This page contains the text of a regulation adopted by the Missouri State Board of Education. An official copy of the full text of this regulation is contained in the Code of State Regulations, published by the Office of Secretary of State. |
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Title 5-DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION |
5 CSR 60-95.010 Allowable Activities and Participating Student Eligibility PURPOSE: This rule defines activities which will be considered as permissible through the Sponsorship and Mentoring Program, and categories of students eligible for program participation. (1) Activities shall be designed to broaden and strengthen opportunities which shall include, but not be limited to the goals of the Sponsorship and Mentoring Program for all participating students: (A) Positive development and participation in community life for youth; (B) To discourage such persons from engaging in behavior detrimental to social, educational, and career advancement; and (C) To complete secondary school with a focus toward entering and completing post-secondary education, and successful entry into meaningful employment. (2) Mentoring activities provided shall offer participating youth the opportunity for a one-on-one relationship with an adult or an older, responsible youth who will be a positive example from which the youth can learn. Three (3) general categories of mentoring activities will be eligible through this initiative: school-based mentoring; community-based mentoring; and work-based mentoring. (A) The school-based mentor shall be a professional educator employed at a school who is designated as the mentor for a particular student and who works in consultation with other educators and possibly employers for older students to provide support and monitor the progress of the student in school. The school-based mentor shall assume responsibilities which include, but not be limited to: 1. Being available to assist the student; 2. Providing support to the student in decision making; 3. Assisting the student in planning career and evaluation goals; 4. Encouraging the student in a variety of academic, personal, and social issues; 5. Assisting the student in career awareness and career exploration; and 6. Seeking parental/legal guardian support. (B) The community-based mentor shall be an adult or mature individual within the community who assumes a mentor or a role-model relationship for a particular child or youth; who works with educators, community-based agencies, and employers of older students to provide guidance and support; and who monitors the progress of the child and youth in the home, at school, and at the work site of older students if needed. The community-based mentor assumes a number of responsibilities which include, but not be limited to: 1. Being available to assist the student; 2. Providing support to the student in decision making; 3. Assisting the student in planning career and evaluation goals; 4. Encouraging the student in a variety of academic, personal, and social issues; 5. Assisting the student in career awareness and career exploration; and 6. Seeking parental/legal guardian support. (C) The work-based mentor shall be an employee of a participating business or other individual, who is approved by a participating employer; who possesses the skills and knowledge to be mastered by a student; who instructs, critiques the performance, challenges the student to perform well; and who works in consultation with educators and employers of the student. The work-based mentor assumes a number of responsibilities which include, but not be limited to: 1. Introducing the student in the business and establishing expectations; 2. Providing instructions for the student; 3. Evaluating the performance of the student using a corrective learning approach; and 4. Counseling the student on matters related to work-site activities as well as encouraging good performance at school. (3) Eligible participation in Sponsorship and Mentoring Program activities shall be limited to students deemed to be at-risk of dropping out of school, unless otherwise approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). (A) A student deemed to be at-risk of dropping out of school shall be any student who is still school age, but whose continued education is in jeopardy because they are experiencing academic deficits, or have characteristics identified as indicative of at-risk students. 1. Students will be considered as experiencing academic deficits if they: A. Are one (1) or more years behind their age or grade level in mathematics or reading skills through eighth grade, or three (3) or more credits behind in the number of credits toward graduation from the ninth grade through twelfth grade; B. Have low scores on tests of academic achievement and scholastic aptitude; C. Have low grades and academic deficiencies; D. Have a history of failure and being held back in school; E. Have language problems or be from non-English speaking home; or F. Are without access to appropriate educational programs. 2. Students will be considered as having characteristics identified as indicative of at-risk students if they have— A. A parent or sibling who dropped out of school; B. Experienced numerous family relocations; C. Poor social adjustment, or deviant social behavior; D. Employment of more than twenty (20) hours per week while school is in session; E. Been the victim of racial or ethnic prejudice; F. Low self-esteem and expectations of teachers, parents, and the community; G. A poorly educated mother and/or father; H. Children of their own; I. A deprived environment which slows economic and social development; J. A fatherless home; or K. Been a victim of personal or family abuse, which includes substance abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. (B) Any school district with an approved project may petition DESE to deem additional students as eligible for participation in the Sponsorship and Mentoring Program. 1. The principal of any school in a district which has an approved project may recommend, to the local school board, those students who do not meet the criteria of at-risk, as defined in this rule, and the school board may submit the names of the such students and the circumstances which justify the student’s participation to DESE for approval of the student’s participation. 2. If the petition for participation of any student is approved by DESE, said students shall be deemed eligible for participation in the Sponsorship and Mentoring Program. AUTHORITY: section 135.348, RSMo Supp. 1998.* Original rule filed March 22, 1999, effective Sept. 30, 1999. *Original authority: 135.348, RSMo 1998 |