Native Hawaiian Mentoring Project
The Nā Hoaaloha Native Hawaiian Mentoring Project, funded by the USDOE under the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, was designed to enable upper elementary students to develop the skills and emotional resilience necessary for successful academic performance and graduation through a school based after-school and weekend mentoring program. It was successfully implemented as a three-component intervention program that addressed the needs of our youth, their peers, and families for students at Hālau Lōkahi Public Charter School and other Kalihi-Palama area public schools. These components included:
- A One-on-One Mentoring Component to provide each of our high-risk youth with a mentor who will spend quality time each week with the student in a variety of activities, including social, recreational, cultural activities and field trips and career planning events.
- A Regular, On-Going Mentor/Mentee Component requiring a minimum of one mentoring activity or more per week.
- A Year-Long Mentor/Mentee Component, which will afford youth the opportunity to develop a relationship with their mentors over a minimum of a 12 month period.
The project was also designed to meet GPRA standards focused on: (1) improving academic skills, (2) reducing absenteeism and unexcused absences, and (3) increasing school bonding. In addition to the three basic program components, NNEF created and implemented multiple mentoring program activities designed to support student learning in and out of school, and increase exposure to the arts, Hawaiian culture, community activities, and proactive citizenship. These activities included: Social Skill Building, Arts, Life Skills, Academic, Job/Career Related Hawaiian Cultural (Contemporary), Hawaiian Spiritual/Historical, Civic and Community Volunteering.