SENATE MEMORIAL 95

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Sue Wilson Beffort

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE, IN COOPERATION WITH OTHERS, TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING CO-CURRICULAR AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THE COST OF SUCH PROGRAMS.

     WHEREAS, co-curricular and after-school programs make a real difference for children, families and communities; and

     WHEREAS, despite the value of co-curricular and after-school programs, the public education department reported that out of approximately one hundred thirty middle schools, only thirty-two middle schools are funded for after-school programs; and

     WHEREAS, co-curricular programs are designed to provide projects to engage and excite middle school students who might be prone to dropping out; and

     WHEREAS, co-curricular activities are particularly good at providing opportunities for students to work as teams, to exercise leadership and to take the initiative themselves; and      WHEREAS, vocational co-curricular programs such as mechanics, wood shop and home economics offer meaningful projects that maintain and support useful life skills; and

     WHEREAS, co-curricular programs that focus on academic classes in the morning and hands-on projects such as woodworking or horticulture in the afternoon are another option for engaging middle school students; and

     WHEREAS, co-curricular programs offer innovative projects and restructure traditional learning and may provide a more rounded education; and

     WHEREAS, more than fifteen million children nationwide are unsupervised after the school day ends, and older youths are more likely to spend time unsupervised in the hours after school, with more than twelve million students in grades six through twelve responsible for taking care of themselves after school, according to a MetLife foundation study; and

     WHEREAS, America after 3 PM New Mexico reports that thirty-two percent of New Mexico children are in an after-school program; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, the top three providers of after-school programs are the public schools, boys and girls clubs and the young men's christian association; and

     WHEREAS, sixty-seven percent of after-school programs in New Mexico are located in a public school building; and

     WHEREAS, on average, New Mexico families who pay for their child's after-school program spend seventy-nine dollars ($79.00) per week; and

     WHEREAS, seventy thousand eight hundred forty-one children in New Mexico participate in an after-school program, yet ninety thousand six hundred fifty-nine children would be enrolled in a program if one were available to them; and

     WHEREAS, a strong network of after-school programs exists for young children in New Mexico, providing educational opportunities as well as satisfying child care needs while parents are at work; and

     WHEREAS, it becomes more difficult to provide after-school programs once youths enter middle school, as young adolescents are more autonomous, busier, more vocal about specific needs and less enthusiastic about activities designed for a general audience; and

     WHEREAS, the public education department reports that youths are more at risk after school and that juvenile crime triples between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.; and

     WHEREAS, using after-school hours in a constructive and productive manner can help the success of students by keeping them engaged and preventing them from dropping out; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has limited after-school opportunities for middle school students; and

     WHEREAS, despite the clear rewards to after-school programs for middle school students, there are barriers to participation, such as lack of funding and transportation; and

     WHEREAS, funding for after-school programs for middle school students does not exist in most communities in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, a study of financial resources based on per-pupil funding for New Mexico middle school students would provide valuable information in the consideration of funding options; and

     WHEREAS, lack of transportation to and from after-school facilities is one of the most daunting barriers, with forty-nine percent of parents in the MetLife foundation study citing lack of transportation as the main reason their children did not participate in after-school programs;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee, in cooperation with the legislative finance committee, the public education department and the New Mexico afterschool alliance, be requested to study the lack of co-curricular and after-school programs for middle school students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include information about co-curricular programs and how these programs offer additional alternatives to engage middle school students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include information regarding statewide programs that already exist when making recommendations for new programming; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study look at giving school districts the option of deciding which co-curricular and after-school programs for middle school students would be the most advantageous to develop; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that solutions to the difficulty of transporting middle school students to and from after-school activities be provided; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study determine the feasibility of funding co-curricular and after-school programs for middle school students using a per-pupil formula; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education study committee report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim committee no later than December 1, 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the legislative education study committee, the legislative finance committee, the secretary of public education and the director of the New Mexico afterschool alliance.

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