Institute, an organization that “conducts and applies research to promote positive youth development.”
The 40 assets are broken into categories of external and internal assets. External assets are built around family supports, empowerment, boundaries and constructive use of time. Internal assets are grouped by commitment to learning, positive values, social competence and positive identity.
“The more building blocks you have, the more able you are to handle challenges in life. The fewer building blocks you have, the more at risk you are,” explained Bean.
Bentman said he wanted to bring Empowering Families to North Coventry for several reasons. For one thing, the school is designated a Title One school, with a large population of low-income students.
“We wanted to be able to offer this free educational piece to our families so they can support kids at home,” Bentman said.
What’s more, the school’s teachers and administrators pride themselves on the strong connection they have with families.
“We feel it’s important to continue that connection with our families,” Bentman explained.
Besides that, Bentman felt the program had something to offer that families were unlikely to find elsewhere.
“It’s very unique. I don’t know of anything else like this,” Bentman said.
Both Bean and Bentman said they were pleasantly surprised by the response to the program, which requires families to commit to 13 weeks of evening sessions. Initially, they had anticipated that fewer than a dozen parents would sign up. Instead, more than 50 are registered.
They plan to conduct assessments to measure the impact of the program, and, if it’s successful, they hope to host the program again.
“Being a parent is a really tough job,” Bean noted. “This gives them face-to-face time with other adults and acknowledges that we’re all here to support each other.”