A PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE
BIG PROMISE OF LITTLE THINGS CHANGE COMES FROM EVERYONE
Connecting for Success
Changing Systems and Building Networks Keeps Middle Schoolers on Track
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emember those years between the pirate ship playground and high school chem lab? Ask most adults which chapter of their lives they never want to repeat, and middle school tops the list. It’s a tough time — social media, peer pressure, personal growth, and family instability can overwhelm students, leaving them no where to turn. Research proves that building personal connections with teachers and mentors keeps kids engaged at school, preventing them from risky behaviors and slipping through the cracks. Of Hawai‘i’s 37,000 middle school kids, over 6,000 will not graduate high school on time (if at all) without intervention. Connecting for Success (CFS) changes those odds. A program launched by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and 14 funders, CFS puts resources in 10 targeted Hawai‘i middle schools to identify, track, and provide services to struggling students. Over four years, more than 2,000 high-need students got the help they needed to establish strong school connections, boost attendance, and significantly
improve their academic performance. These kids — once at risk for dropping out — are now succeeding in middle school and looking to their future. The data-driven program tracks students on a real-time basis, looking at risk factors most likely to impede success. Teachers and counselors focus on those issues most critical to each student, from emotional and coping strategies to literacy intervention and cultivating strong mentor relations. “The changes we’ve seen in our students come not from guessing but from knowing what’s going on with them,” says Amy Kendziorski, Principal of Waimea Public Conversion Charter School on Hawai‘i Island. For Ashley Asing, an Ewa Makai Middle School teacher, it’s all about connecting. “I had to learn how to speak their language, talk to them openly,” Asing says. “Once I brought my walls down, theirs came down too.” That’s been a game-changer for her student Tiyana. “Now I feel safe,” she says. “I have someone to talk to, no matter what.” A safe space, a teacher who cares, resources to make a difference — that’s the big promise of little things.
Hear from students on how CFS has helped them: HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org/CFS
“The changes we’ve seen in our students come not from guessing but from knowing what’s going on with them.” - AMY KENDZIORSKI, PRINCIPAL, WAIMEA PUBLIC CONVERSION CHARTER SCHOOL
Did You Know... HCF’s Connecting for Success delivered real results in its first three years. Over 93% of the CFS students are succeeding in high school; 52% earned B’s or higher in English and 39% in math. Better connections, better grades, a better future — that’s the big promise of little things.