Director, Justin Murrell
jmurrell@nenanalynx.org
(907) 832-2000

Address
P.O. Box 442
Nenana AK 99760
FAX: (907) 832-5277

Director

The Nenana Student Living Center is a place that often feels like a “home away from home.” Our staff genuinely desire to work with adolescents and to see them succeed. It is a place where many experience personal growth, achievement, healing, and maturity.

We subscribe to a philosophy of the Assets Framework which is described below in a segment taken from the Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement website (www.alaskaice.org): We usually think of assets as money or possessions. Their value grows over time. We can use them

in many ways. And the more of them we collect, the more secure we feel. The same is true of another kind of assets—youth developmental assets! When we speak of assets, we mean the key building blocks in children’s lives that help them grow up strong, capable, and caring. Like a dream catcher, assets are the supporting threads in a young person’s life that can keep away harm and invite goodness.

Some key principles of Asset Building are:

  • It’s about relationships

  • All children need assets

  • From infancy through adulthood, the process is ongoing

  • Everyone has a role to play

  • Small things count

The asset framework is a model that describes what we each can do to help kids succeed. It is based on the latest research on resiliency and on survey research done by Search Institute in Minnesota.

Parents can feel assured that staff at both the Nenana Student Living Center and at the Nenana City Public School has a genuine interest in getting to know each and every student that participates in our program.

Students and staff created a statement of vision and program goals together to share a common picture of the purpose of the NSLC:

The Nenana Student Living Center creates a safe nurturing home environment where students can succeed academically and socially. Students are challenged to set goals while understanding what it takes to achieve them. Our purpose for our students is to graduate with a quality education and the tools necessary for a life of success.

Student Goals:

  • Choose to achieve personal and educational success.

  • Reach out to new students.

  • Participate in activities and community involvement opportunities.

  • Role model good citizenship and success for others.

  • Mentor others.

  • Participate actively in school.

Staff Goals:

  • Ensure basic student needs are met (physical, academic, social, emotional, etc.).

  • Provide support to effectively integrate all new students.

  • Ensure that each student has regular opportunity for one-on-one time so they are known.

  • Provide and promote activities that encompass the “Assets” framework.

  • Role model responsible social behavior at all times.

  • Support students’ active participation in school and foster academic success.

Please continue to look through the different Nenana Student Living Center pages to see our activities and what our students have to say.