Connecting for Success

Helping All Students Succeed Middle School can be tough — peer pressure, academic stress, drugs, and distractions. Sadly, thousands of young students in Hawai‘i are struggling through sixth, seventh, and eighth grades; their poor attendance, behavior, and course work all signal a greater likelihood that they will drop out during high school.

In 2013, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation brought together 15 funders to launch “Connecting for Success” at 10 middle schools.

It’s a groundbreaking program that helps schools use real-time data to keep track of middle school students who are at risk of dropping out and develop programs that help those students reconnect to school in a way that can change the trajectory of their lives.

Key to the program’s effectiveness is its use of data, starting with the Department of Education’s Hawai‘i Early Warning System.

“An integral part of the initiative was helping teachers develop the ability to track the right data and helping teams use it to target interventions for students who needed them most.”

— KAREN LEE, FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HAWAI‘I P20 PARTNERSHIPS FOR EDUCATION

The impact thus far for over 2,000 students who are getting extra support from school and community mentors has been transformative. “The changes we’ve seen in our students come not from guessing but from knowing what’s going on with them,” said Amy Kendziorski, Principal of Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School. “The kids are better off, and so is the school.”

Whether shooting hoops or shooting the breeze together, adolescent boys get the chance to interact with committed, conscientious men like Steve Evans through the Boys to Men Mentoring Hawai‘i program at Waimea Middle School.

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h awa i ‘ i c o m m u n i t y f o u n d a t i o n | t h e f u t u r e o f p h i l a n t h r o p y

“The value of a group of funders that can align behind one goal and commit to a multi-year effort multiplies the impact we can have.”

— Mike Mohr, The Omidyar Group

Connecting with male role models like Officer Cacho in informal settings can help boys make good choices and grow into good men.

Yoga and meditation are part of the girl’s mentorship program at Waimea Middle School.

o v e r t h e pa s t t h r e e y e a r s , c o n n e c t i n g f o r s u c c e s s h a s h a d a m e a s u r a b l e i m pa c t :

93%

of at-risk students in the program were promoted to 10th grade compared to 86.5% overall in Hawai‘i DOE

52%

of participating students received A’s and B’s in English (compared to 32% of similar students)

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39%

of connected students received A’s and B’s in math (compared to 21% of similar students)

catalyst f o r c h a n g e

define success

build net wor ks

change systems

We helped educators use data to identify and track at-risk youth, and use common metrics to evaluate the results.

We created a Community of Learners for participating schools and their community partners to share what works.

We provided training and resources to help schools find new ways of engaging at-risk middle school students.

To learn more visit HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org/CFS

ch a nge s y s t e m s de f i n e succe s s

bu i l d n e t wor k s