Report Title:

SPEBE; DOE

 

Description:

Appropriates $400,000 to the DOE for the restoration of the summer program for the enhancement of basic education (SPEBE).

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1573

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE SUMMER PROGRAM FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to restore the department of education's summer program for the enhancement of basic education (SPEBE), which was discontinued after the summer of 1998 because of budget constraints. The summer program for the enhancement of basic education was developed for high school students who demonstrated academic potential and interest in the basic subject areas, and to address the educational concerns of the times: declining achievement test scores of able students; the social, economic, and political impact of changes predicted for the 1990s and the twenty-first century; the need to intensify the mathematics, science, and technological background, and communication skills, of students; and the need to form partnerships among educational, community, business, and governmental organizations to prepare students for the twenty-first century.

The goal of the summer program for the enhancement of basic education was to provide able, interested high school students with opportunities to experience applications of mathematics, science, social science, and language arts in the professional world during the summer. The experience enabled the participants to:

(1) Understand the relationship between school learning and applied fields of work;

(2) Extend their knowledge of mathematical, scientific, and communication concepts, skills, and processes;

(3) Develop an understanding of, and interest in, the impact of technology and communication on current and future professions;

(4) Value the resources and uniqueness of Hawaii as an island state; and

(5) Understand the nature of current and future problems and issues confronting Hawaii.

The experience also helped participants prepare for college by providing them with university courses taught by university faculty, and by housing them in university dormitories. Critical to the summer program for the enhancement of basic education was its strong academic program, coupled with opportunities for developing social-interaction skills, as well as independence in learning and responsibility for oneself.

The summer program for the enhancement of basic education started in 1985 with six centers. It expanded to eight centers during the intervening years, then down-sized to these four centers in 1996 because of budget constraints: drama and theater, environmental explorations, medical science, and modern media. Each center had approximately twenty students who were selected by the center director or subject area educational specialist, or both. During the summer of 1996, three centers were conducted via memoranda of agreement with the University of Hawaii, and one center was conducted via a contract with Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Participants were housed at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, University of Hawaii-Hilo, and Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

Since the inception of the program, every public high school has had student participation in the program. During the summer of 1993, twenty-seven out of thirty-nine high schools were represented in the summer program for the enhancement of basic education program. Approximately forty per cent of all participants were from the neighbor islands. An independent evaluation found that students were enthusiastic about their summer program for the enhancement of basic education experience and recommended the program highly to other students. The independent evaluator suggested that the summer program for the enhancement of basic education be expanded during better economic times to permit greater student participation.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $400,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002, for the restoration of the summer program for the enhancement of basic education.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________