Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 7, 1 July 1985 — 11 Olomana Students Have a Learning Experience in D.C. [ARTICLE]

11 Olomana Students Have a Learning Experience in D.C.

Seven native Hawaiians were among 1 1 public high school students from Olomana School who returned recently from Washington, D. C. after taking part in The Partners Program on law education and the juvenile justice system. Aided by partial funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, these alienated Windward district students found the week-long trip "a good experience." The Partners Program is mainly funded by the Close Up Foundation of Washington and the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. A total of 100 Hawaii high school students and 22 adults participated in the Close Up government studies program. It was the first time for Hawaii students. Hawaii is also the last state to participate in the program. Olomana Pnneipal Mel Seo said the 11 students made a year-long commitment to prepare for the Washington trip. The 1 1 were all that remained out of an original field of 20 students who started the program in November, 1984. Seo explained that the other nine dropped off for various reasons. Seo said that two of the rules in the program are to stay off drugs and to follow a certain behavioral pattern. Olomana, whieh is an alternative school for alienated students having problems attending regular schools, conducts an after school program for these students. It runs through the end of May. There were selection interviews held here by the Close Up Foundation and the Olomana students, while a bit nervous, eame through in fine style. Seo said the students were prepared forthe trip by viewing slidesof D. C., having classroom discussions on how government works and talking about loeal issues. "We talked about many things like runaways, teenage suicides, unemployment, inflation, energy, education, drink-

ing laws, crime and many other issues," Seo said. He also said the students worked on community service projects, one of them being the creation of a handbook of counseling services and programs available for teenagers. Another was a fund raiser for the Institute of Human Services. In addition to viewing the slides, students also prepared for the trip by looking at films, studying maps and discussing what clothes to take, how to paek a suitcase and learning etiquette. They met with Hawaii's congressional delegation and attended seminars on national and loeal issues. It was a onee in a lifetime experience for the 1 1 students and they relished every minute of it, Seo reported. The experience of meeting students from the other 49 states was also a good learning tool. They exchanged ideas, discussed issues and learned about eaeh other's culture and values. Students who complete the Close Up Partners Program will: • Gain knowledge about law-related education and the juvenile justice system. • Gain citizenship skills in the areas of participation, problem-solving and cooperating with others. • Develop more positive perceptions of themselves and increase bonding with social institutions in the community. • Contribute in positive ways to their community through improvement projects. • Understand the consequences of delinquent acts to the individual, community and society. Continuation of the program will be based on evaluation results.