Spencerport school district
sets summit on Community of Character

A community of caring project implemented by the Spencerport school system as part of the New York State Department of Education’s Character Education initiatives has grown to a much larger scale.

"It has grown from being a school-wide program to being a Community of Character program that encompasses not only the school but all of Spencerport," summit co-chair and Board of Education member John Goehle said.

Developmental Assets are part of a growing nation and county-wide initiative that seeks to build and strengthen youth, and ultimately the community surrounding those youth.

A survey was distributed to more than 783 students in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades in Spencerport, Goehle said. It addressed items such as "reading for pleasure" and "family spirit." The Search Institute that administers the Youth Development Assets has determined there are 40 qualities or characteristics that youth can possess such as participation in after-school activities or values diversity. The research has also shown that the more characteristics the youth possesses, the more successful they will be and the more likely they will be able to resist negative influences and pressures.

Goehle said family spirit rated high in the students surveyed, but the one surprise result of the survey was that only 20 percent of the students said they read for pleasure. "The district offers a lot of in school reading time and Drop Everything and Read sessions and while the survey number seems to indicate a weakness, we have to wonder if the students didn’t take into consideration the reading time offered in the schools."

The information from the survey will be disseminated to attendees at the summit, he said. The summit will explain the developmental assets, interpret what the youth had to say about their own assets, explain what a Community of Character is and will also offer a time for members to gather to discuss their concerns in individualized groups.

"We wanted to look at programs to improve the health and welfare of the kids … prevention programs," Goehle said. "Too often we wait until a child has started smoking then we enroll them in a stop smoking program or after a teenager has given birth, then we discuss abstinence programs – this is a proactive approach to character building."

The April 27 Ogden-Spencerport Summit is being sponsored by the Town of Ogden, Village of Spencerport, Spencerport Schools, the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ogden-Spencerport Ecumenical Council and the Monroe County Rochester Youth Bureau.

"We hope to get community members from all walks of life to attend," Goehle said. "Parents, students, neighborhood groups, church and youth groups, senior citizens, law enforcement and doctors."

Note: Information and registration details can be obtained by calling 594-8947 or by email at: osyd@rochester.rr.com