Mesquite Promise in the News

Background of the Mesquite Promise

We believe that we share with our community a mutual goal of removing barriers and surrounding young people with the support they need to grow up successfully. Mesquite ISD is committed to creating a culture of dignity that leads to belonging for our students, staff and stakeholders. 

Under the direction of Dr. LaDonna Gulley, the Mesquite Promise was locally-developed and rigorously vetted by multiple committees as part of the district's leadership and empowerment initiative. The collective work of many MISD programs, committees and departments is directly represented in the Promise. The Promise is rooted in research-based practices and reflects a focus on engaging the community in support of the established vision and values of Mesquite ISD.

The Purpose of the Promise:

• Create a lens to view our shared commitment and common understanding of the collective vision for youth success.
• Promote a framework to identify opportunities for adults to actively encourage and support positive habits in our young people.
• Provide simple strategies and resources for creating an environment that prioritizes dignity, belonging and the positive development of young people.
   

Join the Promise Movement:

Supporting and participating in the Mesquite Promise is simple and anyone can join the movement. All you have to do is:

1. Believe in the core principles

2. Embody and encourage the habits

3. Click here to submit your promise

To request more information or schedule a presentation with your campus or organization, contact Dr. LaDonna Gulley at lgulley@mesquiteisd.org or 972-882-8782.

Research Behind the Promise

In the 1990’s research shifted focus from a deficit reduction and prevention paradigm to a strengths building approach, which aims at understanding what strengths, resources and experiences are important for successful youth development (Damon, 2004; Benson et al., 2006; Duncan et al., 2007; Lerner and Steinberg, 2009; Bonell et al., 2016).

Increasing attention has been directed toward factors that benefit healthy youth development, which led to the emergence of models centering attention on the strengths, resources, and positive experiences of youth and their developmental contexts, seeking thus to conceptualize a positive development in adolescence (Eccles and Gootman, 2002; Damon, 2004; Hamilton et al., 2004; Small and Memmo, 2004; Lerner et al., 2006).

Additional Resources:

Search Institute 40 Developmental Assets