Project Cornerstone
"By volunteering just 2 to 3 hours per month, our Asset Building Champions build relationships with young people by reading selected books and leading classroom activities and discussions with a focus on empathy, tolerance, peaceful conflict resolution, resiliency, caring and friendship. Children learn what to do if they encounter bully behaviors and how to become an UPstander.”
----Project Cornerstone, YMCA
What is Project Cornerstone?
At Saratoga Elementary School, we are Asset Builders!
Project Cornerstone was founded in 1999 after a survey showed that most youth in Santa Clara County are missing the positive relationships, opportunities, values, and skills— known collectively as “developmental assets”—that provide the foundation for a healthy, successful future. In general, the more developmental assets that young people possess, the more likely they are to avoid risky behaviors and engage in positive, healthy activities. At Saratoga Elementary School, we are Asset Builders -- which means we are constantly looking for ways to provide meaningful learning experiences for our students where they feel safe, have a sense of community and belonging, and have a rich network of trusted adult role models with whom they can interact and rely on. For more information about Project Cornerstone: http://www.projectcornerstone.org/html/missionhistory.html
The Asset Building Champions Program
ABC is Project Cornerstone’s effective parent engagement program. It is composed of a preschool and elementary school strand, with more than 2,900 adults reading to 38,000+ kids in 127 schools. Volunteers have training in the developmental assets model for positive youth development. They are prepared to read a specially selected children’s book and lead related activities and discussions in classrooms each month.
The program’s goal is to help school communities achieve the following:
Create a common language and vocabulary about student respect and behavior expectations among all members of the school community — students, parents and caregivers, teachers and staff.
Help students develop skills to handle physical, verbal, relational and digital bullying and to STAND UP when they see bullying.
Increase the number of caring adults on campus so that all students feel that there is at least one adult they can turn to if they have a problem.
Contribute to a positive school climate where every student feels valued and supported to achieve and thrive.