REPORT TITLE:
Mentoring pilot program


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes a community/school-based pilot mentoring program at
Nanakuli Intermediate and High School, Waimanalo Elementary and
Intermediate School, and Samuel Wilder King Intermediate School.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1521
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO MENTORING.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that adults from within a
 
 2 school's surrounding community working side-by-side with students
 
 3 in the classroom have a positive affect on student academic
 
 4 performance, their social and cultural development, and their
 
 5 classroom decorum.  The presence of adults from the community in
 
 6 the classroom on a daily basis increases classroom learning time
 
 7 and contributes to a more orderly and respectful learning
 
 8 environment.  This results in students who are academically,
 
 9 socially, and culturally better prepared to move into the next
 
10 grade level, into the workforce, and into the community.
 
11      The purpose of this Act is to create a safe and positive
 
12 learning environment in the classroom by establishing a
 
13 community/school-based pilot mentoring program.
 
14      SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established a two-year
 
15 demonstration project known as the community/school-based pilot
 
16 mentoring program at Nanakuli intermediate and high school,
 
17 Waimanalo elementary and intermediate school, and Samuel Wilder
 
18 King intermediate school.  The mentoring program shall:
 
19      (1)  Be a joint effort between the community and the school;
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1521
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (2)  Incorporate adult mentors into the classrooms to
 
 2           enhance the students' academic, social, and cultural
 
 3           skills as they assist the students in their learning
 
 4           and development;
 
 5      (3)  Serve one thousand students during the first year of
 
 6           the demonstration project; and
 
 7      (4)  Serve an additional one thousand students during the
 
 8           second year of the demonstration project.
 
 9      (b)  Each school shall adhere to the following:
 
10      (1)  Adults in the classroom shall act as mentors, not as
 
11           educational assistants;
 
12      (2)  A "puuhonua" or safe haven system shall be made
 
13           available on campus for student and school community
 
14           use;
 
15      (3)  Tutorial help for students shall be made available;
 
16      (4)  Contact with the mentor and the family shall be made
 
17           early in the relationship, and shall include home
 
18           visits;
 
19      (5)  There shall be assistance to connect students to needed
 
20           services such as counseling, health, and guidance
 
21           services;
 
22      (6)  Special resources shall be planned for such issues as
 
23           healthy lifestyles, career opportunities, teen
 
24           pregnancy, substance abuse, and grooming; and
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1521
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (7)  There shall be memorandums of understanding between the
 
 2           mentoring program, the school/district, and other
 
 3           service providers.
 
 4      (c)  The Hawaiian culture shall be used to complement and
 
 5 enhance the mentoring program by:
 
 6      (1)  Helping students make connections with the Hawaiian
 
 7           culture; and
 
 8      (2)  Reinforcing the basic values of the "aloha spirit",
 
 9           respect, and responsibility.
 
10      (d)  Each school shall evaluate annually the effectiveness
 
11 of the mentoring program using the following criteria, including
 
12 but not limited to:
 
13      (1)  Increased learning in the classroom as verified by the
 
14           teachers;
 
15      (2)  Ninety-five per cent school attendance to comply with
 
16           federal standards;
 
17      (3)  Reduced student office referrals by twenty per cent
 
18           over two years;
 
19      (4)  Twenty per cent reduction in core subject matter
 
20           failures; and
 
21      (5)  Increased drug-free and alcohol-free environment as
 
22           verified by the teachers.
 

 
 
 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1521
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      Each school shall submit a report of its findings and
 
 2 recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days
 
 3 prior to the regular sessions of 2000 and 2001.
 
 4      (e)  The community/school-based mentoring program shall
 
 5 cease to exist on June 30, 2001.
 
 6      SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
 7 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $750,000 or so much
 
 8 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000 and the sum
 
 9 of $750,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
 
10 year 2000-2001 to establish the community/school-based pilot
 
11 mentoring program at Nanakuli intermediate and high school,
 
12 Waimanalo elementary and intermediate school, and Samuel Wilder
 
13 King intermediate school.
 
14      SECTION 4.  The sums appropriated shall be expended by the
 
15 department of education for the purposes of this act.
 
16      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
17 
 
18                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________