State Grant AIDS Yaqui Mentoring Program
Posted on: Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 09:01 CDT
A Pascua Yaqui student mentoring program that saw an increase in attendance and self-esteem is getting ready for the school year.
Recently StrengthBuilding Partners, a non-profit training and coaching organization for students and families, announced a $149,284 grant from the Arizona Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families.
The grant was awarded to continue 3-year-old mentoring programs at Johnson Primary, Lawrence Intermediate and Hohokam Middle schools and their partnerships with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
In partnerships with Tucson Unified School District, Sunnyside Unified School District and the STAR Academic Center, StrengthBuilding Partners pairs Yaqui tribal employees with students.
A tribal work policy allows employees to volunteer in schools during their workday for up to five hours a month.
There are currently 72 pairs of mentors and mentored in the program.
"When I learned about this valuable program for our children, I signed up to be a mentor myself," said Herminia Frias, chairwoman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. "In fact, we now have seven Tribal Council members who have committed to be mentors. Both children and mentors benefit."
According to a two-year UA program evaluation by Sally Stevens, students in the program reported an increased perception of seeing caring adults in their lives, said Pamela Clark-Raines, president of StrengthBuilding Partners and program director for the grant.
The evaluation showed a decrease in the number of acts in which the mentored were victimized and a positive increase in school beliefs, attitudes, and school attendance.
This year the tribe plans to start a pilot "work environment program" that will pair students, mostly Hohokam Middle School eighth-graders, with mentors at their job sites.
The tribe hopes to extend the mentoring program to the middle school students as they enter high school.
* Contact reporter Levi J. Long at 807-8414 or llong@azstarnet.com.
Source: Arizona Daily Star
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