Report Title:

Education; community service

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hawaii's students face both immense opportunities and great challenges in the New Economy, which demands a quality workforce; and

WHEREAS, to meet these challenges, Hawaii's students must be proficient in core academic areas, as well as knowledgeable and skilled in real world situations; and

WHEREAS, an effective means of ensuring that students are prepared for employment and higher education is to incorporate work experience, community service, or service learning into the school curriculum; and

WHEREAS, findings show that community service is an effective way to create a feeling of pride and a sense of belonging for students; and

WHEREAS, through community service, students also experience the satisfaction of making meaningful contributions to their communities and gain a better understanding of how to balance personal, work, and community responsibilities and demands; and

WHEREAS, community service is currently offered by some public schools as an option to acquire credits, which are applicable toward high school graduation requirements; and

WHEREAS, this has proven very effective in building personal and community responsibility in young individuals and providing them with an effective means of learning; and

WHEREAS, facilitating Hawaii's high school student's ability to perform community service would be of great assistance to the community and help support Hawaii's non-profit organizations; and

WHEREAS, another area where students might get involved in the community is through service learning, which provides an opportunity for students to integrate, through a community project, practical application of what they are learning with their course of work; and

WHEREAS, for example, Hawaii's School-to-Work Program has been instrumental in providing public school students with opportunities for meaningful work experience, and has been one of the nation's leaders in implementing service learning programs; and

WHEREAS, participating in community service, work experience, or service learning would also assist Hawaii's students in obtaining scholarships and post high school job opportunities; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Education (BOE) is requested to establish a program that will facilitate the voluntary participation of high school students in community service, work experience, or service learning; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the BOE work with the Department of Education in establishing this program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the BOE submit a report of the actions taken pursuant to this Concurrent Resolution to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Education.