"The great aim of education is not knowledge but action" - Herbert Spencer 

The America's Rising Stars* process was designed to help today's youth develop their personal leadership skills. Leadership is essential in enabling youth to develop character, confidence, and values that promote the goal of healthy behavior. 

A recent research report, Workforce 2020: Work & Workers in the 21st Century, Carol D'Amico found that employers grouped leadership as one of the essential skills entry-level workers lacked. This group of skills included strong work ethic, problem solving, creativity, along with organizational and interpersonal skills. These skills were ranked ahead of writing, math, and reading. Developing their personal leadership skills empowers our youth to grow up feeling confident with themselves and with their ability to achieve goals.

America's Rising Stars is an innovative and unique inside-out development program that focuses on three critical elements that promote personal leadership, healthy behaviors, and the skills employers identify as essential. These elements are:

- Developing attitudes

- Developing interpersonal skills

- Developing goal-achievement skills

This process typically begins by developing positive attitudes among the participants about themselves and about the possibilities that exist for them. Attitudes will directly determine in many cases whether a student turns a problem into an opportunity or succumbs to it. The goal achieving and interpersonal skills developed during this process enhances the students' ability to assess the impact of their present behavior on their present ... and future ... success.

The Rising Stars Program employs innovative learning methods of: 

• self directed learning where students take responsibility for their own personal improvement

• constructivism where facilitation recognizes how to shorten the learning curve

• collaborative/team learning activities that support educational research

To conclude, developing personal leadership is a critical component to bringing today's youth into society and the workforce as healthy, productive contributors. Rising Stars proven process instills these behaviors along with an additional return on investment through prevention and reduction of risk behavior.

* America's Rising Stars was developed exclusively and is owned by Resource Associates Corporation, Copyright 2002-2003.